1939 in Poland explained

Political incumbents

On September 30, 1939, the last government of the Second Polish Republic which resided in Warsaw was dissolved. The government was originally designed on May 15, 1936, by president of Poland Ignacy Mościcki under prime minister Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski.

Members of the government

President of Poland – Ignacy Mościcki,
Prime Minister – Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski,
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Treasury – Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski,
Minister of Foreign Affairs – Józef Beck,
Minister of Justice – Witold Grabowski,
Minister of Military Affairs – Tadeusz Kasprzycki,
Minister of Agriculture – Juliusz Poniatowski,
Minister of Communication – Juliusz Ulrych,
Minister of Post Office and Telegraphs – Emil Kaliński,
Minister of Religious Beliefs and Public Enlightenment – Wojciech Świętosławski,
Minister of Industry and Trade – Antoni Roman.

Other personalities

Primate of Poland – August Hlond
Eastern Orthodox Church Archbishop of Warsaw – Dionizy (Dionisij, real name Konstantyn Waledynski)
Chief Rabbi of Warsaw – vacant
Marshall of the Sejm – Wacław Makowski
Marshall of the Senat – Bogusław Miedziński
Ambassador to Germany – Józef Lipski

Events

January

January 1. Józef Beck welcomes the new year in Monte Carlo, while president Ignacy Mościcki stays in Jaworzyna near Zakopane
January 2. Flu epidemic in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie, where 25% of residents are sick
January 3. In Warsaw a funeral of Cardinal Aleksander Kakowski (who died on December 31, 1938), takes place. The service is led by primate August Hlond, and by bishop Antoni Szlagowski
January 4. Józef Beck arrives in Munich
January 5. Minister Józef Beck meets Adolf Hitler in Berchtesgaden. Apart from Hitler and Beck, the meeting is attended by Joachim von Ribbentrop, Hans von Moltke, Polish ambassador to Berlin Józef Lipski, and Józef Beck's chef de cabinet, Michal Lubienski. The meeting lasts three hours
January 6. In Munich, minister Beck meets Joachim von Ribbentrop
January 7. In Warsaw, a funeral of Roman Dmowski takes place. Jadwiga Wajs gets married in Łódź
January 8. President Mościcki returns to Warsaw, where he meets foreign diplomats and ambassadors to Poland. On the same day, Jurgis Šaulys, a Lithuanian envoy, begins his mission in Warsaw
January 25. Joachim von Ribbentrop comes by train to Warsaw, he arrives at Warsaw Główna rail station 4:50 p.m.
January 26. Joachim von Ribbentrop meets Ignacy Mościcki, Józef Beck and Edward Rydz-Śmigły
January 27. Joachim von Ribbentrop leaves Warsaw and returns to Berlin

February

February 18. Heinrich Himmler comes to Warsaw. After meeting Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski and Józef Beck, he leaves in the night for Białowieża
February 19. Flooding in Volhynia, along the Horyn and the Styr. Heinrich Himmler hunts in Białowieża, together with Marian Zyndram-Kościałkowski
February 20. Heinrich Himmler returns to Berlin
February 22. First flights of the PZL.50 Jastrząb. Polish Telegraphic Agency announces that Trans-Olza hence will be called Western Silesia
February 24. AntiPolish riots at the Königliche Technische Hochschule zu Danzig in Gdańsk. Polish students are beaten
February 25. Warsaw students demonstrate in front of the German embassy. Galeazzo Ciano, together with wife Edda Mussolini, comes by train to Warsaw
February 26. Galeazzo Ciano unveils the monument of Francesco Nullo in Warsaw

March

March 1. On the last day of his visit, Galeazzo Ciano visits Kraków
March 2. A hurricane in Wilno destroys several houses
March 4. Romanian minister of foreign affairs, Grigore Gafencu, comes to Warsaw by train, greeted by Józef Beck, Stefan Starzyński and Jan Szembek
March 6. Grigore Gafencu returns to Bucharest. A group of Polish writers, including Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński, visits Trans-Olza
March 16. Units of Hungarian Army meet troops of the Polish Army, after Hungarian invasion of Carpatho-Ukraine
March 17. In Berlin, Józef Lipski meets Hermann Göring, discussing establishment of Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
March 22. A meeting of key Polish figures takes place at the Warsaw Castle. Present are Ignacy Mościcki, Edward Rydz-Śmigły, Józef Beck and Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski. All agree that Poland will not accept German proposal of extraterritorial rail and road connection between East Prussia and the rest of Germany. On the same day, Stanisław Mackiewicz is imprisoned in the Bereza Kartuska detention camp
March 26. In Berlin, Polish ambassador Józef Lipski meets Joachim von Ribbentrop, who demands that Gdańsk becomes part of Germany. Lipski, following Beck's order, refuses
March 30. In Warsaw, British ambassador Howard Kennard asks Józef Beck if Poland will accept British guarantees. Beck answers in the affirmative. On the same day, Wincenty Witos returns to Poland and stays in Kraków
March 31. In London, prime minister Neville Chamberlain officially declares that Great Britain will help Poland in case of war

