The Polish Government-in-exile: National Unity and Weakness

Abstract

The Polish Government-in-exile was the legal representative of the largest group of Holocaust victims and of the land where most of the ghettoisation and killing took place. This study argues that the exile government’s policies towards the Jews resulted from a combination of factors: a general weakness and dependence on the host country; urgent calls from Poland for effective action to stop German crimes; the need to respond to demands voiced by the exiled Polish-Jewish leaders; the need to take into account reports on anti-Jewish sentiments among the Polish underground and in society more generally; the antisemitic position of one of its constituent parties; and the evolving knowledge of what was happening to the Jews in occupied Poland.

Keywords: Holocaust, Poland, government-in-exile