Political incumbents On September 30, 1939, the last government of the Second Polish Republic which resided in Warsaw was dissolved. The government was originally designed on May 15, 1936, by Polish president Ignacy Mościcki under prime minister Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski.
Members of the government President of Poland – Ignacy Mościcki, Prime Minister – Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Treasury – Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski, Minister of Foreign Affairs – Józef Beck, Minister of Justice – Witold Grabowski, Minister of Military Affairs – Tadeusz Kasprzycki, Minister of Agriculture – Juliusz Poniatowski, Minister of Communication – Juliusz Ulrych, Minister of Post Office and Telegraphs – Emil Kaliński, Minister of Religious Beliefs and Public Enlightenment – Wojciech Świętosławski, Minister of Industry and Trade – Antoni Roman.
Other personalities Primate of Poland – August Hlond Eastern Orthodox Church Archbishop of Warsaw – Dionizy (Dionisij, real name Konstantyn Waledynski) Chief Rabbi of Warsaw – vacant Marshall of the Sejm – Wacław Makowski Marshall of the Senat – Bogusław Miedziński Ambassador to Germany – Józef Lipski
Events
January January 1. Józef Beck welcomes the new year in Monte Carlo, while president Ignacy Mościcki stays in Jaworzyna near Zakopane January 2. Flu epidemic in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie, where 25% of residents are sick January 3. In Warsaw a funeral of Cardinal Aleksander Kakowski (who died on December 31, 1938), takes place. The service is led by primate August Hlond, and by bishop Antoni Szlagowski January 4. Józef Beck arrives in Munich January 5. Minister Józef Beck meets Adolf Hitler in Berchtesgaden. Apart from Hitler and Beck, the meeting is attended by Joachim von Ribbentrop, Hans von Moltke, Polish ambassador to Berlin Józef Lipski, and Józef Beck's chef de cabinet, Michal Lubienski. The meeting lasts three hours January 6. In Munich, minister Beck meets Joachim von Ribbentrop January 7. In Warsaw, a funeral of Roman Dmowski takes place. Jadwiga Wajs gets married in Łódź January 8. President Mościcki returns to Warsaw, where he meets foreign diplomats and ambassadors to Poland. On the same day, Jurgis Šaulys, a Lithuanian envoy, begins his mission in Warsaw January 25. Joachim von Ribbentrop comes by train to Warsaw, he arrives at Warsaw Główna rail station 4:50 p.m. January 26. Joachim von Ribbentrop meets Ignacy Mościcki, Józef Beck and Edward Rydz-Śmigły January 27. Joachim von Ribbentrop leaves Warsaw and returns to Berlin
February February 18. Heinrich Himmler comes to Warsaw. After meeting Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski and Józef Beck, he leaves in the night for Białowieża February 19. Flooding in Volhynia, along the Horyn and the Styr. Heinrich Himmler hunts in Białowieża, together with Marian Zyndram-Kościałkowski February 20. Heinrich Himmler returns to Berlin February 22. First flights of the PZL.50 Jastrząb. Polish Telegraphic Agency announces that Trans-Olza hence will be called Western Silesia February 24. AntiPolish riots at the Königliche Technische Hochschule zu Danzig in Gdańsk. Polish students are beaten February 25. Warsaw students demonstrate in front of the German embassy. Galeazzo Ciano, together with wife Edda Mussolini, comes by train to Warsaw February 26. Galeazzo Ciano unveils the monument of Francesco Nullo in Warsaw