April

April 2. In the afternoon, Józef Beck leaves Warsaw and goes by train to London. On his way, he stops at Berlin, to meet ambassador Józef Lipski
April 4. Józef Beck meets at breakfast with lord Halifax and Winston Churchill in London. On the same day in the afternoon, Beck talks with Neville Chamberlain
April 5. In London, Józef Beck meets king George VI at Windsor Castle. In Warsaw, a funeral of Walery Sławek takes place
April 8. Stanisław Mackiewicz is released from Bereza Kartuska. Józef Beck returns to Warsaw
April 11. Adolf Hitler signs Fall Weiss
April 14. In Warsaw, Józef Beck meets Hungarian attaché, Andreas Hory
April 17. General Johan Laidoner, Commander-in-chief of the Estonian Army, comes to Warsaw
April 18. A regular air connection Warsaw – Copenhagen – London is opened
April 19. ORP Sęp (1938), built in the Netherlands, comes to Gdynia
April 22. General Johan Laidoner visits Kraków. Anatole de Monzie, French Minister of Public Works, comes to Poland
April 23. A 49-kilometer railroad connection Częstochowa – Chorzew Siemkowice, part of the Polish Coal Trunk-Line is opened
April 24. Józef Beck meets British ambassador, Sir Howard Kennard. Wojciech Korfanty returns to Poland. He comes to Poznań and talks to Primate August Hlond
April 30. In Gross Strehlitz near Oppeln, personnel of the Polish Theatre from Katowice is beaten by a Nazi crowd. In Warsaw, a great air show takes place. Poznań International Fair opens in Poznań

May

May 2. Polish Council of Ministers approves a bill according to which the President can issue decrees. A local election in Volhynia takes place
May 3. A military parade, to commemorate the Constitution Day, takes place in Warsaw
May 4. Marshall Edward Rydz-Śmigły meets schoolchildren from Warsaw and Trans-Olza
May 5. Józef Beck delivers a famous speech in the Sejm, in which he rejects Hitler's demands towards Poland
May 7. Mass patriotic demonstrations of peasants and workers take place across Poland, with the biggest in Warsaw and Tarnów
May 9. General Stasys Raštikis, Defense Minister of Lithuania, comes to Warsaw
May 11. Polish ambassador in Moscow, Wacław Grzybowski, meets Vyacheslav Molotov
May 12. A mutual help agreement between France and Poland is signed in Paris by Polish ambassador Juliusz Łukasiewicz and French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Georges Bonnet
May 13. Galeazzo Ciano informs Józef Beck that in case of future Polish-German conflict, Italy will support Germany
May 15. General Tadeusz Kasprzycki begins in Paris negotiations about military help with General Maurice Gamelin
May 16. General Wacław Stachiewicz orders his subordinates to create a plan of fortifications along the Polish-German border
May 18. Floods in Poland, in the areas of Kielce and Lwów
May 19. Polish-French military negotiations end in Paris. Both sides pledge to help each other in case of war
May 23. Polish-British military negotiations begin in Warsaw. Józef Beck meets General Józef Haller
May 26. Nationwide local elections are finished, with Obóz Zjednoczenia Narodowego winning 48% of votes. A Polish Institute is opened in Budapest
May 30. The funeral of Aleksander Brückner takes place in Berlin

