A Historical Survey Of The Polish Government-in-exile In The World War Two

After Nazi Germany and Soviet Union’s attack on the Poland in1939, Poland formed an new provisional government in Paris, which transferred into London later. With the support of the western countries, the Polish government-in-exile set up several armies abroad, which fought against the invaders with the allied forces. In Poland, the Home Army and the Government Delegate’s Office at Home formed the Polish Underground State, while the Polish government-in-exile led the Polish Underground State to fight against the Nazi Germany and Soviet Union. The resistance movement guided by the Polish government-in-exile both at home and abroad not only effectively encountered the invaders in Poland, but also did a big favor for the anti-fascist war in Europe. This thesis will study the state of the Polish government-in-exile during the World War Ⅱ in the four aspects following:the formation of the Polish government-in-exile and its diplomatic relations, its armies at abroad, the Polish Underground State and the final outcome of the Polish government-in-exile.The first part of this thesis contains the formation of the Polish government-in-exile. Since the Polish army was steadily giving away all over the field, the Polish political leaders forced to transfer the Polish pre-war government into the Romanian. In this situation, the government-in-exile was founded in Paris and replaced the pre-war government, and later the Polish government-in-exile was shifted to London since Paris was occupied by Nazi armies. In addition, the thesis studies on the diplomatic relations of the Polish government-in-exile, especially the relations with the Britain and the Soviet Union.The second part is mainly about the Polish armed forces abroad, laying emphasis on the details of the oversea armies set up in French, Britain and the Soviet Union.The third part illustrates the Polish Underground State in detail, which was the force of the Polish government-in-exile inside Poland, consisting of the Home Army and the Government Delegate’s Office at Home, the military and political representatives. It’s through these two agents that the Polish government-in-exile guided the resistive movement at home. This part explores both the formation and development of the military and political agents.The fourth part discusses the final outcome of the Polish government-in-exile. On one hand, this part relates the process of the emergence and growth of this government’s political enemy; on the other hand, it contains the Polish government-in-exile’s miserable struggling and its final failure.The last part makes a summary about the whole thesis including a study of the reasons for the failure as well as a comprehensive evaluation of the government-in-exile.