Józef Hieronim Retinger (
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
, 17 April 1888 12 June 1960,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
;
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
noms de guerre ''Salamandra'', "Salamander", and ''Brzoza'', "Birch Tree") was a
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
scholar, international political activist with access to some of the leading power brokers of the 20th century, a publicist and writer.
Already as a gifted student in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
and
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
he mixed with the leading lights of music and literature. Most notably, he became a friend of compatriot
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in t ...
.
During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the young Retinger became politically active in
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
and
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
on behalf of the Polish independence movement. Following a failed attempt to broker peace between Austria-Hungary and the
Allies of World War I
The Allies of World War I, Entente Powers, or Allied Powers were a coalition of countries led by France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Italy, Japan, and the United States against the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Em ...
, he had to retreat to
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
, where he became an economic adviser.
After the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, he was principal adviser to the
Polish government-in-exile
The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...
. Early in 1944, a daring mission into
Occupied Poland
' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October 2 ...
by parachute, with the help of British intelligence, added to his air of mystery and subsequent controversy.
A Freemason with a reputation as a
grey eminence
Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...
, after World War II he went on to cofound the
European Movement, which led to the establishment of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, and was instrumental in forming the secretive
Bilderberg Group. In 1958, he was nominated for the
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
.
Early life
Józef Retinger was born in
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
(then part of
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
), the youngest of five children: his father had a daughter, Aniela, from a first marriage to Helena Jawornicka.
His mother was Maria Krystyna
Czyrniańska, daughter of a
Greek Catholic The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually.
The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...
Lemko professor of chemistry at the
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...
. His father, Józef Stanisław Retinger, was the personal legal counsel and successful adviser to French-born Count
Władysław Zamoyski
Count Władysław Zamoyski (1853–1924) was a French-born Polish nobleman ( szlachcic), diplomat and heir of Kórnik, Głuchów, Janusz, Babin and Bargów (estates in the Grand Duchy of Poznań). Having acquired estates on the Polish ...
. Retinger's great-grandfather, Filip Rettinger, was a Jewish tailor from
Tarnów
Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Tarnów ...
who with his family converted to Catholicism in 1827. When his lawyer grandson died, Count Zamoyski took the promising youngster, Józef, into his household and paid for him to attend the
Bartłomiej Nowodworski High School
Bartłomiej Nowodworski High School (''I Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Bartłomieja Nowodworskiego''; unofficially known as: Nowodworek) in Kraków, Poland is one of the oldest secondary schools in Poland. Its current location is on Na Groblach Sq ...
in Kraków. Retinger's eldest brother, Emil, became a commander in the
Polish Navy, while his son, , was stationed in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
(1943–45), as a member then leader of
Squadron 308 of the
Polish Air Force
The Polish Air Force ( pl, Siły Powietrzne, , Air Forces) is the aerial warfare branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 16,425 mil ...
. Retinger's brother, Juliusz, taught
physiological chemistry at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
and
University of Wilno
Vilnius University ( lt, Vilniaus universitetas) is a public research university, oldest in the Baltic states and in Northern Europe outside the United Kingdom (or 6th overall following foundations of Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, Glasgow and ...
. Retinger himself initially considered a career in the priesthood, but three months in the Jesuit
novitiate
The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...
in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
confirmed he would not be suited to the life.
Further financed by Count Zamoyski in 1906, Retinger entered simultaneously the
Ecole des sciences politiques
, motto_lang = fr
, mottoeng = Roots of the Future
, type = Public university, Public research university''Grande école''
, established =
, founder = Émile Boutmy
, a ...
and the
Sorbonne in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
and two years later, aged twenty, became the youngest person ever to earn a
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
in literature from there.
While in the French capital, armed with introductions from Zamoyski and his own relative, the salonnière and pianist
Misia Sert, he moved in intellectual circles and was befriended by among others,
André Gide,
François Mauriac, ,
Jean Giraudoux
Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux (; 29 October 1882 – 31 January 1944) was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II.
His work ...
,
Erik Satie
Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an und ...
and
Maurice Ravel
Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...
. His early literary ambitions were stopped in their tracks when he presented his first novel, ''"Les Souffleurs"'' to André Gide for his opinion. Gide told him: ''Joseph, you will never be a writer.''
