Tomasz Arciszewski
Encyclopedia
Tomasz Arciszewski (ˈtɔmaʂ art͡ɕiˈʂɛfskʲi; 4 November 1877 – 20 November 1955) was a Polish
socialist politician, a member of the Polish Socialist Party
and the Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile in London from 1944 to 1947, presiding over the period when the government lost the recognition of the Western powers.
, a tiny town halfway between Warsaw
and Łódź to Mikołaj Arciszewski, a veteran of the January Uprising
and Helena Młynarska.
After graduating from trade schools in Lubań and Radom
, Tomasz Arciszewski moved to Sosnowiec
, an ever-growing centre of heavy industry of the region of Zagłębie. There in 1894 he started working as a factory worker in a steel foundry. In 1896 he joined the Polish Socialist Party
(PPS) and soon afterwards took part in a strike
, for which he was dismissed.
Released in 1903, Arciszewski returned to active service in the ranks of the socialists. He became one of the PPS' members used to develop the organization and structures of illegal party in poorly-developed areas of Poland. He spent some time in Częstochowa
, Piotrków
and in the poorly-developed region of Podlaskie.
In 1904 he joined the Organizacja Bojowa of the PPS, a revolutionary
group fighting for the liberation of Poland. A close associate of Józef Piłsudski, Arciszewski moved to Warsaw
, where he became the head of the local branch of his organization. With it, he organized a number of assassination attempts of various Russian high-ranking officials. He also took part in the famous Bezdany raid
near Vilna (Vilnius, Lithuania), where his unit expropriated circa 200,000 roubles.
In 1906 Arciszewski, along with Piłsudski, joined the newly-found Polish Socialist Party - Revolutionary Faction, an organization of the Polish socialists oriented towards the independence of Poland rather than all-European workers' revolution. After the action of Bezdany he had to flee the Privislinsky Krai and settled in Lwów (now Lviv, Ukraine), where he joined the Association of Active Struggle
, a secret para-military organization. Shortly before the outbreak of the Great War
he left the Revolutionary Faction and became a member of the internal opposition within the socialist movement.
In August 1914 he joined the Polish Legions
and served with distinction in the 1st Infantry Regiment of the 1st Brigade
. Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, in 1915 he was delegated to political service in the Central Powers
'-occupied Congress Poland
, where he was among the most active organizers of the secret Polish Military Organization (POW). After the Act of 5 November and the proclamation of the Kingdom of Poland as part of the Central Powers' plan of Mitteleuropa
, Tomasz Arciszewski entered the city council of Warsaw. There he became the founder of trade unions and the editor of various socialist newspapers.
After the collapse of Germany and Austria-Hungary
at the end of World War I, on 7 November 1918 Arciszewski was appointed the minister of labour and social affairs in the Provisional Government of the Polish Republic led by Ignacy Daszyński
. After Daszyński's government passed its responsibilities to Piłsudski and the consolidation of power in all parts of Poland occurred, Arciszewski was appointed the minister of postal services and telegraphic communication in the government of Jędrzej Moraczewski
. He served at that post until 16 January 1919. Soon afterwards he was elected a member of the Sejm
.
During the Polish-Bolshevik War he organized various workers' voluntary units and supported the sabotage beneath Russian lines. After the war, in 1922 he was again elected member of the Sejm from the Socialist lists and held his post until 1935.
One of the most prominent leaders of the socialists (between 1919 and 1939 he was the member of the Main Council of the PPS), Arciszewski gradually broke up with his former colleague Piłsudski, who abandoned the socialist ideas after Poland regained her independence. This made him one of the prominent leaders of the Centrolew
coalition of centrist and leftist parties. Apart from his seat in the Sejm, between 1919 and 1934, and then from 1938 until the outbreak of World War II
, Arciszewski was a member of the Warsaw's city council. Among other duties, he was also the founder of the Workers' Society of Friends of Children.
After the outbreak of the Polish Defensive War of 1939, Arciszewski took part in the defense of Warsaw as one of the commanders of the Workers' Volunteer Battalions. After the German and Soviet take-over of Poland he went underground and, together with Kazimierz Pużak
, on 16 October of the same year he proclaimed the Polish Socialist Party – Freedom, Equality, Independence (PPS-WRN), a secret war-time continuation of the pre-war PPS. He headed that party until July 1944. After that he entered the Council of National Unity
(RJN), a quasi-parliament of the Polish Secret State
headed by Jan Stanisław Jankowski.
Shortly before the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising
, Arciszewski was evacuated from Poland through an air bridge (Most III
) on 26 July 1944. Through Cairo
he reached London, where he was one of the candidates for the seat of the president of Poland in exile. In accordance with the April Constitution of 1935, on 7 August 1944 he was named by Władysław Raczkiewicz as his successor.
