Kazimierz Papée
Encyclopedia
Dr. Kazimierz Papée was the ambassador from Poland
to the Holy See
from 1939 to 1958, during and after World War II. Due to the Nazi invasion of Poland
months after Papée's appointment, Papée represented the Polish government-in-exile for the remainder of Pope Pius XII
's papacy, before being dismissed by his successor, Pope John XXIII
.
, his mother Wladyslawa, was daughter of poet Wladyslaw Anczyc. In 1905, the family moved to Krakow
, where Fryderyk Papée got a job at the library of the Jagiellonian University
. Kazimierz graduated from law department of the Jagiellonian University, later receiving his PhD. During World War I, he served in the Polish Legions
(1915 - 1916), and after the war, when Poland
regained independence, he became a diplomat, working in Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On April 1, 1920, Kazimierz Papée took a job in Polish legation in The Hague
, two years later he was transferred to Berlin. In 1923, after returning to Poland, Papée became a deputy of Director of Political Department. On January 14, 1924, he took the post of chargé d'affaires
in Polish legation in Copenhagen
, where he remained until December 1, 1924. Next four years Papée spent in Poland, working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On January 1, 1928, he became director of consular office of Polish legation in Ankara
. In the first half of 1929, he worked in Polish legation in Tallinn
, and on July 16, 1929, he became general consul of Poland in Koenigsberg.
, in which role he dealt with the Polish boycott of the city. As envoy, Papée's main demand was that the Free City turn over its customs revenue to Poland. Papée negotiated primarily with Arthur Greiser
, the President of the Danzig Senate. The dispute and the ensuing reprisals became known as the "customs war". Papée was ultimately successful in obtaining the concession from Danzig.
Papée combatted Nazi efforts to eliminate the League of Nations
role in the governance of the Free City. Papée persuaded Greiser not to enforce various decrees designed to suppress the Danzig Opposition. However, as Papée continued to convey the protests of Colonel Józef Beck
to Greiser, Greiser instead chose to flee, resigning his role as president.
as envoy to Czechoslovakia, siding with the Czechs against Germany in the Sudentenland crisis. Papée held the diplomatic rank of "Minister". Polish-Czech tension was raised as well, and Papée soon lodged protests against Czech troop movements near the Polish border and radio propaganda.
's attempts to mediate the disputes between Germany and Poland.
Papée unsuccessfully pressured Pius XII to more strongly speak out against the situation in occupied Poland throughout the war. For example, Papée met with Pius XII on September 30, 1940—along with Cardinal August Hlond, the primate of Poland, and Wladimir Ledochowski, the General of the Jesuits—but all three left disappointed when Pius XII declined to condemn the double invasion of Poland because he did not want the Vatican "to become a platform for Polish objections against Germany". However, Pius XII's June 3, 1941 and May 21, 1943 meetings with Papée were perceived as de facto recognition of the Polish government-in-exile. Papée never accepted Pius XII's proposal to accept the Nazi annexation of a portion of Poland.
Later, in May 1942, he complained to Cardinal Secretary of State Luigi Maglione that Pius XII had not condemned the recent wave of terror in Poland. When Maglione replied that it was impossible to document such atrocities, Papée retorted "there was sufficient proof and, besides, when something becomes notorious, proof is not required". Papée reported after the war: "I remember when I came to see the Holy Father for [...] perhaps the tenth time in 1944; he was angry. When he saw me as I entered the room and stood at the door awaiting permission to approach, he raised both his arms in a gesture of exasperation. 'I have listened again and again to your representations about Our unhappy children in Poland. Must I be given the same story yet again?'". Papée pressured Pius XII to speak out not only against the persecution of Poles, but also against The Holocaust
.
