Raczyński's Note, dated December 10, 1942, and signed by Minister of Foreign Affairs

Edward Raczyński Edward Raczyński was the name of three members of a Polish aristocratic family: * Edward Raczyński (1786–1845) Polish conservative politician, protector of arts, founder of the Raczynski Library in Poznań * Edward Aleksander Raczyński (1847� ...

, was the official diplomatic note from the government of Poland in exile regarding the extermination of the

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

German-occupied Poland German-occupied Poland during World War II consisted of two major parts with different types of administration. The Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany following the invasion of Poland at the beginning of World War II—nearly a quarter of the ...

. Sent to the foreign ministers of the Allies, it was the first official report on

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

to inform the Western public about these crimes. It identified

Treblinka Treblinka () was an extermination camp, built and operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the village of Treblinka in what is now the Masovian Voivodeship. The camp ...

, Bełżec and

Sobibór Sobibor (, Polish: ) was an extermination camp built and operated by Nazi Germany as part of Operation Reinhard. It was located in the forest near the village of Żłobek Duży in the General Government region of German-occupied Poland. As ...

by name as

extermination camps Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (german: Vernichtungslager), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocaust. The v ...

. It was also the first official speech of one of the governments of Nazi-occupied Europe in defense of all Jews persecuted by

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

– not only citizens of their country.

History

The note was written by Polish diplomat, Edward Raczyński, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Polish Exile Government 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 ...

, based on documents transported in the form of microfilm (materials prepared by the Jewish Affairs Department of the Polish

Home 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 ...

Headquarters) to London by courier

Jan Karski Jan Karski (24 June 1914 – 13 July 2000) was a Polish soldier, resistance-fighter, and diplomat during World War II. He is known for having acted as a courier in 1940–1943 to the Polish government-in-exile and to Poland's Western Allies ab ...

and confirmed by his certificate, and his own reports prepared in 1940–1942. Raczyński's note, dated December 10, 1942, was sent to the governments of the signatory countries of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Declaration. It was personally addressed to other foreign ministers. On behalf of the Polish government, Raczyński informed the governments of all Allied countries about the desperate situation of Jews in the German-occupied Poland and the unfolding

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...

being carried out by the Germans, and called for help.

The note was typed on nine pages. In 21 points it presented a description of the background of the problem and the current situation of Jews in occupied Poland, a chronological description of the information campaign of the Polish government on this area, and a call for allied governments to stop the crime. The note was sent to the foreign ministers of the 26 governments that signed the

Declaration by United Nations The Declaration by United Nations was the main treaty that formalized the Allies of World War II and was signed by 47 national governments between 1942 and 1945. On 1 January 1942, during the Arcadia Conference, the Allied "Four Policemen, Big Fo ...

in 1942. Below is the note sent to

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 ...

on 10 December 1942:Engel (2014) File:2 Nota 1.jpg, Cover of document File:2 Nota 2.jpg, Page I, addressed to

(10 December 1942) File:2 Nota 3.jpg, Page II File:2 Nota 4.jpg, Page III File:2 Nota 5.jpg, Page IV File:2 Nota 6.jpg, Page V File:2 Nota 7.jpg, Page VI File:2 Nota 8.jpg, Page VII File:2 Nota 9.jpg, Page VIII File:2 Nota 10.jpg, Page IX

References

Bibliography

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External links

75th Anniversary of "Raczyński's Note". The full content of the brochure in PDF format: The Mass Extermination of Jews in German Occupied Poland.The Mass Extermination of Jews in German Occupied Poland (PDF), Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raczyński's Note Government reports 1942 documents 1942 in England Holocaust historiography Holocaust historical documents International response to the Holocaust The Holocaust in Poland

History

Contents

See also

References

Bibliography

External links