March March 1. On the last day of his visit, Galeazzo Ciano visits Kraków March 2. A hurricane in Wilno destroys several houses March 4. Romanian minister of foreign affairs, Grigore Gafencu, comes to Warsaw by train, greeted by Józef Beck, Stefan Starzyński and Jan Szembek March 6. Grigore Gafencu returns to Bucharest. A group of Polish writers, including Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński, visits Trans-Olza March 16. Units of Hungarian Army meet troops of the Polish Army, after Hungarian invasion of Carpatho-Ukraine March 17. In Berlin, Józef Lipski meets Hermann Göring, discussing establishment of Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia March 22. A meeting of key Polish figures takes place at the Warsaw Castle. Present are Ignacy Mościcki, Edward Rydz-Śmigły, Józef Beck and Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski. All agree that Poland will not accept German proposal of extraterritorial rail and road connection between East Prussia and the rest of Germany. On the same day, Stanisław Mackiewicz is imprisoned in the Bereza Kartuska detention camp March 26. In Berlin, Polish ambassador Józef Lipski meets Joachim von Ribbentrop, who demands that Gdańsk becomes part of Germany. Lipski, following Beck's order, refuses March 30. In Warsaw, British ambassador Howard Kennard asks Józef Beck if Poland will accept British guarantees. Beck answers in the affirmative. On the same day, Wincenty Witos returns to Poland and stays in Kraków March 31. In London, prime minister Neville Chamberlain officially declares that Great Britain will help Poland in case of war
April April 2. In the afternoon, Józef Beck leaves Warsaw and goes by train to London. On his way, he stops at Berlin, to meet ambassador Józef Lipski April 4. Józef Beck meets at breakfast with lord Halifax and Winston Churchill in London. On the same day in the afternoon, Beck talks with Neville Chamberlain April 5. In London, Józef Beck meets king George VI at Windsor Castle. In Warsaw, a funeral of Walery Sławek takes place April 8. Stanisław Mackiewicz is released from Bereza Kartuska. Józef Beck returns to Warsaw April 11. Adolf Hitler signs Fall Weiss April 14. In Warsaw, Józef Beck meets Hungarian attaché, Andreas Hory April 17. General Johan Laidoner, Commander-in-chief of the Estonian Army, comes to Warsaw April 18. A regular air connection Warsaw – Copenhagen – London is opened April 19. ORP Sęp (1938), built in the Netherlands, comes to Gdynia April 22. General Johan Laidoner visits Kraków. Anatole de Monzie, French Minister of Public Works, comes to Poland April 23. A 49-kilometer railroad connection Częstochowa – Chorzew Siemkowice, part of the Polish Coal Trunk-Line is opened April 24. Józef Beck meets British ambassador, Sir Howard Kennard. Wojciech Korfanty returns to Poland. He comes to Poznań and talks to Primate August Hlond April 30. In Gross Strehlitz near Oppeln, personnel of the Polish Theatre from Katowice is beaten by a Nazi crowd. In Warsaw, a great air show takes place. Poznań International Fair opens in Poznań
May May 2. Polish Council of Ministers approves a bill according to which the President can issue decrees. A local election in Volhynia takes place May 3. A military parade, to commemorate the Constitution Day, takes place in Warsaw May 4. Marshall Edward Rydz-Śmigły meets schoolchildren from Warsaw and Trans-Olza May 5. Józef Beck delivers a famous speech in the Sejm, in which he rejects Hitler's demands towards Poland May 7. Mass patriotic demonstrations of peasants and workers take place across Poland, with the biggest in Warsaw and Tarnów May 9. General Stasys Raštikis, Defense Minister of Lithuania, comes to Warsaw May 11. Polish ambassador in Moscow, Wacław Grzybowski, meets Vyacheslav Molotov May 12. A mutual help agreement between France and Poland is signed in Paris by Polish ambassador Juliusz Łukasiewicz and French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Georges Bonnet May 13. Galeazzo Ciano informs Józef Beck that in case of future Polish-German conflict, Italy will support Germany May 15. General Tadeusz Kasprzycki begins in Paris negotiations about military help with General Maurice Gamelin May 16. General Wacław Stachiewicz orders his subordinates to create a plan of fortifications along the Polish-German border May 18. Floods in Poland, in the areas of Kielce and Lwów May 19. Polish-French military negotiations end in Paris. Both sides pledge to help each other in case of war May 23. Polish-British military negotiations begin in Warsaw. Józef Beck meets General Józef Haller May 26. Nationwide local elections are finished, with Obóz Zjednoczenia Narodowego winning 48% of votes. A Polish Institute is opened in Budapest May 30. The funeral of Aleksander Brückner takes place in Berlin
