Sikorski–Mayski agreement
TheSikorski–Mayski agreementwas a treaty between theSoviet UnionandPolandthat was signed inLondonon 30 July 1941.[1][2][3]Its name is taken from its two most notable signatories: the prime minister of Poland,Władysław Sikorski,and the Soviet ambassador to theUnited Kingdom,Ivan Mayski.
Background[edit]
After signing theMolotov–Ribbentrop Pactin 1939,[4]theSoviets invaded Polandand took part in its dismemberment. The Soviet authorities declared Poland to be nonexistent, and all former Polish citizens from the areas annexed by theSoviet Unionwere treated asSoviet citizens.That resulted in the arrest and imprisonment of approximately 2 million Polish citizens (including a quarter of a million prisoners-of-war and 1.5 million deportees[1]) by theNKVDand other Soviet authorities.
Negotiations[edit]
When the international situation changed in 1941 withOperation Barbarossa,the German invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, the Soviet leaderJoseph Stalinbegan to seek help from other countries opposing Germany. Strongly encouraged by British Foreign SecretaryAnthony Eden,Sikorski on 5 July 1941[2][3]opened negotiations with the Soviet ambassador to London, Ivan Mayski, to re-establish diplomatic relations between Poland and the Soviet Union. Sikorski was the architect of the agreement reached by both governments that was signed on 30 July 1941. A further military alliance was signed in Moscow on 14 August 1941.[5][6]Later that year, Sikorski went to Moscow with a diplomatic mission[7](including the future Polish ambassador to Moscow,Stanisław Kot,and the chief of the Polish Military Mission in the Soviet Union, GeneralZygmunt Szyszko-Bohusz).
Provisions[edit]
Stalin agreed to declare all previous pacts that he had with Nazi Germanynull and void,to invalidate the September 1939 partition of Poland and to release tens of thousands of Polish prisoners-of-war held in Soviet camps. Pursuant to an agreement between thePolish government-in-exileand Stalin, the Soviets granted "amnesty"to many Polish citizens on 12 August 1941,[8][9]from whom a 40,000-strong army (Anders Army,later known as thePolish II Corps) was formed under GeneralWładysław Anders.Thewhereabouts of thousands more Polish officers,however, would remain unknown for two more years and weigh heavily on subsequent Polish-Soviet relations.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^abStanislaw MikolajczykThe Pattern of Soviet Domination,Sampson Low, Marston & Co 1948, Page 17
- ^abJozef GarlinskiPoland in the Second World War,ISBN0-333-39258-2Page 109
- ^abThe Fate of Poles in the USSR 1939~1989 by Tomasz PiesakowskiISBN0-901342-24-6Page 73
- ^Stanislaw MikolajczykThe Pattern of Soviet Domination,Sampson Low, Marston & Co 1948, Page 4
- ^Jozef GarlinskiPoland in the Second World War,ISBN0-333-39258-2Page 117
- ^Stanislaw MikolajczykThe Pattern of Soviet Domination,Sampson Low, Marston & Co 1948, Page 18
- ^Stanislaw MikolajczykThe Pattern of Soviet Domination,Sampson Low, Marston & Co 1948, Page 23
- ^The Fate of Poles in the USSR 1939~1989 by Tomasz PiesakowskiISBN0-901342-24-6Page 77
- ^Stanislaw MikolajczykThe Pattern of Soviet Domination,Sampson Low, Marston & Co 1948, Page 19
External links[edit]
- (in Polish)Text of the treaty
- (in English)Polish-Soviet Union Agreements: July 30, 1941
- 1941 in the Soviet Union
- 1941 in Poland
- July 1941 events
- Military alliances involving the Soviet Union
- Military alliances involving Poland
- World War II treaties
- 20th-century military alliances
- Treaties concluded in 1941
- Treaties of the Second Polish Republic
- Treaties of the Soviet Union
- Anthony Eden
- Eponymous treaties
- Poland–Soviet Union relations