The International Recognition of Poland and the Establishing of Poland’s Diplomatic Relations in 1919

Abstract

In 1918, the newly established Poland was in a state of political and military conflict with all her neighbours, and her borders were not acknowledged by the victorious allies. A request for international recognition and the establishing of diplomatic relations sent from Warsaw in November 1919 went unanswered. Only the cooperation of the Polish National Committee in Paris, headed by Roman Dmowski, with the Poland-based political structure dominated by Józef Piłsudski, brought the desired result. On January 15, 1919, the Polish delegation was invited to join the Paris Peace Conference. This meant the de facto recognition of Poland. The government headed by Ignacy Jan Paderewski, and hence the Polish state, was recognised by the major Allied Powers de jure in the so-called “Little” Versailles Treaty of June 1919. Thereby the Warsaw authorities were allowed to establish diplomatic relations. Recent research on these issues does not provide a full explanation of the circumstances. It is necessary to establish the actual sequence of Poland’s formal recognition which thus provided a legal de jure basis for diplomatic relations. This article is the first attempt to systematize the issue with a novel methodological approach. The author proposes that the date of Poland’s recognition was the date when the other state’s decision was taken, and not when that decision was communicated. The establishing of diplomatic relations was a separate procedure and occurred – except in the case of the Netherlands – as a result of the letters of credence being presented by an envoy or letters of introduction by the chargé d’affaires.