The Sikorski–Mayski agreement was a treaty between the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

that was signed in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 30 July 1941.Stanislaw Mikolajczyk ''The Pattern of Soviet Domination'', Sampson Low, Marston & Co 1948, Page 17Jozef Garlinski ''Poland in the Second World War'', Page 109The Fate of Poles in the USSR 1939~1989 by Tomasz Piesakowski Page 73 Its name is taken from its two most notable signatories: the prime minister of Poland,

Władysław Sikorski Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (; 20 May 18814 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader. Before World War I, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause of Polish independenc ...

, and the Soviet ambassador to 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, Ivan Mayski.

Background

After signing the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact in 1939,Stanislaw Mikolajczyk ''The Pattern of Soviet Domination'', Sampson Low, Marston & Co 1948, Page 4 the Soviets invaded Poland and took part in its dismemberment. The Soviet authorities declared Poland to be nonexistent, and all former Polish citizens from the areas annexed by the

were treated as Soviet 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) by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

and other Soviet authorities.

Negotiations

When the international situation changed in 1941 with

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

, the German invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, the Soviet leader

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

began to seek help from other countries opposing Germany. Strongly encouraged by British Foreign Secretary

Anthony Eden Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1955 until his resignation in 1957. Achi ...

, Sikorski on 5 July 1941 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.Jozef Garlinski ''Poland in the Second World War'', Page 117Stanislaw Mikolajczyk ''The Pattern of Soviet Domination'', Sampson Low, Marston & Co 1948, Page 18 Later that year, Sikorski went to Moscow with a diplomatic missionStanislaw Mikolajczyk ''The Pattern of Soviet Domination'', Sampson Low, Marston & Co 1948, Page 23 (including the future Polish ambassador to Moscow, Stanisław Kot, and the chief of the Polish Military Mission in the Soviet Union, General Zygmunt Szyszko-Bohusz).

Provisions

Stalin agreed to declare all previous pacts that he had with Nazi Germany null 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 the

Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile (), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent Occupation ...

and Stalin, the Soviets granted amnesty to many Polish citizens on 12 August 1941,The Fate of Poles in the USSR 1939~1989 by Tomasz Piesakowski Page 77Stanislaw Mikolajczyk ''The Pattern of Soviet Domination'', Sampson Low, Marston & Co 1948, Page 19 from whom a 40,000-strong army ( Anders Army, later known as the Polish II Corps) was formed under General

Władysław Anders Władysław Albert Anders (11 August 1892 – 12 May 1970) was a Polish military officer and politician, and prominent member of the Polish government-in-exile in London. Born in Krośniewice-Błonie, then part of the Russian Empire, he serv ...

. The whereabouts of thousands more Polish officers, however, would remain unknown for two more years and weigh heavily on subsequent Polish-Soviet relations.

References

External links

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Text of the treaty
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sikorski-Mayski agreement 1941 in the Soviet Union 1941 in Poland July 1941 in Europe 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

Background

Negotiations

Provisions

See also

References

External links