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One of his first assignments in 1934 was work on the [[German–Polish Non-Aggression Pact]].<ref name="Cieplinski">[[Feigue Cieplinski]], "[http://www.binghamton.edu/history/resources/bjoh/PolesAndJews.htm Poles and Jews: the Quest for Self-Determination, 1919-1934] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020918204723/http://www.binghamton.edu/history/resources/bjoh/PolesAndJews.htm |date=2002-09-18 }}," ''Binghamton Journal of History'', fall 2002, last accessed 2 June 2006.</ref> |
One of his first assignments in 1934 was work on the [[German–Polish Non-Aggression Pact]].<ref name="Cieplinski">[[Feigue Cieplinski]], "[http://www.binghamton.edu/history/resources/bjoh/PolesAndJews.htm Poles and Jews: the Quest for Self-Determination, 1919-1934] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020918204723/http://www.binghamton.edu/history/resources/bjoh/PolesAndJews.htm |date=2002-09-18 }}," ''Binghamton Journal of History'', fall 2002, last accessed 2 June 2006.</ref> |
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On 20 September 1938 he met with [[Adolf Hitler]] who, in an attempt to convince Poland to join in an attack on Czechoslovakia, told Lipski "he had in mind an idea for settling the Jewish problem by way of emigration to the colonies with an understanding with Poland, Hungary, and possibly also Rumania". Lipski responded enthusiastically that "if he finds such a solution we will erect him a beautiful monument in Warsaw".<ref>[https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14623529908413950?journalCode=cjgr20 Cymet, David. "Polish state antisemitism as a major factor leading to the Holocaust." Journal of Genocide Research 1.2 (1999): 169-212.]</ref> |
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Lipski met with German Foreign Minister [[Joachim von Ribbentrop]] at [[Berchtesgaden]], [[Hitler]]'s mountain retreat, on 24 October 1938. Ribbentrop demanded that Poland agree to the German annexation of the [[Free City of Danzig]]; Lipski refused.<ref>Richard Overy, ''The Road to War'', MacMillan London: 1989</ref> According to [[AJP Taylor]],<ref name="AJPT">AJP Taylor, ''The Origins of the Second World War'', London: 1961</ref> just days before the [[German invasion of Poland]], Lipski refused to get out of bed, despite the urging of British diplomats, to meet with von Ribbentrop to hear Germany's latest demands of Poland. The anecdote illustrates the attitude of [[Józef Beck]] towards Hitler's tactic of making demands and raising the stakes: Poland would not play that game. Under British pressure to negotiate a solution to the [[polish corridor|Danzig crisis]], Lipski eventually phoned to ask for an interview with Ribbentrop on 31 August 1939, but upon learning that Lipski would be present only as an ambassador, rather than as a [[plenipotentiary]], the meeting was refused. [[German invasion of Poland|Poland was invaded the next day]]. According to Taylor, the Germans were aware of Lipski's limited negotiating authority.<ref name="AJPT"/> |
Lipski met with German Foreign Minister [[Joachim von Ribbentrop]] at [[Berchtesgaden]], [[Hitler]]'s mountain retreat, on 24 October 1938. Ribbentrop demanded that Poland agree to the German annexation of the [[Free City of Danzig]]; Lipski refused.<ref>Richard Overy, ''The Road to War'', MacMillan London: 1989</ref> According to [[AJP Taylor]],<ref name="AJPT">AJP Taylor, ''The Origins of the Second World War'', London: 1961</ref> just days before the [[German invasion of Poland]], Lipski refused to get out of bed, despite the urging of British diplomats, to meet with von Ribbentrop to hear Germany's latest demands of Poland. The anecdote illustrates the attitude of [[Józef Beck]] towards Hitler's tactic of making demands and raising the stakes: Poland would not play that game. Under British pressure to negotiate a solution to the [[polish corridor|Danzig crisis]], Lipski eventually phoned to ask for an interview with Ribbentrop on 31 August 1939, but upon learning that Lipski would be present only as an ambassador, rather than as a [[plenipotentiary]], the meeting was refused. [[German invasion of Poland|Poland was invaded the next day]]. According to Taylor, the Germans were aware of Lipski's limited negotiating authority.<ref name="AJPT"/> |
Revision as of 04:51, 28 May 2019
Józef Lipski (5 June 1894 – 1 November 1958) was a Polish diplomat and Ambassador to Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1939. Lipski played a key role in the foreign policy of the Second Polish Republic.
Life
Lipski trained as a lawyer, and joined the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1925.
One of his first assignments in 1934 was work on the German–Polish Non-Aggression Pact.[1]
Lipski met with German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop at Berchtesgaden, Hitler's mountain retreat, on 24 October 1938. Ribbentrop demanded that Poland agree to the German annexation of the Free City of Danzig; Lipski refused.[2] According to AJP Taylor,[3] just days before the German invasion of Poland, Lipski refused to get out of bed, despite the urging of British diplomats, to meet with von Ribbentrop to hear Germany's latest demands of Poland. The anecdote illustrates the attitude of Józef Beck towards Hitler's tactic of making demands and raising the stakes: Poland would not play that game. Under British pressure to negotiate a solution to the Danzig crisis, Lipski eventually phoned to ask for an interview with Ribbentrop on 31 August 1939, but upon learning that Lipski would be present only as an ambassador, rather than as a plenipotentiary, the meeting was refused. Poland was invaded the next day. According to Taylor, the Germans were aware of Lipski's limited negotiating authority.[3]
During the Second World War, Lipski fought as a volunteer (Polish 1st Grenadiers Division in France) and later joined the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces in the West. In 1951 Lipski moved to the USA and represented the Polish Government in Exile.
See also
Notes
- ^ Feigue Cieplinski, "Poles and Jews: the Quest for Self-Determination, 1919-1934 Archived 2002-09-18 at the Wayback Machine," Binghamton Journal of History, fall 2002, last accessed 2 June 2006.
- ^ Richard Overy, The Road to War, MacMillan London: 1989
- ^ a b AJP Taylor, The Origins of the Second World War, London: 1961
He did not later move to the US he died in a prison in Europe says a family member
References
- Diplomat in Berlin, 1933-1939: Papers and Memoirs of Jozef Lipski, Ambassador of Poland, by Jozef Lipski, edited by Waclaw Jedrzejewicz. Columbia University Press, New York 1968.
External links