Józef Lipski: Difference between revisions
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Lipski trained as a lawyer, and joined the [[Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] in 1925. From 29 October 1934 to 1 September 1939, Lipski served as the Polish ambassador to Germany. 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> |
Lipski trained as a lawyer, and joined the [[Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] in 1925. From 29 October 1934 to 1 September 1939, Lipski served as the Polish ambassador to Germany. 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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In late 1938, German officials approached Poland with a suggestion to resettle European Jews to Africa, inspired by the British [[Uganda Scheme]]{{verify inline|Not in Browning|date=January 2020}} and the Franco-Polish [[Madagascar Plan]],<ref>Telushkin, Joseph (2001) [1991]. Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People, and Its History. New York: Harper Collins. {{ISBN|978-0-688-08506-3}}.</ref><ref>Browning, Christopher R. (2004). The Origins of the Final Solution : The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, September 1939 – March 1942. Comprehensive History of the Holocaust. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. {{ISBN|0-8032-1327-1}}.</ref> and Lipski as the Polish ambassador to Germany discussed the matter with [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]]. [[Yohanan Cohen]] describes Lipski's discussion with Hitler, which took place on 21 October 1938, as "characteristic of the kinds of things that had come to dominate the Polish establishment and public were comments by Jósef Lipski."<ref name="Cohen">[https://books.google.com/books?id=Z4nKtNn8dHQC&pg=PA70&dq=Lipski+Hitler+Warsaw+monument&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj3o_Dr2b3iAhXRbVAKHdyxA2YQ6AEILzAB#v=onepage&q=Lipski%20Hitler%20Warsaw%20monument&f=false Small Nations in Times of Crisis and Confrontation], Yohanan Cohen, page 70, State University of New York Press</ref> Responding to Hitler's suggestions, Lipski said that "if he can find such a solution we will erect him a beautiful monument in Warsaw".<ref name="Cohen"/><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><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=AAZ-DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA143&dq=Lipski+Hitler+Warsaw+monument+Jewish+problem&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjHlOnc2r3iAhWKYlAKHfq_A80Q6AEILzAB#v=onepage&q=Lipski%20Hitler%20Warsaw%20monument%20Jewish%20problem&f=false No Way Out: The Politics of Polish Jewry 1935-1939], Emanuel Melzer, page 143, Hebrew Union College Press</ref><ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2019-12-25 |title=Putin Calls Former Polish Ambassador ‘Anti-Semitic Pig’ |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/12/25/putin-calls-former-polish-ambassador-anti-semitic-pig-a68739 |work=[[The Moscow Times]] |location=Moscow |access-date= }}</ref> [[Timothy Snyder]] stated that "historians of these negotiations often quote Lipski's remark that Poland would build a monument to Hitler if he found a way to resolve the Jewish question. With knowledge of the Holocaust we can find this remark even more revolting that it, in fact, was. Lipski was expressing the hope that despite the overwhelming difficulties, Germany could induce some maritime power to open some overseas colony to Polish Jews. It never occurred to him that Hitler's 'resolution' could be total mass murder."<ref>{{cite book |last=Snyder |first=Timothy |date=2015 |title=Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning |url= |location=London |publisher=The Bodley Head London |page=362 |isbn= |author-link=}}</ref> |
In late 1938, German officials approached Poland with a suggestion to resettle European Jews to Africa, inspired by the British [[Uganda Scheme]]{{verify inline|Not in Browning|date=January 2020}} and the Franco-Polish [[Madagascar Plan]],<ref>Telushkin, Joseph (2001) [1991]. Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People, and Its History. New York: Harper Collins. {{ISBN|978-0-688-08506-3}}.</ref><ref>Browning, Christopher R. (2004). The Origins of the Final Solution : The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, September 1939 – March 1942. Comprehensive History of the Holocaust. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. {{ISBN|0-8032-1327-1}}.</ref> and Lipski as the Polish ambassador to Germany discussed the matter with [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]]. [[Yohanan Cohen]] describes Lipski's discussion with Hitler, which took place on 21 October 1938, as "characteristic of the kinds of things that had come to dominate the Polish establishment and public were comments by Jósef Lipski."