He next went to
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
to study
comparative psychology
Comparative psychology refers to the scientific study of the behavior and mental processes of non-human animals, especially as these relate to the phylogenetic history, adaptive significance, and development of behavior. Research in this area addr ...
for a year. From there, encouraged by Zamoyski, in 1910 he moved to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, where he entered the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
for a year's study and began a lobbying operation on behalf of the Polish cause and its populations scattered across three ailing empires. Formally he became Director of the London Office of the Polish National Committee (1912–1914).
During this time he continued to move in élite circles and thanks to an introduction by
Arnold Bennett
Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist. He wrote prolifically: between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaboratio ...
whom he had met in Paris, Retinger developed a close friendship with his older Polish compatriot, the already well established novelist,
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in t ...
.
Retinger urged Conrad to visit Poland, and on 28 July 1914, the day
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
broke out, Retinger, his wife Otolia, and Conrad, his wife, and their two sons arrived in Kraków, the two men's childhood stamping grounds (they were alumni of the same
secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
). Due to the closeness of the Russian border (Russia was then allied to Great Britain), the Conrads soon sought greater safety in the
Tatra Mountains resort of
Zakopane
Zakopane ( Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the extreme south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has been par ...
. Retinger would write about Conrad in his 1943 book, ''Conrad and His Contemporaries''. Historian
Norman Davies
Ivor Norman Richard Davies (born 8 June 1939) is a Welsh-Polish historian, known for his publications on the history of Europe, Poland and the United Kingdom. He has a special interest in Central and Eastern Europe and is UNESCO Professor at ...
suggests that it was probably Conrad who introduced the "polyglot and polymath" Retinger to the British intelligence services.
Later Retinger became a personal friend of Major-General Sir
Colin Gubbins
Major-General Sir Colin McVean Gubbins (2 July 1896 – 11 February 1976) was the prime mover of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) in the Second World War.
Gubbins was also responsible for setting up the secret Auxiliary Units, a commando ...
, wartime head of
SOE SOE may refer to:
Organizations
* State-owned enterprise
* Special Operations Executive, a British World War II clandestine sabotage and resistance organisation
** Special Operations Executive in the Netherlands, or Englandspiel
* Society of Opera ...
, and after the war an
MI6
The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...
"asset".
World War I
With the clouds of war closing in, the project of writing a play together with Conrad based on the latter's novel, ''
Nostromo
''Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard'' is a 1904 novel by Joseph Conrad, set in the fictitious South American republic of "Costaguana". It was originally published serially in monthly instalments of '' T.P.'s Weekly''.
In 1998, the Modern Libra ...
'' had to be abandoned as both men hurriedly left Austria Hungary. Retinger would have been eligible for military call up in
Galicia, but no mention of this is made by his biographers. Instead, he put aside literary endeavours and once more assumed the role of a political lobbyist for Poland, publishing pamphlets and travelling between London, Paris and
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, aided by Conrad in London.
In the first years of the war, this was not on the agenda of the major powers. Retinger looked instead for other potential alliances and political leverage which led to meetings with leading
Zionists
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Jew ...
of the time, including
Chaim Weizmann
Chaim Azriel Weizmann ( he, חיים עזריאל ויצמן ', russian: Хаим Евзорович Вейцман, ''Khaim Evzorovich Veytsman''; 27 November 1874 – 9 November 1952) was a Russian-born biochemist, Zionist leader and Israel ...
,
Vladimir Zhabotinski and
Nahum Sokolow who were seeking international recognition and rights for the
Jewish diaspora
The Jewish diaspora ( he, תְּפוּצָה, təfūṣā) or exile (Hebrew: ; Yiddish: ) is the dispersion of Israelites or Jews out of their ancient ancestral homeland (the Land of Israel) and their subsequent settlement in other parts of t ...
.
In 1916 guided by Zamoyski and with the approval of
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...
,
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during t ...
and
Georges Clemenceau with his old Parisian connections,
Sixtus and
Xavier de Bourbon Parme, the Duchess of Montebello and Marquis
Boni de Castellane
Marie Ernest Paul Boniface de Castellane, Marquis de Castellane (February 14, 1867 – October 20, 1932), known as Boni de Castellane, was a French nobleman and politician. He was known as a leading '' Belle Époque'' tastemaker and the first hus ...
