Stanisław Kot

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Stanisław Kot (22 October 1885- 26 December 1975) was a Polish historian and politician, member of the Polish Government in Exile.

Born in 1885 in Ruda, Austria-Hungary, Kot studied philosophy at the University of Lwów, obtaining a PhD in 1911. He made several study trips to France, Germany, Sweden and Italy. In 1911 he married Ida Proksch. In his youth he was an active member of the organization of the Polish Studying Youth (Independent Group), under the Austro-Hungarian regime in the former Galicia. During the First World War he worked together with Władysław Sikorski in the Supreme National Committee (Naczelny Komitet Narodowy). From 1914 to 1919 he published a newspaper Wiadomości Polskie (Polish News).

After Poland regained independence as the Second Polish Republic, from 1919 he started the publication of book series Biblioteka Narodowa (National Library), which has been continued until the present day. From 1921 until 1939 he published a historical magazine Reformacja w Polsce (Reformation in Poland). From 1920 he was a professor at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków (Cracow). From 1921 he was a member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences (Polska Akademia Umiejętności). He wrote 54 historical books and dissertations. The most important ones are relevant to the history of education, history of civilisation and history of culture in Europe in 16th century and 17th century. In September 1933 he was discharged by the Sanacja government from the chair of University of Cracow in connection with the resistance of professors against the suppression of autonomy at the University and the prostest against imprisonment of Centrolew politicians. From that time he also joined the right wing of the Stronnictwo Ludowe political party.

After the German invasion of Poland and the start of the Second World War in Europe in 1939, he escaped to France, where he took part in the formation of the Polish Government in Exile, first serving as Minister of Internal Affairs Following the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 and the subsequent reestabilishment of diplomatic relations between Poland and Soviet Union, which had been broken after Soviet participation in the invasion of Poland, Stanisław Kot became the Polish ambassador to the Soviet Union in Moscow until 1942. Then until 1943 he served as Minister of State (Minster Stanu) in the Middle East, where Poland had substantial armed forces. From 1943 he was Minister of Information (Press and of the Propaganda Department) and his department played an important role when relations with the Soviet Union were broken off in 26 April 1943 after the discovery of the Katyn massacre, where the Soviets murdered thousands of Polish officers prisoners of war. After Prime Minister General Władysław Sikorski's tragic death on July 4, 1943, President Władysław Raczkiewicz called upon Stanisław Mikołajczyk, who had been acting as Prime Minister in General Sikorski absence, to form a Government. Kot retained his position as Minister of Information in Mikolajczyk's cabinet.

From 1945 to 1947 he cooperated with the Provisional Government on National Unity (Tymczasowy Rząd Jedności Narodowej), which attempted to bring together the Polish Government in Exile and Soviet-sponsored Polish communist government. During that time he was the Polish ambassador to Rome. Eventually, as the Soviets persecuted all symphatisers of the London-based government, Stanisław Kot resigned his post in 1947 and remained in exile, fearing a return to Poland, where he was likely to face charges of treason and possible execution. He remained a supporter of the London-based government in exile, and a leader of Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe in exile from 1955, until his death in Middlesex, United Kingdom in 1975.

[edit] References

Tadeusz Paweł Rutkowski, Stanisław Kot 1885-1975 Biografia polityczna, DIG 2000, ISBM 8371811659, Polish language
Alina Fitowa (red.), Stanisław Kot - uczony i polityk, Wydawnictwo UJ, 2002, ISBN 8323315191, description, Polish language

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