<ref name="Cohen">[https://books.google.com/books?id=Z4nKtNn8dHQC&pg=PA70&dq=Lipski+Hitler+Warsaw+monument&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj3o_Dr2b3iAhXRbVAKHdyxA2YQ6AEILzAB#v=onepage&q=Lipski%20Hitler%20Warsaw%20monument&f=false Small Nations in Times of Crisis and Confrontation], Yohanan Cohen, page 70, State University of New York Press</ref> Responding to Hitler's suggestions, Lipski said that "if he can find such a solution we will erect him a beautiful monument in Warsaw".<ref name="Cohen"/><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><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=AAZ-DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA143&dq=Lipski+Hitler+Warsaw+monument+Jewish+problem&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjHlOnc2r3iAhWKYlAKHfq_A80Q6AEILzAB#v=onepage&q=Lipski%20Hitler%20Warsaw%20monument%20Jewish%20problem&f=false No Way Out: The Politics of Polish Jewry 1935-1939], Emanuel Melzer, page 143, Hebrew Union College Press</ref><ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2019-12-25 |title=Putin Calls Former Polish Ambassador ‘Anti-Semitic Pig’ |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/12/25/putin-calls-former-polish-ambassador-anti-semitic-pig-a68739 |work=[[The Moscow Times]] |location=Moscow |access-date= }}</ref> [[Timothy Snyder]] stated that "historians of these negotiations often quote Lipski's remark that Poland would build a monument to Hitler if he found a way to resolve the Jewish question. With knowledge of the Holocaust we can find this remark even more revolting that it, in fact, was. Lipski was expressing the hope that despite the overwhelming difficulties, Germany could induce some maritime power to open some overseas colony to Polish Jews. It never occurred to him that Hitler's 'resolution' could be total mass murder."<ref>{{cite book |last=Snyder |first=Timothy |date=2015 |title=Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning |url= |location=London |publisher=The Bodley Head London |page=362 |isbn= |author-link=}}</ref> |
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On 24 October 1938, Lipski met with German Foreign Minister [[Joachim von Ribbentrop]] at [[Hitler]]'s mountain retreat in [[Berchtesgaden]]. 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"/> |
On 24 October 1938, Lipski met with German Foreign Minister [[Joachim von Ribbentrop]] at [[Hitler]]'s mountain retreat in [[Berchtesgaden]]. 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"/> |
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==Controversy== |
==Controversy== |
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In December 2019, during a speech given to high ranking Russian defense officials, president [[Vladamir Putin]] accused the former Polish ambassador Józef Lipski of antisemitism calling him “That bastard! That anti-Semitic pig.”<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2019-12-25 |title=Putin Calls Former Polish Ambassador ‘Anti-Semitic Pig’ |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/12/25/putin-calls-former-polish-ambassador-anti-semitic-pig-a68739 |work=[[The Moscow Times]] |location=Moscow |access-date= }}</ref> The remarks received condemnation form the Polish government officials. Also, in response to the Russian claims of antisemitism leveled against Lipski, the [[Union of Jewish Religious Communities in Poland]] put out a statement stating that "for us Jews, it is particularly outrageous for Putin to manipulate the note of the Polish ambassador in Berlin, Józef Lipski, from his conversation with Adolf Hitler in 1938. Poland, which must not be forgotten, supported the emigration of its 10 percent Jewish minority. But she did so partly in cooperation with the Zionist movement, to which she clandestinely gave military support. At the same time, however, when the Third Reich expelled thousands of Polish Jews in 1938, Polish diplomatic services, including Ambassador Leipzig personally, rendered assistance to them. Accusing him of anti-semitism on the basis of one sentence taken out of context is extremely irresponsible."<ref>{{cite news |author=Rzeczpospolita |title=Naczelny Rabin RP i przewodnicząca Związku Gmin Wyznaniowych Żydowskich: Skandaliczna manipulacja Putina |url=https://www.rp.pl/Polityka/191239874-Naczelny-Rabin-RP-i-przewodniczaca-Zwiazku-Gmin-Wyznaniowych-Zydowskich-Skandaliczna-manipulacja-Putina.html |work= |location= |date=31 December 2019 |access-date=1 January 2020 |quote=Dla nas Żydów szczególnie skandaliczne jest manipulowanie przez Putina notatką ambasadora RP w Berlinie Józefa Lipskiego z jego rozmowy z Adolfem Hitlerem w 1938 roku” - czytamy. „Polska, o czym nie wolno zapominać, popierała emigrację swej 10 % żydowskiej mniejszości. Ale czyniła to po części we współpracy ruchem syjonistycznym, któremu udzielała potajemnie wojskowego wsparcia. Zarazem jednak, gdy III Rzesza wydaliła w 1938 roku tysiące polskich Żydów, polskie służby dyplomatyczne, w tym ambasador Lipski osobiście, udzielały im wsparcia. Oskarżanie go o antysemityzm na podstawie jednego zdania wyrwanego z kontekstu jest skrajnie nieodpowiedzialne.}}</ref> |