, as well as Zamoyski's friend the Polish
General of the Jesuits,
Włodzimierz Ledóchowski, Retinger became a "courier" in the secretive European dynastic negotiation suing for peace with Austria.
It became known as the ''
Sixtus Affair'' but was a failure, due to Germany's refusal to cooperate thus making Austria more dependent on it. In 1917 he met
Arthur "Boy" Capel, the half-French dilettante, polo player and "sponsor" of
Coco Chanel. Capel is said to have planted in Retinger's mind the idea of a world federal government based on an Anglo-French alliance. After concerns for his personal safety due to his "political meddling" in Austria-Hungary and in the emergent
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, in 1918 Retinger was banned from France, and sought sanctuary in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
for several months.
Mexican years
He travelled on to
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
and then to
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, where he became an unofficial political adviser to union organizer
Luis Morones whom he fortuitously met crossing the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
, and to President
Plutarco Elías Calles.
A glimpse of Retinger, newly divorced and love lorn for the American journalist,
Jane Anderson, appears in the biography of another American woman, the communist sympathiser
Katherine Anne Porter
Katherine Anne Porter (May 15, 1890 – September 18, 1980) was an American journalist, essayist, short story writer, novelist, and political activist. Her 1962 novel ''Ship of Fools'' was the best-selling novel in America that year, but her sho ...
, a member of the Morones circle. In it he is described as a "Polish intriguer" and "British Marxist". In 1921 while on an obscure mission to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
to buy saddles, Retinger was arrested and imprisoned in
Laredo and Porter was despatched from Mexico to get him released.
That same year Retinger had proposed that Katherine Porter and her friend Mary Doherty accompany him to Europe to do "collaborative work", an offer that was spurned.
Retinger helped advance Mexico's nationalization of its oil industry in 1928.
[ Ethridge's full review is on pp. 94–95] His activities in Mexico lasted a total of almost seven years and only ended with Calles's fall from power in 1936. They inspired Retinger to write three volumes on the tumultuous events of that Latin American republic.
The Mexican years were punctuated by trips back to Europe where he took on the role of Representative in the United Kingdom of the Polish Socialist Party (1924–1928). In 1926 he married his second wife, Stella, with whom he travelled to Mexico on one occasion. After her death in 1933 his two daughters were left in the care of their maternal grandmother and were estranged from him until the 1950s.
In the rest of the interwar period, he published many contributions in periodicals, such as the Polish ''Wiadomości Literackie'' (Literary News) (see
Wiadomości), on literary and political subjects.
Building blocks on the table
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Retinger who was in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, was involved in arranging for Polish troops to be transferred to Britain from France. He was bidden by Winston Churchill personally to escort
Władysław Sikorski by plane to England from France, which had just capitulated to the invading Germans.
He became principal adviser and confidant to the Prime Minister of the
Polish Government in Exile
The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...
now re-established in London.
In fact, their political relationship went back to 1916 and was strengthened during
Wladyslaw Sikorski's earlier brief stint as prime minister, 1922-23 in newly independent Poland, and came to greater fruition when both men were later in exile in London.
Sikorski's dependence on Retinger was the greater as he did not have mastery of
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
. At this time Retinger was despatched to talk with other exiled government representatives in London, who included
Marcel-Henri Jaspar
Marcel-Henri Jaspar (Schaerbeek, 23 June 1901 – Ixelles, 14 May 1982), was a Belgian lawyer, politician, and later diplomat. He is best known for his unsuccessful attempt with Camille Huysmans and others to establish an unrecognised Belgian gove ...
,
Paul Van Zeeland,
Paul-Henri Spaak in preparation for a post-war geopolitical landscape. He went on to posit a "Sikorski Plan" consisting of two stages, the first of which was signed in January 1942 and proposed a Polish-Czech confederation. The idea was to expand it into a
Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...
an confederation with Poland and
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
,
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
as its nucleus around which would be grouped
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
, Yugoslavia and
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
. The agenda behind this was to create a common political blue-print for smaller countries abutting larger European powers and became the basis of a Belgian-Dutch union which would mirror the Polish-Czech arrangement.