June

June 2. A new ambassador of the Soviet Union, Nikolai Sharonov, comes to Warsaw and begins his mission
June 6. A dangerous fire in the unfinished complex of the Warsaw Główna rail station
June 7. Seven people die, when an express train Katowice – Warszawa derails near Pruszków
June 11. President Ignacy Mościcki begins a tour of the Central Industrial Area
June 13. A delegation of the Polish government, under Adam Koc, comes to London, to negotiate a loan for Polish Army
June 15. Polish Airlines open new connections: Gdynia – Warsaw – Budapest – Venice – Rome, and Warsaw – Budapest – Belgrad
June 16. A heat wave in Poland, with temperatures ranging from 35 C in Zaleszczyki, to 21 in Poznań, Toruń and Gdynia. Representatives of Polonia from the United States collect $750 000 to the National Defence Fund
June 21. A Convention of 300 Polish rabbis begins in Wilno
June 23. In Polish schools, summer vacation begins
June 24. Annual Days of the Sea begin in Gdynia. General Louis Faury visits Polish garrisons
June 26. Florian Znaniecki leaves Poland for a series of lectures at American universities
June 29. Jan Kiepura, together with wife Marta Eggerth, sing to thousands of people on the Old Town Market Place, Warsaw. All profits were given to the National Defence Fund

July

July 5. Grand Rabbi Ben Zion Halberstam of Bobov visits Oświęcim, enthusiastically greeted by some 3000 followers
July 6. At Warsaw's Castle, a meeting of Ignacy Mościcki, Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski, Edward Rydz-Śmigły and Józef Beck takes place. The gathered discuss Polish policies concerning the Free City of Danzig
July 8. Due to unusually hot and sunny weather, harvest begins in Poland earlier than usually
July 7. King of Albania Zog, comes to Lwów and, after a short break, he goes to Warsaw together with family
July 10. Neville Chamberlain, speaking in the House of Commons, states that Britain is determined to help Poland in case of an attack
July 11. In Jazłowiec, the 14th Regiment of Jazłowiec Uhlans celebrates its day
July 13. Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski tours the Poznań Voivodeship
July 15. On the anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald, a mass demonstration takes place in Kraków. On the same day in Katowice, Jan Kiepura sings to 20 000 people, with profits going to the National Defence Fund
July 17. General Sir Edmund Ironside of the British Army comes to Warsaw, via Gdynia. Jan Kiepura sings to 10,000 people in Karwina, Trans-Olza
July 18. General Ironside visits the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw
July 20. General Ironside visits garrisons of the Polish Army in Rembertów and Modlin. Wojciech Korfanty leaves prison
July 27. MS Batory, a passenger ship, enters service in the port of Gdynia

August

August 1. Officers of Polish Police arrest in Lwów around 30 activists of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists
August 2. In London, governments of Poland and Great Britain sign an agreement according to which Poland gets a loan in the amount of 8 million British pounds (200 million Polish zlotys). Poland initially demanded four times as much. On the same day, Benedictine monks return to the abbey in Tyniec
August 4. Polish customs officers in the Free City of Danzig are informed that they no longer can make inspections in the port. On the next day, under Polish pressure, the Senate of Danzig voids the decision
August 6. In Kraków, the 25th anniversary of First Cadre Company's departure is celebrated with estimated 200 000 watching the parade
August 8. A Polish-Hungarian celebration takes place at the Cross of the Legions in eastern Carpathians
August 9. Polish chargé d'affaires in Berlin, Stefan Lubomirski, meets Ernst von Weizsäcker, who hands Lubomirski a note from von Ribbentrop about tense situation in the Free City of Danzig
August 10. In Warsaw, Tomasz Arciszewski meets German chargé d'affaires, Johan von Wuhlisch. On the same day, Gauleiter Albert Forster makes a speech in Danzig, telling the crowds that the city will soon return to Germany
August 11. A conference of Józef Beck, Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski, Ignacy Mościcki, Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski and Edward Rydz-Śmigły, takes place at the Warsaw Castle
August 12. In Moscow, talks between military delegations of France, Great Britain and Soviet Union begin
August 13. Partial mobilization of the Polish Army
August 15. Poland celebrates 19th anniversary of the Miracle at the Vistula (see: Battle of Warsaw (1920)), with the biggest demonstration taking place in Radzymin. On the same day in Moscow, Vyacheslav Molotov talks with German ambassador to the Soviet Union, Friedrich Schullenburg. Schullenburg informs Molotov about von Ribbentrop's willingness to come to Moscow
August 17. French government grants Polish government credit in the amount of 430 million French francs
August 19. In Warsaw, Józef Beck, talking to British ambassador Howard Kennard and French ambassador Léon Noël, says that Polish government will not give permission for the Red Army to enter Polish territory in case of war with Germany. On the same day, Northern Trade Fair opens in Wilno
August 20. In Katowice, funeral of Wojciech Korfanty takes place

