Tadeusz Ludwik Romer (December 6, 1894 in Antonosz near

Rokiškis Rokiškis () is a city in northeastern Lithuania with a population of about 14,400. History The legend of the founding of Rokiškis tells about a hunter called Rokas who had been hunting for hares ( Lit. "kiškis"). However, cities ending in " ...

– March 23, 1978 in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

) was a Polish diplomat and politician. He was a personal secretary to

Roman Dmowski Roman Stanisław Dmowski (Polish: , 9 August 1864 – 2 January 1939) was a Polish politician, statesman, and co-founder and chief ideologue of the National Democracy (abbreviated "ND": in Polish, "''Endecja''") political movement. He saw th ...

in 1919. Later he joined the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he served as Polish ambassador to Italy, Portugal, Japan (1937-1941) and the Soviet Union (1942-1943). Then he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of 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 ...

(1943-1944). After the war, he settled in Canada, where he lectured at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Univer ...

. From August 1940 to November 1941, he got transit visas in Japan, asylum visas to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Burma, immigration certificates to Palestine, and immigrant visas to the United States and some Latin American countries for two thousand Polish-Lithuanian Jewish refugees, who arrived into

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whi ...

, Japan, and

Shanghai Ghetto The Shanghai Ghetto, formally known as the Restricted Sector for Stateless Refugees, was an area of approximately one square mile in the Hongkew district of Japanese-occupied Shanghai (the ghetto was located in the southern Hongkou and southwes ...

, China. Romer worked as the head Polish ambassador in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

until the Polish embassy in Japan closed in July 1941. Romer’s work helped fund Polish Jewish refugees and ensure visas into Japan. He created a ‘Polish Committee to Aid the Victims of War’ and appointed his wife, Zofia to be president of the committee. They worked to financially support Jewish communities in

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

and Kobe by campaigning in far eastern countries for funding. Romer’s position became increasingly important after the United States closed off

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, ...

. Romer’s Polish ambassador position was one of the only beacons of hope for Jewish refugees stuck in Japan. Romer negotiated with Polish allies for immigration options for refugees. For example, Canada offered multiple opportunities for refugees interested in contributing to the Allied war effort. By October 1942, Romer was exiled from Japan but found a new position as a Polish consultant working in Shanghai. Romer expected the job to be temporary. However, after

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the ...

the routes from Shanghai to the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nati ...

became extremely dangerous to trek, hence he couldn’t relocate in the USSR. Romer suggested an analytical report of the Polish War refugees living in Shanghai. In June 1942 Romer planned to record the gender, age and political parties of Polish refugees in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

. The main goal of the 40-page report was finished was to analyze the communities’ resources, activities and figure future plans for the Polish refugees. This report was published in August 1942 and gave refugees a strong sense of Polish pride which inspired many refugees to resist moving into stateless

that were enforced by the Japanese Government. In August 1942 Romer embarked on a

Prisoner exchange A prisoner exchange or prisoner swap is a deal between opposing sides in a conflict to release prisoners: prisoners of war, spies, hostages, etc. Sometimes, dead bodies are involved in an exchange. Geneva Conventions Under the Geneva Conven ...

to East Africa. He used this exchange as an escape route for some Polish refugees.

References

External links

* Olga Barbasiewicz, Ph.D.
"Polish Ambassador to Japan Tadeusz Romer and Jewish War Refugees in the Far East"
. {{DEFAULTSORT:Romer, Tadeusz 1894 births 1978 deaths Ambassadors of Poland to Italy McGill University faculty Polish politicians Jewish Chinese history Ambassadors of Poland to Portugal Ambassadors of Poland to Japan Ambassadors of Poland to the Soviet Union Römer family

See also

Archives

References

External links