Władysław Raczkiewicz (; 28 January 1885 – 6 June 1947) was a Polish politician, lawyer, diplomat and President of Poland-
in-exile from 1939 until his death in 1947. Until 1945, he was the internationally recognized Polish head of state, and the Polish government in exile was recognized as the continuation of the Polish government of 1939.
Early life and studies
Władysław Raczkiewicz was born in
Kutaisi, the second-largest city in
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, at that time part of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
to Polish parents Józef Raczkiewicz, a court judge, and Ludwika Łukaszewicz. He studied in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
where he joined the Polish Youth Organization. After graduating from the
Faculty of Law at the
University of Dorpat
The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...
he was employed as a lawyer in
Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
. Upon the outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
he served in the
Russian Imperial Army, but after the
Russian Revolution he joined the vanguard for Polish independence. Serving as the head of the ''Naczelny Polski Komitet Wojskowy'', he helped to create the
Polish I Corps in Russia. Later he served under future Marshal and chief-of-state
Józef Piłsudski
Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Naczelnik państwa, Chief of State (1918–1922) and Marshal of Poland, First Marshal of Second Polish Republic, Poland (from 1920). He was ...
, who created
the Polish Legions that ultimately aided Poland in re-establishing its independence.
As a volunteer, he fought in the
Polish–Soviet War
The Polish–Soviet War (Polish–Bolshevik War, Polish–Soviet War, Polish–Russian War 1919–1921)
* russian: Советско-польская война (''Sovetsko-polskaya voyna'', Soviet-Polish War), Польский фронт (' ...
between 1919 and 1920. At first, he supported the
Endecja
National Democracy ( pl, Narodowa Demokracja, also known from its abbreviation ND as ''Endecja''; ) was a Polish political movement active from the second half of the 19th century under the foreign partitions of the country until the end of ...
faction, later joined the
Sanacja
Sanation ( pl, Sanacja, ) was a Polish political movement that was created in the interwar period, prior to Józef Piłsudski's May 1926 ''Coup d'État'', and came to power in the wake of that coup. In 1928 its political activists would go on ...
camp headed by Piłsudski and his closest supporters. Raczkiewicz served as the Voivode of the
Nowogródek Voivodeship from 1921 to 1924; government delegate to
Wilno Voivodeship (1924–1925) and later as its voivode (1926–1931). After the
Brest elections he was appointed the
Senate Marshal (1930–1935) and Voivode of
Kraków Voivodeship in 1935, and
Pomeranian Voivodeship from 1936 to 1939.
World War II
When Poland was invaded by the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
in 1939, he escaped to
Angers
Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the pr ...
, France, where the
Polish government-in-exile
The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...
was established. He lived in the nearby
Château de Pignerolle from 2 December 1939 until moving on 10 June 1940 to London, where he joined General
Władysław Sikorski
Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (; 20 May 18814 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader.
Prior to the First World War, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause for Polish i ...
and
Stanisław Mikołajczyk
Stanisław Mikołajczyk (18 July 1901 – 13 December 1966; ) was a Polish politician. He was a Prime Minister of the Polish government in exile during World War II, and later Deputy Prime Minister in post-war Poland until 1947.
Biography Back ...
in the relocated
Polish government in exile. He was an opponent of the
Sikorski–Mayski agreement.
In February 1945,
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
,
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...
and
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
held the
Yalta Conference. The future of Poland was one of the main topics that were deliberated upon. Stalin claimed that only a strong, pro-Soviet government in Poland would be able to guarantee the security of the Soviet Union. As a result of the conference, the Allies agreed to withdraw their recognition of the Polish Government in Exile, after the formation of a new government on Polish territory.
Raczkiewicz died in exile in 1947, in the
Welsh town of
Ruthin. He was buried in the cemetery at
Newark-on-Trent in England. In November 2022, the remains of Raczkiewicz,
August Zaleski, and
Stanisław Ostrowski were reburied at the Mausoleum for emigree presidents at the
Temple of Divine Providence in Warsaw.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raczkiewicz, Wladyslaw
1885 births
1947 deaths
People from Kutaisi
People from Kutais Governorate
politicians from Kutaisi
People from the Russian Empire of Polish descent
National-Democratic Party (Poland) politicians
Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government politicians
Presidents of Poland
Government ministers of Poland
Senat Marshals of the Second Polish Republic
Senators of the Second Polish Republic (1930–1935)
Association of the Polish Youth "Zet" members
Polish anti-communists
Polish exiles
Exiled politicians
Russian military personnel of World War I
Polish people of World War I
Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War
Polish people of World War II
Burials in Nottinghamshire