This scheme of Retinger's caused problems between London and
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
. In order not to tread on Soviet toes, the British altered their position and refused to back Sikorski's negotiations with the eight smaller European states. In his speech on the Council of Europe,
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
br>
BBC radio broadcaston 21 March 1943 referred to the necessity of smaller nations forming groupings, but that it was too early to go into detail. The most Retinger was able to achieve was to push through the
Sikorski-Mayski Agreement, signed on 30 July 1941, which provided for the formation of the
Anders' army, thus ridding Stalin of the immediate human problem posed by the hundreds of thousands of Polish
POW
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...
s and deportees from the
Soviet occupied Kresy regions of the former
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...
, who after an arduous odyssey across thousands of miles would eventually end up as the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
's human problem. This trade-off adumbrated the
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
and
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference (codenamed Argonaut), also known as the Crimea Conference, held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the post ...
s.
Brushes with death
Retinger narrowly avoided perishing in the sea off
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
with
Władysław Sikorski, in July 1943, but for the fact that he was not needed to accompany the premier on a troop inspection in the Middle East and would be better employed in London. The spare seat on the plane went to Sikorski's daughter who died with her father.
Retinger was devastated by this turn of events. His relationship with Sikorski's successor,
Stanislaw Mikolajczyk Stanislav and variants may refer to:
People
* Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.)
Places
* Stanislav, a coastal village in Kherson, Ukraine
* Stanislaus County, C ...
was much more ambivalent, but he obtained his consent for a special mission to Poland under
SOE SOE may refer to:
Organizations
* State-owned enterprise
* Special Operations Executive, a British World War II clandestine sabotage and resistance organisation
** Special Operations Executive in the Netherlands, or Englandspiel
* Society of Opera ...
in April 1944.
With an SOE brief and without prior training, Retinger, aged 56, parachuted into
occupied Poland
' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October 2 ...
with 2nd Lt.
Tadeusz Chciuk-Celt
Tadeusz Chciuk-Celt (17 October 1916 – 10 April 2001) was a Polish "Silent-unseen" special forces fighter during World War II, later journalist, and published author. He did two parachute missions into German occupied Poland and for his braver ...
, (see
Operation Salamander), to meet with Polish underground figures, to deliver money to the Polish underground, and to "explain to his fellow Poles in the homeland 'how are we going to lose this war'".
Following at least one assassination attempt on him, Retinger expressed his frustration thus:
The latter quip was a reference to elements in the
Polish Underground Army
The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...
, the
AK who were convinced Retinger was not serving the interests of his country and should therefore be "removed". One apparent attempt to liquidate him in Poland was on the grounds of a "death sentence" to be carried out on the alleged orders of general
Kazimierz Sosnkowski
General Kazimierz Sosnkowski (; Warsaw, 19 November 1885 – 11 October 1969, Arundel, Quebec) was a Polish independence fighter, general, diplomat, and architect.
He was a major political figure and an accomplished commander, notable in p ...
. It was foiled by the intervention of an old friend and
AK fighter, Tadeusz Gebethner. There was also an attempt during his visit in occupied Poland to poison him, which failed. On his return to London, he spent some time in the
Dorchester Hotel
The Dorchester is a five-star luxury hotel on Park Lane and Deanery Street in London, to the east of Hyde Park. It is one of the world's most prestigious and expensive hotels. The Dorchester opened on 18 April 1931, and it still retains its ...
in London's
Park Lane
Park Lane is a dual carriageway road in the City of Westminster in Central London. It is part of the London Inner Ring Road and runs from Hyde Park Corner in the south to Marble Arch in the north. It separates Hyde Park to the west from May ...
recovering from his ordeal of the trip, which left him lame in one leg for the rest of his life, possibly due to the
Polyneuritis
Peripheral neuropathy, often shortened to neuropathy, is a general term describing disease affecting the peripheral nerves, meaning nerves beyond the brain and spinal cord. Damage to peripheral nerves may impair sensation, movement, gland, or or ...
brought on by the poison. His first visitor at the Dorchester was Sir
Anthony Eden
Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon, (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1955 until his resignation in 1957.
Achieving rapid promo ...
, the foreign secretary.
