
Herman Lieberman (4 January 1870 – 21 October 1941) was a
Polish lawyer and socialist politician.
Life
Lieberman was born into a
Jew
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
ish family in
Drohobycz,
Galicia, then part of
Austro-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
. From 1907 to 1914 and from 1917 to 1918, he was a member of parliament in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
.
During
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
he joined the
Polish Legions of
Józef Piłsudski
Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...
as a private. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and took part in the
Battle of Kostiuchnówka, for which he was awarded the
Polish Cross of Valor. During the
Oath crisis, when Polish troops refused to swear allegiance to Emperor
Wilhelm II of Germany
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty ...
, Lieberman served as the lawyer for the Polish soldiers who were charged with treason by the German authorities.
After World War I Lieberman became a leader of the
Polish Socialist Party (''PPS''), serving on its executive committee. In January 1919 he became a member of the Polish ''
Sejm
The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland.
The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...
'' (parliament). In 1923 he successfully defended the
Kraków
, officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
workers charged in the aftermath of the
1923 Kraków riot.
After the
May 1926 ''Coup d'État'', he opposed Piłsudski. He was arrested and beaten by the police and then sentenced in the 1931–32
Brest trials to two and a half year in prison. Rather than serving the sentence he emigrated to
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. While abroad he supported the republican cause in the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...
and published a critical response to
Marcel Déat
Marcel Déat (; 7 March 1894 – 5 January 1955) was a French politician. Initially a socialist and a member of the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO), he led a breakaway group of right-wing Neosocialists out of the SFIO in 19 ...
's pamphlet ''
Why Die for Danzig?'' which advocated appeasement of
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, after the 1939
German invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
, Lieberman joined
Władysław Sikorski
Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (; 20 May 18814 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader.
Before World War I, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause of Polish independenc ...
's
Polish government-in-exile
The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile (), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent Occupation ...
in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England. From 3 September 1941 to 20 October 1941, Lieberman was the government's minister of justice.
He died in 1941.
Award
In 1941 Lieberman was posthumously awarded Poland's highest
decoration, the
Order of the White Eagle, by the President of the Government in Exile
Władysław Raczkiewicz, in recognition of his exceptional services to
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lieberman, Herman
1870 births
1941 deaths
People from Drohobych
People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
Ukrainian Jews
Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe)
Jewish Austro-Hungarian politicians
Jewish Polish politicians
Polish Social Democratic Party of Galicia politicians
Polish Socialist Party politicians
Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1907–1911)
Members of the Austrian House of Deputies (1911–1918)
Members of the Legislative Sejm of the Second Polish Republic
Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1922–1927)
Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1928–1930)
Jewish socialists
Members of the Executive of the Labour and Socialist International
Justice ministers of Poland
Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)