http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/tf658004nd No online items Register of the Stanislaw Mikolajczyk papers Finding aid prepared by Zbigniew L. Stanczyk Hoover Institution Library and Archives © 2000 434 Galvez Mall Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305-6003 [email protected] URL: http://www.hoover.org/library-and-archives Register of the Stanislaw 78111 1 Mikolajczyk papers Title: Stanislaw Mikolajczyk papers Date (inclusive): 1899-1966 Collection Number: 78111 Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives Language of Material: In Polish and English Physical Description: 208 manuscript boxes, 9 oversize boxes, 5 phonodiscs(94.2 Linear Feet) Abstract: Correspondence, speeches and writings, reports, notes, newsletters, clippings, photographs, tape recordings, motion picture film, and printed matter, relating to communism in Eastern Europe and Poland, agriculture in Poland, Polish politics, especially during World War II, Polish-Soviet relations, the International Peasant Union, the Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe, and Polish emigre politics. Creator: Mikołajczyk, Stanisław, 1901-1966 Hoover Institution Library & Archives Access Original phonodiscs are restricted; digital access copies are available in the reading room. The remainder of the collection is open for research; materials must be requested at least two business days in advance of intended use. Publication Rights For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Stanislaw Mikolajczyk Papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives. Alternative Form Available Also available on microfilm (233 reels). Digital copy in Poland's National Digital Archive at http://szukajwarchiwach.pl/800/22/0/-/ . It was digitized from microfilm by the Polish State Archives. 1901 July 18Born, Holsterhausen, Westphalia, Germany 1918 Member and active participant of Sokoly, Polish insurrection against the Germans 1920 Graduated from Agricultural High School, People's University Private, Polish Army, Polish-Russo War 1924 Editor, Wloscianin Wielkopolski Secretary, Polish Peasant Party, Poznan district 1930-1935 Parliament member, Polish Peasant Party 1935 Chairman, Poznan Association of Agricultural Circles 1937 Leader, peasant strikes 1939 Vice-President, Polish Parliament in exile Interned in Hungary; escaped to France Private, September campaign 1939-1941 Acting President, Polish National Council 1941-1942 Minister of Interior 1941-1943 Deputy Prime Minister, Sikorski government 1943 July-1944 Prime Minister November 1944 Went to Moscow and Washington 1945 President, Polish Peasant Party Minister of Agriculture Deputy Prime Minister, Warsaw, Provisional Polish Government of National Unity 1947 June Leader of parliamentary opposition Resigned from government posts 1947 Left Poland October 20 1947 November Arrived in New York 26 1948 Founder, Polish Peasant Party in exile Register of the Stanislaw 78111 2 Mikolajczyk papers 1948-1964 President, International Peasant Union 1950 President, Polish National Democratic Committee 1950-1966 President, Assembly of Captive European Nations 1951 Member, Central and Eastern European Committee 1955 Went to Japan 1956 Presided over International Peasant Union Congress, Paris 1966 December Died 13 Scope and Content The Stanislaw Mikolajczyk papers were acquired in 1979 from his son Marian. Shortly thereafter, the late Helena Sworakowska prepared a preliminary inventory, which remained in use for nearly two decades. Detailed processing and preservation microfilming have now been made possible by a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and by matching funds from the Taube Family Foundation. In addition, the grant provides depositing a microfilm copy of these materials in the State Archives of Poland in Warsaw. The papers cover mostly the second part of Mikolajczyk's life, beginning in 1939 when, as a soldier, he made his way to France to join the Polish government-in-exile (which later established itself in London). He served successively as vice-president of the Polish parliament, president of the Polish National Council, minister of the interior, deputy prime minister, and prime minister after the death of Wladyslaw Sikorski in 1943. (As a close associate of the general throughout those years and his successor, Mikolajczyk's archives contain part of Sikorski's working files.) The government service series covers Mikolajczyk's activities in those capacities, as well as his interactions with other offices of the Polish government-in-exile. Particularly significant are the papers relating to his tenure as prime minister, as they reflect a dramatic period of Poland's wartime history; that is especially evident in light of numerous