Immediately after the war, in 1945-6 Retinger travelled to
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
with emergency aid for the capital's population. It consisted largely of tons of British and US Army surplus, such as equipment, blankets and field-kitchens.
When his erstwhile military escort from "operation Salamander",
Tadeusz Chciuk and his new wife, Ewa, were arrested in Poland as subversives by the Polish Communist security service, Retinger allegedly appealed over their heads directly to
Molotov in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
to have them released. Apparently the personal intervention succeeded. In 1948 the Chciuks became refugees in Germany.
Unwanted intrusion
Dark days followed World War II when tensions rose between former Western and Eastern allies and in April 1946 Retinger's flat in
Bayswater
Bayswater is an area within the City of Westminster in West London. It is a built-up district with a population density of 17,500 per square kilometre, and is located between Kensington Gardens to the south, Paddington to the north-east, and ...
, West London, was broken into and his and his secretary's files ransacked by persons unknown. He reported the matter to
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...
, but the
Metropolitan Police
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
were not overly bothered. As a result, Retinger escalated his complaint and ended up being interviewed by the British security services. His view was that the newly Communist embassy of the
Polish People's Republic
The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...
was responsible for the break-in.
From the moment Winston Churchill had made his "
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...
" speech in
Fulton, Missouri, in April 1946, Retinger turned his efforts to a modified European project he had harboured for decades.
Vision for Europe
After World War II, Retinger feared another devastating war in Europe, this time fought between "Russia" and "the Anglo-Saxons".
He became a leading advocate of
European unification
Pan-European identity is the sense of personal identification with Europe, in a cultural or political sense. The concept is discussed in the context of European integration, historically in connection with hypothetical proposals, but since t ...
as a means of securing peace. He helped found both the
European Movement and the
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...
, somewhat to the dismay of the philosopher Count
Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi
Richard Nikolaus Eijiro, Count of Coudenhove-Kalergi (16 November 1894 – 27 July 1972) was an Austrian-Japanese politician, philosopher and Count of Coudenhove-Kalergi. A pioneer of European integration, he served as the founding president of ...
, the post-
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
anti-bolshevist founder of the
Paneuropean Union movement.
Retinger, with his connections in Holland, Belgium, and
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
(he was a friend of
Denis de Rougemont
Denys Louis de Rougemont (September 8, 1906 – December 6, 1985), known as Denis de Rougemont (), was a Swiss writer and cultural theorist who wrote in French. One of the non-conformists of the 1930s, he addressed the perils of totalitarianis ...
), took his cue from
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
's 1947
Zurich speech and found fertile ground with thirteen British
Conservative members of Parliament who backed the idea of a loose European association of states. Retinger was the driving force in the creation of the
European League for Economic Cooperation The European League for Economic Cooperation or ELEC (french: Ligue Européenne de Coopération Économique, LECE) is an independent political advocacy group which advocates for closer European integration.
Established in 1946, ELEC was one of the ...
(initially called the Independent League of Economic Cooperation). He subsequently approached
Duncan Sandys, Churchill's son-in-law and chairman of the
United Europe Movement, about improving cooperation amongst the various organisations pursuing European unity. They agreed to organise a small meeting of their two organisation with the
Nouvelle Equipes Internationales and the
European Union of Federalists. This was held in Paris on 20 July 1947 when it was agreed to establish the
Committee for the Coordination of the International Movements for European Unity. In December 1947 this was renamed the International Committee of the Movements for European Unity with Sandys as the Executive Chairman and Retinger as its Honorary Secretary. They organised the 1948
Hague Congress which brought together the two camps of those for a unified Europe and those in favour of a federal Europe.
During the congress, Retinger networked assiduously among the delegates, who included the Vatican diplomat,
Giovanni Montini
Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his death in Augus ...
, the future
Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...
. Ensuing discussions led eventually to the formation in 1951 of a
European Coal and Steel Community
The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was a European organization created after World War II to regulate the coal and steel industries. It was formally established in 1951 by the Treaty of Paris, signed by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembo ...
.
