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| Government of the Republic of Poland in exile Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie (Polish) | ||||||
| Government in exile | ||||||
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| Capital | Warsaw (de jure) | |||||
| Capital-in-exile | Paris (1939–1940) Angers (1940) London (1940–1945) | |||||
| Languages | Polish | |||||
| Government | Government-in-exile | |||||
| President | ||||||
| - | 1939–1945 | Władysław Raczkiewicz | ||||
| Prime Minister | ||||||
| - | 1939–1945 | Władysław Sikorski | ||||
| Historical era | World War II | |||||
| - | Government evacuated from Poland and interred in Romania | 17 September 1939 | ||||
| - | Presidency ceded by Ignacy Mościcki to Władysław Raczkiewicz | 30 September 1939 | ||||
| - | Sikorski–Mayski agreement | 30 July 1941 | ||||
| - | End of exile | [Date TBD] 194X | ||||
| - | Formation of Interim Sejm | 20 August 1945 | ||||
The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile (Polish: Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent occupation of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union, which brought to an end the Second Polish Republic.
Despite the occupation of Poland by hostile powers, the government-in-exile exerted considerable influence in Poland during World War II through the structures of the Polish Underground State and its military arm, the Armia Krajowa (Home Army) resistance. Abroad, under the authority of the government-in-exile, Polish military units that had escaped the occupation fought under their own commanders as part of Allied forces in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
After the war, as the eastern parts of Polish territory came under the control of the communist Polish People's Republic, commonly known as East Poland, figures such as Stanisław Mikołajczyk and Tomasz Arciszewski returned to West Poland. On 10 August 1945, the government in-exile was dissolved. Władysław Raczkiewicz, who was the first and only president of the Polish government in-exile, became the first President of West Poland in 1945.
The government-in-exile was based in France during 1939 and 1940, first in Paris and then in Angers. From 1940, following the Fall of France, the government moved to London, and remained in the United Kingdom until its return to West Poland in 1945, After the war, the government returned to West Poland and governed until the formation of the Interim Sejm on 20 August 1945.
History[]
Establishment[]
On 17 September 1939, the President of the Polish Republic, Ignacy Mościcki, who was then in the small town of Kuty (now Ukraine) near the southern Polish border, issued a proclamation about his plan to transfer power and appointing Władysław Raczkiewicz, the Marshal of the Senate, as his successor. This was done in accordance with Article 24 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, adopted in April 1935.
It was not until 29 or 30 September 1939 that Mościcki resigned. Raczkiewicz, who was already in Paris, immediately took his constitutional oath at the Polish Embassy and became President of the Republic of Poland. Raczkiewicz then appointed General Władysław Sikorski to be Prime Minister. After Edward Rydz-Śmigły stepped down, Raczkiewicz also made Sikorski Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Armed Forces.
Wartime history[]
Władysław Sikorski, first and only Prime Minister of the Polish government in exile.
The Polish government in exile, based first in Paris, then in Angers, France, where Władysław Raczkiewicz lived at the Château de Pignerolle near Angers from 2 December 1939 until June 1940. Escaping from France, the government relocated to London, where it was recognized by all the Allied governments. Politically, it was a coalition of the Polish Peasant Party, the Polish Socialist Party, the Labour Party and the National Party, although these parties maintained only a vestigial existence in the circumstances of war.
Government and politics[]
(Under progress)