June June 2. A new ambassador of the Soviet Union, Nikolai Sharonov, comes to Warsaw and begins his mission June 6. A dangerous fire in the unfinished complex of the Warsaw Główna rail station June 7. Seven people die, when an express train Katowice – Warszawa derails near Pruszków June 11. President Ignacy Mościcki begins a tour of the Central Industrial Area June 13. A delegation of the Polish government, under Adam Koc, comes to London, to negotiate a loan for Polish Army June 15. Polish Airlines open new connections: Gdynia – Warsaw – Budapest – Venice – Rome, and Warsaw – Budapest – Belgrad June 16. A heat wave in Poland, with temperatures ranging from 35 C in Zaleszczyki, to 21 in Poznań, Toruń and Gdynia. Representatives of Polonia from the United States collect $750,000 to the National Defence Fund June 21. A Convention of 300 Polish rabbis begins in Wilno June 23. In Polish schools, summer vacation begins June 24. Annual Days of the Sea begin in Gdynia. General Louis Faury visits Polish garrisons June 26. Florian Znaniecki leaves Poland for a series of lectures at American universities June 29. Jan Kiepura, together with wife Marta Eggerth, sing to thousands of people on the Old Town Market Place, Warsaw. All profits were given to the National Defence Fund
July July 5. Grand Rabbi Ben Zion Halberstam of Bobov visits Oświęcim, enthusiastically greeted by some 3000 followers July 6. At Warsaw's Castle, a meeting of Ignacy Mościcki, Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski, Edward Rydz-Śmigły and Józef Beck takes place. The gathered discuss Polish policies concerning the Free City of Danzig July 8. Due to unusually hot and sunny weather, harvest begins in Poland earlier than usually July 7. King of Albania Zog, comes to Lwów and, after a short break, he goes to Warsaw together with family July 10. Neville Chamberlain, speaking in the House of Commons, states that Britain is determined to help Poland in case of an attack July 11. In Jazłowiec, the 14th Regiment of Jazłowiec Uhlans celebrates its day July 13. Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski tours the Poznań Voivodeship July 15. On the anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald, a mass demonstration takes place in Kraków. On the same day in Katowice, Jan Kiepura sings to 20 000 people, with profits going to the National Defence Fund July 17. General Sir Edmund Ironside of the British Army comes to Warsaw, via Gdynia. Jan Kiepura sings to 10,000 people in Karwina, Trans-Olza July 18. General Ironside visits the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw July 20. General Ironside visits garrisons of the Polish Army in Rembertów and Modlin. Wojciech Korfanty leaves prison July 27. MS Batory, a passenger ship, enters service in the port of Gdynia
August August 1. Officers of Polish Police arrest in Lwów around 30 activists of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists August 2. In London, governments of Poland and Great Britain sign an agreement according to which Poland gets a loan in the amount of 8 million British pounds (200 million Polish zlotys). Poland initially demanded four times as much. On the same day, Benedictine monks return to the abbey in Tyniec August 4. Polish customs officers in the Free City of Danzig are informed that they no longer can make inspections in the port. On the next day, under Polish pressure, the Senate of Danzig voids the decision August 6. In Kraków, the 25th anniversary of First Cadre Company's departure is celebrated with estimated 200,000 watching the parade August 8. A Polish-Hungarian celebration takes place at the Cross of the Legions in eastern Carpathians August 9. Polish chargé d'affaires in Berlin, Stefan Lubomirski, meets Ernst von Weizsäcker, who hands Lubomirski a note from von Ribbentrop about tense situation in the Free City of Danzig