In December 2019, during a speech given to high ranking Russian defense officials, president [[Vladamir Putin]] accused the former Polish ambassador Józef Lipski of antisemitism calling him “That bastard! That anti-Semitic pig.”<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=2019-12-25 |title=Putin Calls Former Polish Ambassador ‘Anti-Semitic Pig’ |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/12/25/putin-calls-former-polish-ambassador-anti-semitic-pig-a68739 |work=[[The Moscow Times]] |location=Moscow |access-date= }}</ref> The remarks received condemnation form the Polish government officials. Also, in response to the Russian claims of antisemitism leveled against Lipski, the [[Union of Jewish Religious Communities in Poland]] put out a statement stating that "for us Jews, it is particularly outrageous for Putin to manipulate the note of the Polish ambassador in Berlin, Józef Lipski, from his conversation with Adolf Hitler in 1938. Poland, which must not be forgotten, supported the emigration of its 10 percent Jewish minority. But she did so partly in cooperation with the Zionist movement, to which she clandestinely gave military support. At the same time, however, when the Third Reich expelled thousands of Polish Jews in 1938, Polish diplomatic services, including Ambassador Leipzig personally, rendered assistance to them. Accusing him of anti-semitism on the basis of one sentence taken out of context is extremely irresponsible."<ref>{{cite news |author=Rzeczpospolita |title=Naczelny Rabin RP i przewodnicząca Związku Gmin Wyznaniowych Żydowskich: Skandaliczna manipulacja Putina |url=https://www.rp.pl/Polityka/191239874-Naczelny-Rabin-RP-i-przewodniczaca-Zwiazku-Gmin-Wyznaniowych-Zydowskich-Skandaliczna-manipulacja-Putina.html |work= |location= |date=31 December 2019 |access-date=1 January 2020 |quote=Dla nas Żydów szczególnie skandaliczne jest manipulowanie przez Putina notatką ambasadora RP w Berlinie Józefa Lipskiego z jego rozmowy z Adolfem Hitlerem w 1938 roku” - czytamy. „Polska, o czym nie wolno zapominać, popierała emigrację swej 10 % żydowskiej mniejszości. Ale czyniła to po części we współpracy ruchem syjonistycznym, któremu udzielała potajemnie wojskowego wsparcia. Zarazem jednak, gdy III Rzesza wydaliła w 1938 roku tysiące polskich Żydów, polskie służby dyplomatyczne, w tym ambasador Lipski osobiście, udzielały im wsparcia. Oskarżanie go o antysemityzm na podstawie jednego zdania wyrwanego z kontekstu jest skrajnie nieodpowiedzialne.}}</ref> Also, in an interview with the [[Polish Press Agency]], professor {{ill|Mariusz Wołos|pl|Mariusz Wołos}} said about Lipski "it should be added that the extensive legacy of this accomplished diplomat has no traces of anti-Semitic attitude. Lipski was not an anti-Semite." <ref>{{cite news |author=Polish Press Agency |title=Prof. Mariusz Wołos: "Ambasador Józef Lipski nie był antysemitą" |url=https://www.polskieradio24.pl/39/156/Artykul/2429487,Prof-Mariusz-Wolos-Ambasador-Jozef-Lipski-nie-byl-antysemita |work= |location= |date=31 December 2010 |access-date=1 January 2020 |quote=Trzeba dodać, że w bogatej spuściźnie tego wybitnego dyplomaty nie ma jakichkolwiek śladów postawy antysemickiej. Lipski nie był antysemitą.}}</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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Revision as of 14:59, 1 January 2020
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. From 29 October 1934 to 1 September 1939, Lipski served as the Polish ambassador to Germany. One of his first assignments in 1934 was work on the German–Polish Non-Aggression Pact.[1]
In late 1938, German officials approached Poland with a suggestion to resettle European Jews to Africa, inspired by the British Uganda Scheme[verification needed] and the Franco-Polish Madagascar Plan,[2][3] and Lipski as the Polish ambassador to Germany discussed the matter with Hitler. Yohanan Cohen describes Lipski's discussion with Hitler, which took place on 21 October 1938, as "characteristic of the kinds of things that had come to dominate the Polish establishment and public were comments by Jósef Lipski."[4] Responding to Hitler's suggestions, Lipski said that "if he can find such a solution we will erect him a beautiful monument in Warsaw".[4][5][6][7] Timothy Snyder stated that "historians of these negotiations often quote Lipski's remark that Poland would build a monument to Hitler if he found a way to resolve the Jewish question. With knowledge of the Holocaust we can find this remark even more revolting that it, in fact, was. Lipski was expressing the hope that despite the overwhelming difficulties, Germany could induce some maritime power to open some overseas colony to Polish Jews. It never occurred to him that Hitler's 'resolution' could be total mass murder."[8]
On 24 October 1938, Lipski met with German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop at Hitler's mountain retreat in Berchtesgaden. Ribbentrop demanded that Poland agree to the German annexation of the Free City of Danzig; Lipski refused.[9] According to AJP Taylor,[10] 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.[10]
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.