August 22. Heat in Poland, with temperatures reaching up to 31 degrees Celsius in Pomerania. Edward Rydz-Śmigły orders alarm mobilization in military districts along western border of Poland. Joachim von Ribbentrop leaves Berlin for Moscow
August 23. In Moscow, Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact is signed
August 24. In the morning, secret mobilization takes place in Poland, which covers around 75% of the Polish Army manpower
August 25. Pact of mutual help between Poland and Great Britain is signed in London. In Moscow, Soviet–French–British negotiations end. German battleship Schleswig-Holstein anchoress in the channel near Westerplatte
August 26. Adolf Hitler changes his order and attack on Poland is postponed to September 1. Nevertheless, some Wehrmacht units attack, especially in the south. Józef Beck meets Soviet ambassador, Nikolai Sharonov
August 28. German chargé d'affaires, Ernst Krummer meets Jan Szembek. Krummer declares that the German–Polish Non-Aggression Pact is unilaterally abrogated by Adolf Hitler. On the same day, Hitler speaks at Reichstag, and the speech is broadcast by the radio (see: List of Adolf Hitler speeches). 20 people die in the Tarnów rail station bomb attack
August 30. The Polish destroyers ORP Burza, ORP Błyskawica and ORP Grom are ordered to execute the Peking Plan, and the warships head for Great Britain. A mobilisation of the Polish Army is ordered
August 31. Gleiwitz incident. Polish ambassador in Berlin, Józef Lipski, for the last time sees Joachim von Ribbentrop. At 12:40 pm, Adolf Hitler gives an order to attack Poland on September 1, at 4:45 am

September

September 1 – Poland is invaded by Nazi Germany, this precipitates the start of the Second World War.^[1]
September 17 – Poland is invaded by USSR
September 22. Joint Nazi-Soviet military parade in Brzesc nad Bugiem

October

October 1. In Paris, a Government in Exile, under General Władysław Sikorski, is sworn
October 2. Polish Army garrison in Hel capitulate. Governments of the United States and France officially recognize the government of General Sikorski. battle of Kock begins
October 4. In Wilno, the NKVD incarcerates Colonel Zygmunt Berling
October 5. Adolf Hitler greets German troops during the parade of victory in Warsaw. Battle of Kock ends
October 7. Adolf Hitler orders Heinrich Himmler to organize mass expulsions of Poles from western part of the occupied country. In Eastern Poland, electoral campaign begins
October 8. Upon decree of Hitler, Western provinces of Poland, with the population of 10 million and the area of 91 000 km²., together with the cities of Poznań, Gdynia, Toruń, Bydgoszcz, Łódź and Katowice are incorporated into the Third Reich
October 10. In Kiev, Soviet authorities arrest consul of Poland, Janusz Matuszynski, who vanishes without a trace
October 11. General Kazimierz Sosnkowski reaches Paris
October 12. General Government, with capital in Kraków, is created
October 16. Polish consul in Kaunas, Franciszek Charwat, leaves Lithuania, after both countries broke diplomatic relations when Lithuania incorporated the area of Wilno
October 19. The Germans transport to Berlin archives of the Polish Foreign Ministry
October 22. "Elections" in the Soviet-occupied areas of eastern Poland, marked by terror of the NKVD troops
October 23. Last Polish Army unit in Eastern Poland is dissolved near Orany. It was commanded by Colonel Władysław Wysocki
October 24. Nikita Khrushchev, talking to General Władysław Langner assures him that officers of the Polish Army, kept by the Soviets, will be released (see: Katyn massacre)
October 25. Since September 1, the Germans, in 700 mass executions, murdered around 16 000 Polish civilians
October 26. Hans Frank is appointed Governor-General of the Germany-occupied territories. In Lwów, first meeting of the People's Assembly of Western Ukraine takes place
October 27. Stefan Starzyński is arrested in Warsaw. In Lwów, the NKVD arrests General Marian Zegota-Januszajtis
October 28. Lithuanian Army units enter Wilno. According to German data, there are 360 000 Jews in Warsaw. In Białystok, first meeting of the People's Assembly of Western Belarus takes place