intelligence reports. While the London years are well documented, the period from 1945 to 1947, during which Mikolajczyk served in the provisional governement in Warsaw, is not. Indeed, when he left Poland in October of 1947, forced once again into exile, Mikolajczyk took with him only a small dossier of materials on political persecussions. Complementing the secret police records surviving in Poland, this part of the collection (found in the Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe series) fills important gaps in the country's history after 1945. After 1948, like many other of the Central and East European exiles, Mikolajczyk was very active in unifying émigré circles from Poland as well as from other East European countries. He remained a prominent émigré figure until his death in 1966, and was the leading personality, representing the entire region, in the stuggle against Soviet plans to communize Eastern and Central Europe. His closeness to political circles in Washington allowed him to form the first East European lobby and to put the issue of Soviet occupation on the political agenda of consecutive United States administrations. Mikolajczyk founded and/or presided over many organizations such as the Assembly of Captive European Nations, the International Peasant Union, the Polish Peasant Party in exile, and the Polish National Democratic Committee. He was also very active on behalf of Radio Free Europe. All those efforts are widely represented in the collection, with each of the major organizations he was involved in constituting a separate series. An avid collector of documents, Mikolajczyk was very aware of their significance for history. He also amassed clippings from numerous sources, now gathered into a printed matter series. Finally, researchers will find an extensive audio-visual series containing a very large number of photographs and of audio tapes. Zbigniew Stanczyk August 1999 Subjects and Indexing Terms Anti-communist movements -- United States Poland -- History -- Occupation, 1939-1945 Polish people -- United States World War, 1939-1945 -- Diplomatic history World War, 1939-1945 -- Poland Poland -- Foreign relations -- Soviet Union Soviet Union -- Foreign relations -- Poland Poland -- Politics and government Register of the Stanislaw 78111 3 Mikolajczyk papers Communism -- Europe, Eastern Statesmen -- Poland Communism -- Poland Agriculture -- Poland Selski internat͡sional Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe (1945-1949) BIOGRAPHICAL FILE 1939-1966 Scope and Contents note Appointment books, articles, biographies, clippings, communiqués, correspondence, identification papers, transcripts, and printed matter, arranged alphabetically by subject. General Appointment books box 1, folder 1 1939 box 1, folder 2 1941 box 1, folder 3 1942 box 1, folder 4 1943 box 1, folder 5 1944 box 1, folder 6 1945 box 1, folder 7 1946 box 1, folder 8 1947 box 1, folder 9 1948 box 2, folder 1 1949 box 2, folder 2 1950 box 2, folder 3 1951 box 2, folder 4 1953 box 2, folder 5 1954 box 2, folder 6 1955 box 2, folder 7 1956 box 2, folder 8 1957 box 2, folder 9 1958 box 2, folder 10 1959 box 2, folder 11 1960 box 3, folder 1 1961 box 3, folder 2 1962 box 3, folder 3 1963 box 3, folder 4 1964 box 3, folder 5 1965 box 3, folder 6 1966 box 3, folder 7 Biographical sketches box 3, folder 8 Business cards box 3, folder 9 Contracts for book signing, Paris 1952 Identification papers box 3, folder 10 General Affidavits and passports box 3, folder 11 American 1952-1963 box 3, folder 12 French 1940 box 3, folder 13 Polish 1940 box 3, folder 14 Visas 1955-1957 box 3, folder 15 Printed matter regarding Mikolajczyk Escape from Poland 1947 Communiqués box 4, folder 1 Mikolajczyk, Stanislaw Register of the Stanislaw 78111 4 Mikolajczyk papers BIOGRAPHICAL FILE 1939-1966 box 4, folder 2 Radio Warsaw box 4, folder 3 Correspondence of Jan Ciechanowski, related to Mikolajczyk's escape 1947 November 10, box 4, folder 4 Diary, London November 3-25 box 4, folder 5 Letters of congratulations sent to Mrs. Mikolajczyk 1947 October-November Press clippings American 1947 box 4, folder 6 January-September box 4, folder 7 October box 4, folder 8 November box 4, folder 9 Belgian 1947 British 1947 box 4, folder 10 October box 4, folder 11 November box 4, folder 12 1948 box 4, folder 13 French 1947 box 4, folder 14 Italian 1947 Polish Communist and peasant in Poland 1947 box 4, folder 15 August box 4, folder 16 October-November box 4, folder 17 1948 Émigré 1947 box 4, folder 18 American box 4, folder 19 Austrian box 4, folder 20 British box 5, folder 1 French box 5, folder 2 Swedish box 5, folder 3 Swedish 1947 box 5, folder 4 Swiss 1947 Subject file box 5, folder 5 General box 5, folder 6 Fellow escapees box 5, folder 7 New