Controversy
In December 2019, during a speech given to high ranking Russian defense officials, president Vladamir Putin accused the former Polish ambassador Józef Lipski of antisemitism calling him “That bastard! That anti-Semitic pig.”[11] The remarks received condemnation form the Polish government officials. Also, in response to the Russian claims of antisemitism leveled against Lipski, the Union of Jewish Religious Communities in Poland put out a statement stating that "for us Jews, it is particularly outrageous for Putin to manipulate the note of the Polish ambassador in Berlin, Józef Lipski, from his conversation with Adolf Hitler in 1938. Poland, which must not be forgotten, supported the emigration of its 10 percent Jewish minority. But she did so partly in cooperation with the Zionist movement, to which she clandestinely gave military support. At the same time, however, when the Third Reich expelled thousands of Polish Jews in 1938, Polish diplomatic services, including Ambassador Leipzig personally, rendered assistance to them. Accusing him of anti-semitism on the basis of one sentence taken out of context is extremely irresponsible."[12] Also, in an interview with the Polish Press Agency, professor Mariusz Wołos said about Lipski "it should be added that the extensive legacy of this accomplished diplomat has no traces of anti-Semitic attitude. Lipski was not an anti-Semite." [13]
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.
- ^ Telushkin, Joseph (2001) [1991]. Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People, and Its History. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0-688-08506-3.
- ^ Browning, Christopher R. (2004). The Origins of the Final Solution : The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, September 1939 – March 1942. Comprehensive History of the Holocaust. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-1327-1.
- ^ a b Small Nations in Times of Crisis and Confrontation, Yohanan Cohen, page 70, State University of New York Press
- ^ Cymet, David. "Polish state antisemitism as a major factor leading to the Holocaust." Journal of Genocide Research 1.2 (1999): 169-212.
- ^ No Way Out: The Politics of Polish Jewry 1935-1939, Emanuel Melzer, page 143, Hebrew Union College Press
- ^ "Putin Calls Former Polish Ambassador 'Anti-Semitic Pig'". The Moscow Times. Moscow. 2019-12-25.
- ^ Snyder, Timothy (2015). Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning. London: The Bodley Head London. p. 362.
- ^ Richard Overy, The Road to War, MacMillan London: 1989
- ^ a b AJP Taylor, The Origins of the Second World War, London: 1961
- ^ "Putin Calls Former Polish Ambassador 'Anti-Semitic Pig'". The Moscow Times. Moscow. 2019-12-25.
- ^ Rzeczpospolita (31 December 2019). "Naczelny Rabin RP i przewodnicząca Związku Gmin Wyznaniowych Żydowskich: Skandaliczna manipulacja Putina". Retrieved 1 January 2020.
Dla nas Żydów szczególnie skandaliczne jest manipulowanie przez Putina notatką ambasadora RP w Berlinie Józefa Lipskiego z jego rozmowy z Adolfem Hitlerem w 1938 roku" - czytamy. „Polska, o czym nie wolno zapominać, popierała emigrację swej 10 % żydowskiej mniejszości. Ale czyniła to po części we współpracy ruchem syjonistycznym, któremu udzielała potajemnie wojskowego wsparcia. Zarazem jednak, gdy III Rzesza wydaliła w 1938 roku tysiące polskich Żydów, polskie służby dyplomatyczne, w tym ambasador Lipski osobiście, udzielały im wsparcia. Oskarżanie go o antysemityzm na podstawie jednego zdania wyrwanego z kontekstu jest skrajnie nieodpowiedzialne.
- ^ Polish Press Agency (31 December 2010). "Prof. Mariusz Wołos: "Ambasador Józef Lipski nie był antysemitą"". Retrieved 1 January 2020.
Trzeba dodać, że w bogatej spuściźnie tego wybitnego dyplomaty nie ma jakichkolwiek śladów postawy antysemickiej. Lipski nie był antysemitą.
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
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