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TheGovernment Delegation for Poland (Polish:Delegatura Rządu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na Kraj) was an agency of thePolish Government in Exile during World War II. It was the highest authority of thePolish Secret State inoccupied Poland and was headed by theGovernment Delegate for Poland, ade facto deputy Polish Prime Minister.[1]
The Government Delegation for Poland was intended as the first provisional government of war torn Poland until theExiled Polish Government could safely return from abroad to a liberated Poland.[1]
Initially there were two Delegations formed, one for thePolish areas annexed by Germany, and one for theGeneral Government. A delegate for thePolish areas annexed by the Soviet Union was never appointed. From 1942, power was consolidated and there was only one delegate chosen, in the rank of deputy prime minister. He in turn had 6 deputies for each of the regions, whose responsibilities were further delegated tocounty-level officers. In July 1944 the delegate's three deputies were promoted to ministers, and aHome Council of Ministers (Krajowa Rada Ministrów) was created. The Home Council became the local counterpart of thePolish Government in Exile.[1]
The Delegation's political body was thePolitical Consultative Committee (Polityczny Komitet Porozumiewawczy), a council comprising 4 main political parties. On 21 March 1943 it was renamed theHome Political Representation (Krajowa Reprezentacja Polityczna) and became an underground coalition parliament, comprising members of thePolish Socialist Party,National Party,People's Party andLabor Party. It became the controlling body of the Delegation and the Headquarters of theHome Army (Armia Krajowa). On 9 January 1944 it was turned into aCouncil of National Unity (Rada Jedności Narodowej), theparliament of underground Poland.[1]
DuringOperation Tempest, in 1944, the Council's local representatives and localHome Army commanders, as the representatives of the legitimate Polish government and the Polish Army, emerged from underground and welcomed the advancingRed Army. Despite several instances of successful cooperation with theSoviet Union, most of the Polish representatives and commanders were soon arrested by theNKVD and sent to Russian prisons or to theGulag.
During theWarsaw Uprising, the central Government Delegation for Poland likewise came out of hiding and began acting officially as the Polish parliament in the liberated areas of Poland. After the Uprising's suppression, most of the Delegation's members left Warsaw with the civilian population and managed to evade the Germans. However, contact with local branches in Soviet- and German-occupied areas was broken.
In February 1945, the Government Delegation including most members of theCouncil of National Unity and theHome Army Commander-in-Chief, were invited by Soviet GeneralIvan Serov to a conference on their eventual inclusion in the Soviet-backed Provisional Government. They were promisedsafe conduct beforehand but immediately arrested by theNKVD, and brought toMoscow, where they were brutally tortured for several months and tried in a stagedTrial of the Sixteen. All perished.[2] Meanwhile, in Poland, the Delegation was reconstructed and continued in its duties until finally disbanded on 1 July 1945.
The Delegation's activities encompassed all areas of organized society. It comprised 12 branches, roughly corresponding to the ministries of thePolish government-in-exile in London.
Near the end of the war, Departments of Foreign Affairs and of War Matters were created, but they have not played any significant role.
Other notable units and bureaus included:
With regard to territorial structure, there were:
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