Discussion on the activities undertaken by the Polish Diplomatic and Consular Service during World War II, based on the volume Confronting the Holocaust. Documents on the Polish Government-in-Exile’s Policy Concerning Jews 1939-1945

On the initiative of the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) and the Polish Institute in Brussels, a debate will be held on the activities undertaken by the Polish diplomatic and consular service during the Second World War, based on the volume Confronting the Holocaust. Documents on the Polish Government-in-Exile’s Policy Concerning Jews 1939-1945, which is a full English translation of the original source publication published in Polish in 2021 – W obliczu Zagłady. Rząd RP na uchodźstwie wobec Żydów 1939-1945.

The publication contains 554 archival documents concerning the conditions and mechanisms of the actions implemented by the Polish Government in Exile towards the Jewish population during World War II. It illustrates the systemic and mass nature of the actions of the Polish diplomatic and consular service on the assistance and rescue of Jews during all stages of the war by bringing together the activities of the President, the Prime Minister and individual ministries and offices, but above all show the permanent work of the Polish diplomatic and consular posts and the relief agencies of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and the Polish Red Cross.

The archival materials included in the volume show the whole spectrum of efforts undertaken, documenting information activities (about the situation of Jews in occupied Poland), propaganda activities (aimed at mobilising the international community to prevent the Holocaust) and legal activities (undertaken with the goal to file criminal charges against the perpetrators). Above all, they illustrate direct aid activity consisting in finding safe havens or enabling people in danger to flee. They highlight that the extensive aid effort was not incidental but was one of the most important aspects of the refugee policy of the Polish Government in Exile.

The issues addressed will be:  
– Whole spectrum of efforts undertaken and motives behind them.
– Forgery or obtaining the necessary documentation.
– Importance of Jewish case within broader agenda of the WW2 Polish politics.
– Issue of Anti-Semitism.
– Jewish refugees around the world.

Monday 16 January from 15:30 to 17:00
📍Press Club Brussels Europe

Registration for the event is open until 15 January 2023 at the following address: brusselsoffice@pism.pl