November

November 1. Upon decree of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, southeastern part of Poland (see: Territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union) is incorporated into Soviet Ukraine as Western Ukraine, with the size of 88,000 km² and population of 8,000,000. On the same day, at Rossa Cemetery in Wilno, a mass, patriotic demonstration takes place, with 20,000 people present
November 2. The Germans officially change name of the Wawel Castle into Krakauer-Burg. First Poles, displaced from German-occupied western part of country, come to Warsaw
November 3. German occupational authorities confiscate all radios. Hence, those Poles who keep their radios, are punished with death
November 5. Mass expulsions of Poles from Poznań begin. They are replaced with Germans from the Baltic states
November 6. Sonderaktion Krakau – arrest of 183 professors from Kraków
November 7. In Reichsgau Wartheland, a ban on Polish-German marriages is announced
November 8. Aleksandra Piłsudska, together with daughters Wanda Piłsudska and Jadwiga Piłsudska arrive in London,
November 9. Mass arrests of Polish teachers in Łódź county. The city of Łódź, together with surrounding areas, is incorporated into Wartheland
November 12. General Mieczysław Boruta-Spiechowicz leaves Lwów and tries to get to Hungary. Caught by the NKVD, he is arrested. On the same day, German authorities begin printing of German-language newspapers, Krakauer Zeitung (in Kraków) and Warschauer Zeitung (in Warsaw)
November 14. Upon decree of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, northeastern part of Poland (see: Territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union) is incorporated into Soviet Belarus, as Western Belarus, with the size of 108,000 km² and population of 4,800,000
November 19. In Lwów, a group of Polish writers (Władysław Broniewski, Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński, Stanisław Jerzy Lec, Aleksander Wat and Adam Ważyk), together sign an article published in Czerwony Sztandar, in which they praise incorporation of southeastern Poland into the Soviet Union
November 20. General Władysław Langner crosses former Polish–Romanian border
November 21. Colonel Stanisław Sosabowski leaves Warsaw and heads for Budapest. On the same day, German authorities officially transfer Spisz and Orawa to Slovakia
November 22. French government declares the town of Angers seat of Polish government-in-exile
November 23. Upon decree of Hans Frank, all Jews over the age of 12 must wear armbands with the Star of David
November 29. Upon decree of the Supreme Soviet, all inhabitants of the Soviet-occupied areas of Poland are granted Soviet citizenship

December

December 3. President in Exile, Władysław Raczkiewicz, moves from Paris to Angers
December 4. General Kazimierz Sosnkowski signs a Decree number 1 for Citizen Rakon (Rakon was nom de guerre of Stefan Rowecki), which contains text of oath of members of the Union of Armed Struggle
December 5. A Theological college in Lwów is dissolved by Soviet authorities
December 7. In Zakopane, NKVD and Gestapo officers discuss mutual cooperation and methods of fighting Polish resistance (see: Gestapo–NKVD Conferences). In Palmiry, the Germans execute 80 persons
December 10. In Lwów, NKVD agents arrest around 800 officers of the Polish Army, including General Mariusz Zaruski. In Volhynia, resettlement of ethnic German population begins. The Germans move to Wartheland
December 13. In Warsaw, Bolesław Piasecki is arrested
December 15. Lithuanian government liquidates Polish-language University of Stefan Batory in Wilno, creating a Lithuanian-language Vilnius University
December 23. In Lublin, the Germans execute 10 leaders of local Polish community
December 24. In Eastern Poland, occupied by the Soviets, exchange of currency takes place. Polish złotys are replaced with the much less valued Rubles
December 27. In Wawer, the Germans execute 106 Polish civilians

Arts and literature

Awards

January 17. Jerzy Andrzejewski is awarded the youth prize of the Polish Academy of Literature
January 28. Leopold Staff receives an Honorary degree at the Warsaw University

New books

Possessed by Witold Gombrowicz
Nuta człowiecza, a poetry bundle by Józef Czechowicz

Film

Sportowiec mimo woli, with Adolf Dymsza, directed by Mieczysław Krawicz, music by Henryk Wars, premiered on May 31 1940.
Trzy serca, with Elżbieta Barszczewska and Aleksander Żabczyński, based on a book by Tadeusz Dołęga-Mostowicz, directed by Michał Waszyński, music by Zygmunt Wiehler, premiere March 17, 1939,
Doktór Murek, with Nora Ney based on a book by Tadeusz Dołęga-Mostowicz, directed by Juliusz Gardan, music by Władysław Szpilman,
Włóczęgi, a comedy directed by Michał Waszyński, music by Henryk Wars,
U kresu drogi with Mieczysława Ćwiklińska and Kazimierz Junosza-Stępowski, screenplay by Anatol Stern, directed by Michał Waszyński.

Sports