Creator of Bilderberg
Retinger was the initiator and architect of the informal
Bilderberg conferences in 1952-54 and was their permanent secretary until his premature death in London in 1960. The original group which met in the eponymous Dutch hotel in 1954 was gathered by Retinger and included
David Rockefeller,
Denis Healey
Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey, (30 August 1917 – 3 October 2015) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979 and as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970; he ...
with
Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, as chairman. The purpose was to stimulate understanding between Europe and the US as the Cold War developed by bringing together financiers, industrialists, politicians and opinion formers. All discussions were to be strictly under
Chatham House Rule
Under the Chatham House Rule, anyone who comes to a meeting is free to use information from the discussion, but is not allowed to reveal who made any particular comment. It is designed to increase openness of discussion. The rule is a system for h ...
s. A founding member of the group, later British
Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
Foreign Secretary, Healey, described the secretive Bilderberg meetings as the "brainchild" of Retinger.
Despite eschewing any distinctions or medals throughout his life, in 1958 he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He died in poverty of lung cancer.
He was buried at
North Sheen Cemetery
North Sheen Cemetery is a cemetery in Kew in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (historically in North Sheen, Surrey). It is managed by Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
The cemetery, which adjoins Mortlake Road (the A205 or South Circu ...
in the presence of five British cabinet ministers as well as of his two younger daughters who were finally reconciled with him.
According to the oration of Sir
Edward Beddington-Behrens
Major Sir Edward Beddington-Behrens (2 February 1897 – 28 November 1968) was a British soldier, businessman and patron of the arts, and a leading advocate of European co-operation.
Early life
Beddington-Behrens was born in Paris in 189 ...
, Retinger not only had special access to
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along wi ...
but also to the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
.
Retinger's long time personal assistant and the editor of his posthumous memoirs, John Pomian, actually , was another Polish emigré in London, later a director of the Heim gallery in London's
St James's, owned by the influential Polish art historian and philanthropist,
Andrzej Ciechanowiecki
Andrew Stanislaus (Andrzej Stanisław) Ciechanowiecki (28 September 1924 – 2 November 2015), Dąbrowa Coat of Arms, was a Polish-British nobleman, diplomat, prisoner and agent of Communist Poland, economist, academic, art historian, philanthro ...
.
Personal life
Retinger married twice. In 1912 he wed the well-born Otolia Zubrzycka (divorced 1921, died 1984), with whom he had a daughter, Malina (later Puchalska). In 1926 he wed Stella Morel (died 1933) – daughter of French-born pacifist and
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
member of Parliament,
E.D. Morel
Edmund Dene Morel (born Georges Edmond Pierre Achille Morel Deville; 10 July 1873 – 12 November 1924) was a French-born British journalist, author, pacifist and politician.
As a young official at the shipping company Elder Dempster, Morel ob ...
, and Mary, née Richardson – with whom he had two daughters, Maria (later Fforde) and Stasia (later French). Among his grandchildren are David French – translator into English of
Andrzej Sapkowski's ''
Witcher Saga
''The Witcher'' ( pl, Wiedźmin ) is a series of six fantasy novels and 15 short stories written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The series revolves around the eponymous "witcher", Geralt of Rivia. In Sapkowski's works, "witchers" are bea ...
'' – and fantasy novelist
Jasper Fforde.
During the Great War and after, Retinger appears to have fallen under the spell of several women, especially the American journalist
Jane Anderson, a supposed lover of Joseph Conrad.
Retinger's own liaison with Anderson brought about the breakdown of Retinger's marriage to Otolia and drove a wedge between him and his friend Conrad.
However Conrad biographer, John Stape, gives an alternative version for the cooling of relations between the two men, suggesting instead that as Retinger's enthusiasms were not shared by the novelist, shortly after the war, without his charming wife by his side, Retinger's proneness to exaggeration and tactlessness made him less socially acceptable.
Controversy
Over the decades since his 1960 death, the left-leaning Retinger continues to draw fascination and controversy with his political skill, his apparently selfless single-mindedness, and his lasting institutional legacy in Europe and beyond.
Adam Pragier, a notable Polish exile and trenchant political commentator (and a secondary-school contemporary of Retinger's), has described him as "a sort of adventurer, but in the good sense of the word". On the other hand, detractors impugn his influence due to alleged connections, with deeply secret and malign factions, for which there is so far no reliable evidence. He remains an enigma, and probably the one substantial contributor to postwar European peace who has no physical monument.