Critical towards the pressure of the Soviet Union
and Stanisław Mikołajczyk's attempts at compromise with Joseph Stalin
, Arciszewski focused on trying to convince the Allied leaders (notably Winston Churchill
) to help fighting Warsaw
– to little avail. After Mikołajczyk's resignation, on 29 November 1944, Arciszewski became the Prime Minister of Poland and at the same time he became the minister of labour and welfare in his government.
, London.
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...
socialist politician, a member of the Polish Socialist Party
Polish Socialist Party
The Polish Socialist Party was one of the most important Polish left-wing political parties from its inception in 1892 until 1948...
and the Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile in London from 1944 to 1947, presiding over the period when the government lost the recognition of the Western powers.
Early life
Tomasz Arciszewski was born in SierzchowySierzchowy
Sierzchowy is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Cielądz, within Rawa County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Cielądz, south-east of Rawa Mazowiecka, and east of the regional capital Łódź....
, a tiny town halfway between Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
and Łódź to Mikołaj Arciszewski, a veteran of the January Uprising
January Uprising
The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...
and Helena Młynarska.
After graduating from trade schools in Lubań and Radom
Radom
Radom is a city in central Poland with 223,397 inhabitants . It is located on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship , having previously been the capital of Radom Voivodeship ; 100 km south of Poland's capital, Warsaw.It is home to the biennial Radom Air Show, the largest and...
, Tomasz Arciszewski moved to Sosnowiec
Sosnowiec
Sosnowiec is a city in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie in southern Poland, near Katowice. It is one of the central districts of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - a metropolis with a combined population of over two million people located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Brynica river .It is situated in...
, an ever-growing centre of heavy industry of the region of Zagłębie. There in 1894 he started working as a factory worker in a steel foundry. In 1896 he joined the Polish Socialist Party
Polish Socialist Party
The Polish Socialist Party was one of the most important Polish left-wing political parties from its inception in 1892 until 1948...
(PPS) and soon afterwards took part in a strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
, for which he was dismissed.
Career
Initially active in Zagłębie, he had to flee the country and between 1898 and 1900 he lived in London and Bremen, where he was one of the leaders of the Association of Polish Socialists in Exile. Despite being endangered with arrest by the tsarist police, Arciszewski returned to Poland in August 1900 and was arrested soon afterwards.Released in 1903, Arciszewski returned to active service in the ranks of the socialists. He became one of the PPS' members used to develop the organization and structures of illegal party in poorly-developed areas of Poland. He spent some time in Częstochowa
Czestochowa
Częstochowa is a city in south Poland on the Warta River with 240,027 inhabitants . It has been situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since 1999, and was previously the capital of Częstochowa Voivodeship...
, Piotrków
Piotrków
Piotrków may refer to the following places in Poland:*Piotrków Trybunalski, a city in Piotrków County, Łódź Voivodeship*Piotrków Kujawski, a city in Gmina Piotrków Kujawski in Radziejów County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship...
and in the poorly-developed region of Podlaskie.
In 1904 he joined the Organizacja Bojowa of the PPS, a revolutionary
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
group fighting for the liberation of Poland. A close associate of Józef Piłsudski, Arciszewski moved to Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, where he became the head of the local branch of his organization. With it, he organized a number of assassination attempts of various Russian high-ranking officials. He also took part in the famous Bezdany raid
Bezdany raid
Bezdany raid was a train robbery carried out on the night of 26/27 September 1908 in the vicinity of Bezdany near Vilna on a Russian Empire passenger and mail train by a group of Polish revolutionaries, led by future Polish national hero and dictator, Józef Piłsudski.- Background :Piłsudski...
near Vilna (Vilnius, Lithuania), where his unit expropriated circa 200,000 roubles.
In 1906 Arciszewski, along with Piłsudski, joined the newly-found Polish Socialist Party - Revolutionary Faction, an organization of the Polish socialists oriented towards the independence of Poland rather than all-European workers' revolution. After the action of Bezdany he had to flee the Privislinsky Krai and settled in Lwów (now Lviv, Ukraine), where he joined the Association of Active Struggle
Zwiazek Walki Czynnej
Związek Walki Czynnej was a Polish secret military organization founded in 1908 by Józef Piłsudski, Marian Kukiel, Kazimierz Sosnkowski and Władysław Sikorski, all members of the Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist Party's Revolutionary...
, a secret para-military organization. Shortly before the outbreak of the Great War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he left the Revolutionary Faction and became a member of the internal opposition within the socialist movement.
In August 1914 he joined 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...
and served with distinction in the 1st Infantry Regiment of the 1st Brigade
I Brigade of the Polish Legions
Brigade I of the Polish Legions was a unit of Austro-Hungarian Army, manned by Austrian Poles, part of the Polish Legions in World War I, existing from 1914 to 1917.-History:...
. Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, in 1915 he was delegated to political service in the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
'-occupied Congress Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
, where he was among the most active organizers of the secret Polish Military Organization (POW). After the Act of 5 November and the proclamation of the Kingdom of Poland as part of the Central Powers' plan of Mitteleuropa
Mitteleuropa
Mitteleuropa is the German term equal to Central Europe. The word has political, geographic and cultural meaning. While it describes a geographical location, it also is the word denoting a political concept of a German-dominated and exploited Central European union that was put into motion during...
, Tomasz Arciszewski entered the city council of Warsaw. There he became the founder of trade unions and the editor of various socialist newspapers.
After the collapse of Germany and Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
at the end of World War I, on 7 November 1918 Arciszewski was appointed the minister of labour and social affairs in the Provisional Government of the Polish Republic led by Ignacy Daszyński
Ignacy Daszynski
Ignacy Ewaryst Daszyński was a Polish politician, journalist and Prime Minister of the Polish government created in Lublin in 1918....
. After Daszyński's government passed its responsibilities to Piłsudski and the consolidation of power in all parts of Poland occurred, Arciszewski was appointed the minister of postal services and telegraphic communication in the government of Jędrzej Moraczewski
Jedrzej Moraczewski
Jędrzej Moraczewski was a Polish socialist politician who served as first Prime Minister of Poland , from November 1918 to January 1919....
. He served at that post until 16 January 1919. Soon afterwards he was elected a member of the Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
.
During the Polish-Bolshevik War he organized various workers' voluntary units and supported the sabotage beneath Russian lines. After the war, in 1922 he was again elected member of the Sejm from the Socialist lists and held his post until 1935.
One of the most prominent leaders of the socialists (between 1919 and 1939 he was the member of the Main Council of the PPS), Arciszewski gradually broke up with his former colleague Piłsudski, who abandoned the socialist ideas after Poland regained her independence. This made him one of the prominent leaders of the Centrolew
Centrolew
The Centrolew was a coalition of several Polish political parties after the 1928 Sejm elections...
coalition of centrist and leftist parties. Apart from his seat in the Sejm, between 1919 and 1934, and then from 1938 until the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Arciszewski was a member of the Warsaw's city council. Among other duties, he was also the founder of the Workers' Society of Friends of Children.
After the outbreak of the Polish Defensive War of 1939, Arciszewski took part in the defense of Warsaw as one of the commanders of the Workers' Volunteer Battalions. After the German and Soviet take-over of Poland he went underground and, together with Kazimierz Pużak
Kazimierz Puzak
Kazimierz Pużak was a Polish politician of the interwar period. Active in the Polish Socialist Party, he was one of the leaders of the Polish Secret State and Polish resistance, sentenced by the Soviets in the infamous Trial of the Sixteen in 1945.-Biography:Born on 26 August 1883 in a family of...
, on 16 October of the same year he proclaimed the Polish Socialist Party – Freedom, Equality, Independence (PPS-WRN), a secret war-time continuation of the pre-war PPS. He headed that party until July 1944. After that he entered the Council of National Unity
Council of National Unity
Rada Jedności Narodowej was the quasi-parliament of the Polish Underground State during World War II...
(RJN), a quasi-parliament of the Polish Secret State
Polish Secret State
The Polish Underground State is a collective term for the World War II underground resistance organizations in Poland, both military and civilian, that remained loyal to the Polish Government in Exile in London. The first elements of the Underground State were put in place in the final days of the...
headed by Jan Stanisław Jankowski.
Shortly before the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
, Arciszewski was evacuated from Poland through an air bridge (Most III
Operation Most III
Operation Most III or Operation Wildhorn III was a World War II operation in which Poland's Armia Krajowa provided the Allies with crucial intelligence on the German V-2 rocket.-Background:...
) on 26 July 1944. Through Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
he reached London, where he was one of the candidates for the seat of the president of Poland in exile. In accordance with the April Constitution of 1935, on 7 August 1944 he was named by Władysław Raczkiewicz as his successor.
Critical towards the pressure of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and Stanisław Mikołajczyk's attempts at compromise with Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
, Arciszewski focused on trying to convince the Allied leaders (notably Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
) to help fighting Warsaw
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
– to little avail. After Mikołajczyk's resignation, on 29 November 1944, Arciszewski became the Prime Minister of Poland and at the same time he became the minister of labour and welfare in his government.
Later life
He died on 20 November 1955 at aged 78, and is buried in Brompton CemeteryBrompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery is located near Earl's Court in South West London, England . It is managed by The Royal Parks and is one of the Magnificent Seven...
, London.