Papée was present in a 1944 audience with Polish officers where Pius XII urged Poland to avoid retribution against Germany or Russia. By 1953, Papée was entitled by virtue of seniority to the title of dean of the diplomatic corps
, but had not acted as dean for years due to his continuing representation of the government-in-exile, not Communist Poland. Pope John XXIII
revoked Papée's accreditation as ambassador in December 1958, in a move that somewhat improved relations between the Vatican and the People's Republic of Poland
. Also de-recognized was Stanislovas Girdvajnis, the ambassador of the Lithuanian government-in-exile.
Dr. Dariusz Libionka
's analysis of Papée's attempts to get Pius XII to act or speak out against the Holocaust in Poland is bluntly titled "Against a Brick Wall".
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
to the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
from 1939 to 1958, during and after World War II. Due to the Nazi invasion of Poland
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
months after Papée's appointment, Papée represented the Polish government-in-exile for the remainder of Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
's papacy, before being dismissed by his successor, Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
.
Early life
Kazimierz Papée was born January 10, 1889 in Lwow. His father Fryderyk was a renowned historian employed by the OssolineumOssolineum
The Ossolineum or Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich a meritorious department for Polish science and culture , which was founded for the Polish Nation in 1817 by Józef Maksymilian Ossoliński, and was opened in 1827 in Lviv.It was one of the most important Polish...
, his mother Wladyslawa, was daughter of poet Wladyslaw Anczyc. In 1905, the family moved to Krakow
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, where Fryderyk Papée got a job at the library of the Jagiellonian University
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University was established in 1364 by Casimir III the Great in Kazimierz . It is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world....
. Kazimierz graduated from law department of the Jagiellonian University, later receiving his PhD. During World War I, he served in the Polish Legions
Polish Legions in World War I
Polish Legions was the name of Polish armed forces created in August 1914 in Galicia. Thanks to the efforts of KSSN and the Polish members of the Austrian parliament, the unit became an independent formation of the Austro-Hungarian Army...
(1915 - 1916), and after the war, when Poland
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
regained independence, he became a diplomat, working in Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On April 1, 1920, Kazimierz Papée took a job in Polish legation in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, two years later he was transferred to Berlin. In 1923, after returning to Poland, Papée became a deputy of Director of Political Department. On January 14, 1924, he took the post of chargé d'affaires
Chargé d'affaires
In diplomacy, chargé d’affaires , often shortened to simply chargé, is the title of two classes of diplomatic agents who head a diplomatic mission, either on a temporary basis or when no more senior diplomat has been accredited.-Chargés d’affaires:Chargés d’affaires , who were...
in Polish legation in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, where he remained until December 1, 1924. Next four years Papée spent in Poland, working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On January 1, 1928, he became director of consular office of Polish legation in Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
. In the first half of 1929, he worked in Polish legation in Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
, and on July 16, 1929, he became general consul of Poland in Koenigsberg.
Polish High Commissioner of Danzig
Papée became the "Polish High Commissioner of Danzig" on February 12, 1932; the "nomination was taken to mean that Poland intended to take a stronger attitude toward the Free City". Papée thus served as Poland's diplomatic representative to the Free City of DanzigFree City of Danzig
The Free City of Danzig was a semi-autonomous city-state that existed between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig and surrounding areas....
, in which role he dealt with the Polish boycott of the city. As envoy, Papée's main demand was that the Free City turn over its customs revenue to Poland. Papée negotiated primarily with Arthur Greiser
Arthur Greiser
Arthur Greiser was a Nazi German politician and SS Obergruppenfuhrer. He was one of the persons primarily responsible for organizing the Holocaust in Poland and numerous other war crimes and crimes against humanity, for which he was tried, convicted and executed by hanging after World War...
, the President of the Danzig Senate. The dispute and the ensuing reprisals became known as the "customs war". Papée was ultimately successful in obtaining the concession from Danzig.
Papée combatted Nazi efforts to eliminate the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
role in the governance of the Free City. Papée persuaded Greiser not to enforce various decrees designed to suppress the Danzig Opposition. However, as Papée continued to convey the protests of Colonel Józef Beck
Józef Beck
' was a Polish statesman, diplomat, military officer, and close associate of Józef Piłsudski...
to Greiser, Greiser instead chose to flee, resigning his role as president.