In 2000 ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
s
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard (born 7 December 1957) is the international business editor of the '' Daily Telegraph''.
Early life
Evans-Pritchard was born in Oxford. He was educated at Malvern College and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he read ...
revealed, from declassified US Government records, that:
This revelation touching on
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
circumstances was subsequently analysed in greater detail in 2003 by ''
Le Figaro
''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...
'' commentator . However, as professor Hugh Wilford shows, the initiative to win American backing for a "United States of Europe" came neither from
Allen Dulles
Allen Welsh Dulles (, ; April 7, 1893 – January 29, 1969) was the first civilian Director of Central Intelligence (DCI), and its longest-serving director to date. As head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the early Cold War, he ov ...
, deputy chief, then chief of the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
, nor from Senator
William Fulbright, chairman of the
American Committee on United Europe
The American Committee on United Europe (ACUE), founded in 1948, was a private American organization that sought to counter communism in Europe by promoting European federalism. Its first chairman was former head of the Office of Strategic Services ...
, but from European lobbyists of disparate motivation, namely Coudenhove-Kalergi and Retinger, the latter eclipsing the former due to Retinger's close connection with Winston Churchill on European matters.
Retinger's plan was that the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
should be integral to political and economic support for a war-damaged
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
. As "head of casting" for his project, he set about finding key Americans to collaborate with him, among them
Charles Douglas Jackson
General Charles Douglas (C. D.) Jackson (March 16, 1902 – September 18, 1964) was a United States government propagandist and senior executive of Time Inc. As an expert on psychological warfare he served in the Office of Strategic Services in W ...
,
Time-Life publisher in the 1940s and one-time head of propaganda at the
Eisenhower White House.
Retinger has inspired disparate opinions. He was a figure whose allegiances, like his roots, remain obscure and whose accounts of himself varied according to his audience, thus undercutting his reliability – as reflected in various
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in t ...
biographies and numerous other sources, including the considered, annotated review, by
Norbert Wójtowicz
Norbert is a Germanic given name, from ''nord'' "north" and ''berht'' "bright". Norbert is also occasionally found as a surname.
People with the given name
Academia
* Norbert Angermann (born 1936), German historian
* Norbert A’Campo (born 1941 ...
of Poland's
Institute of National Remembrance, of
Marek Celt's 2006 posthumously published ''Z Retingerem do Warszawy i z powrotem. Raport z podziemia 1944'',
'To Warsaw with Retinger and Back. A Report from the Underground 1944''edited by Wojciech Frazik. The disparity in views on Retinger, despite the perception of some personality flaws, does not alter Retinger's mature postwar European legacy.
Selected works
By J. H. Retinger:
*
*
* available at University of Leeds Library
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
About Retinger:
*
*
*
* .
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
See also
*
List of governments in exile during World War II
Many countries established governments in exile during World War II. The Second World War caused many governments to lose sovereignty as their territories came under occupation by enemy powers. Governments in exile sympathetic to the Allied or ...
*
European Movement
*
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
*
List of Poles
Notes
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Illustrated biography of Jozef Retinger assembled by Jan Chciuk-CeltPolish Soviet Relations During The Second World War photographs held by the
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...
with Józef Retinger (extreme left) at the signing of the Sikorski-Maiski agreement at the FO on 30.07.1941
Photograph of Retinger flanking Churchill at the Hague 1948, on Retinger's grandson's website*
ttp://bilderbergmeetings.co.uk/jozef-retinger/ Bilderberg website on Retinger's life in brief
{{DEFAULTSORT:Retinger, Jozef
1888 births
1960 deaths
Ambassadors of Poland to Russia
Council of Europe people
Members of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group
Polish politicians
University of Paris alumni
Alumni of the University of London
Polish Freemasons
European integration pioneers
Geopoliticians
Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom
Polish diplomats
Polish spies
Secret Intelligence Service personnel
Special Operations Executive personnel
20th-century Polish writers
Exophonic writers
Polish essayists
Male essayists
Polish political writers
Polish people of World War II
History of the European Union
Polish people of Jewish descent
Polish people of Rusyn descent
Burials at North Sheen Cemetery