Edward Bernard Maria Raczynski (1891 - 1993)

Born 19 Dec 1891 in Zakopane, Österreichisch-Ungarisches Reich

Ancestors

Husband of Joyous (Markham) Raczynski — married 24 Jul 1925 in St. James, Spanish Place, London, England, United Kingdom

Husband of Cecilia Maria (Jaroszyński) Raczyński — married 25 Aug 1932 in Rogalin

Died 30 Jul 1993 at age 101 in London, England, United Kingdom

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Biography

Edward Raczynski is Notable.

Edward Count Raczynski was born on December 19, 1891, and died on July 30, 1993. He was the son of Edward Count Raczynski and Róża Countess Potocki.

He attended the Jan Sobieski Gymnasium in Krakow and studied at the Jagiellonian University, earning a doctorate of law in 1915. He also attended the University of Leipzig and the London School of Economics.

After briefly serving in the Polish Army, he entered the Polish foreign service in 1919, serving at the Polish embassies in Bern in 1919, and in Copenhagen from 1919 to 1926, where he was the Secretary. He worked in the Eastern Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1926 to 1932, and then as Polish Ambassador to the League of Nations from 1932 to 1934, representing Poland at the Conference of Disarmament.

He served as Polish Ambassador to London from 1934 to 1945, signing the Mutual Assistance Pact between Poland and the United Kingdom and formally notifying the United Kingdom of the German invasion of Poland in 1939. During World War II, he also served as Foreign Minister of the Polish Government-in-Exile from 1941 to 1943. In 1942, he provided to the Allied Governments on the earliest accounts of the Holocaust, pleading for action.

He remained in London after the end of World War II, remaining active in Polish Affairs. He was active in various political and social organizations, including the Fundusz Pomocy Krajowi, which actively supported the democratic opposition in Poland. From 1947, he advised the British Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, and from 1954 to 1972, he was a member of the Supreme Council of National Unity, the collective presidential group of the Polish government in exile. He served as the President of Poland from 1979 to 1986, raising awareness about developments in Poland.

He founded the Polish Institute in London, of which he served as President, and the General Władysław Sikorski Museum.

He authored numerous books, including The British-Polish Alliance (1948), In Allied London (1962), Rogalin and its Inhabitants (1963) and Pani Roza (1969).

He was awarded the Order of the White Eagle and the Order of the Rebirth of Poland, the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, the Medal of the Decade of Regained Independence, the Order of Pius IX, the Order of the British Empire, the Order of the Crown of Romania, the Order of the Star of the High Country of Afghanistan, the Latvian Order of the Three Stars, and the Danish Order of Danebroga.

In 1991, he founded the Raczynski Foundation at the National Museum in Poznan, to which he donated paintings and other works of art.

Sources

• "The New Polish Ambassador," Evening Standard (London, England), November 2, 1934, p. 6.

• "Obituary: Count Edward Raczynski," The Independent (London, England), July 30, 1993.

• Polish Diplomat's Wedding," The Guardian (London, England), July 25, 1925, p. 15.

• Jerzy Jan Lerski, George J. Lerski, Halina T. Lerski and Aleksander Gieysztor, Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966-1945 (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press: 1996), p. 489.

• Joseph Graf Raczynski, Aufzeichnungen zur Geschichte der Familie Raczynski (Santiago, Chile: privately printed; 1992).

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernard_Raczynski

• https://rogalin.mnp.art.pl/en/page/rogalin-encyclopedia/encyclopedia-people/encyclopedia-people-owners/encyclopedia-people-owners-e-b-raczynski-biography