Envoy in Prague
In 1938, Papée was relocated to PraguePrague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
as envoy to Czechoslovakia, siding with the Czechs against Germany in the Sudentenland crisis. Papée held the diplomatic rank of "Minister". Polish-Czech tension was raised as well, and Papée soon lodged protests against Czech troop movements near the Polish border and radio propaganda.
Ambassador to the Holy See
Papée was appointed ambassador to the Holy See on June 23, 1939. The post had lain vacant since the 1937 death of Vladislas Skryzinski. Papée attended to Pope Pius XIIPope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
's attempts to mediate the disputes between Germany and Poland.
Papée unsuccessfully pressured Pius XII to more strongly speak out against the situation in occupied Poland throughout the war. For example, Papée met with Pius XII on September 30, 1940—along with Cardinal August Hlond, the primate of Poland, and Wladimir Ledochowski, the General of the Jesuits—but all three left disappointed when Pius XII declined to condemn the double invasion of Poland because he did not want the Vatican "to become a platform for Polish objections against Germany". However, Pius XII's June 3, 1941 and May 21, 1943 meetings with Papée were perceived as de facto recognition of the Polish government-in-exile. Papée never accepted Pius XII's proposal to accept the Nazi annexation of a portion of Poland.
Later, in May 1942, he complained to Cardinal Secretary of State Luigi Maglione that Pius XII had not condemned the recent wave of terror in Poland. When Maglione replied that it was impossible to document such atrocities, Papée retorted "there was sufficient proof and, besides, when something becomes notorious, proof is not required". Papée reported after the war: "I remember when I came to see the Holy Father for [...] perhaps the tenth time in 1944; he was angry. When he saw me as I entered the room and stood at the door awaiting permission to approach, he raised both his arms in a gesture of exasperation. 'I have listened again and again to your representations about Our unhappy children in Poland. Must I be given the same story yet again?'". Papée pressured Pius XII to speak out not only against the persecution of Poles, but also against The Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
.
Papée was present in a 1944 audience with Polish officers where Pius XII urged Poland to avoid retribution against Germany or Russia. By 1953, Papée was entitled by virtue of seniority to the title of dean of the diplomatic corps
Diplomatic corps
The diplomatic corps or corps diplomatique is the collective body of foreign diplomats accredited to a particular country or body.The diplomatic corps may, in certain contexts, refer to the collection of accredited heads of mission who represent their countries in another state or country...
, but had not acted as dean for years due to his continuing representation of the government-in-exile, not Communist Poland. Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
revoked Papée's accreditation as ambassador in December 1958, in a move that somewhat improved relations between the Vatican and the People's Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
. Also de-recognized was Stanislovas Girdvajnis, the ambassador of the Lithuanian government-in-exile.
Memoir
After the war, Papée published Pius XII i Polska (Pius XII and Poland, 1954), documenting the policies of Pius XII vis-a-vis Poland from 1939 to 1949. He wrote that when he pleaded with Pius XII to denounce condemn the mass killing centers of Auschwitz and Birkenau, he received only a generic reply: "The Vatican is always ready to alleviate all misery due to war" (p. 94). Papée wrote memos to the Pope notifying him specifically about topics such as the liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto, mass executions in specialized killing centers, and mass deportations of Jews. He died on January 19, 1979 in Rome.Dr. Dariusz Libionka
Dariusz Libionka
Dariusz Libionka born in 1963 in Bielsko-Biała is a Polish historian focused on the status of Jewish citizens in the Polish Republic, matters of Judaism and the Polish-Jewish relations.Libionka is affiliated with the Institute of National Remembrance in Lublin...
's analysis of Papée's attempts to get Pius XII to act or speak out against the Holocaust in Poland is bluntly titled "Against a Brick Wall".