Ignacy Mościcki

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Ignacy Mościcki

Ignacy Mościcki ( listen ? / I ) ([ iɡˈnat͡sɨ mɔˈɕt͡ɕit͡skʲi ]; born December 1, 1867 in Mierzanów near Ciechanów ; † October 2, 1946 in Versoix near Geneva , Switzerland ) was a Polish chemist and politician. From 1926 to 1939 he was the President of Poland. Audio file / audio sample

Life

Ignacy Moscicki came from a wealthy family of the middle nobility and studied chemistry at the Technical University of Vienna and the Technical University of Riga , where he is also a member of the fraternity Welecja was. In 1912 he was appointed to the chair of chemistry at the University of Lemberg and worked there until 1922. By 1926 he wrote over 60 scientific papers in the field of chemistry, which earned him international recognition.

After the May Coup of Józef Pilsudski in May 1926 of the departure of former President Stanislaw Wojciechowski caused Mościcki was by Pilsudski (the acceptance of the presidential post refused ) proposed as a presidential candidate and on 1 June 1926 by the National Assembly elected president . After the end of the term of office on May 8, 1933, re-elected at Piłsudski's request , he remained in his shadow until 1935 without attaining any political significance.

On April 23, 1935 (19 days before Piłsudski's death), the new Polish constitution came into force, giving the President extensive powers, including: a. the right to nominate his successor during a war or state of emergency . Although everyone expected that the president would step down after the new constitution came into force and that new elections would take place, Mościcki did not want to resign (his term of office would not have expired until 1940).

After Piłsudski's death, two centers of power emerged in Poland: the group "Castle" (Polish Zamek , so named after the residence of the president, the Warsaw Royal Castle ) around Mościcki and the group of "Colonels" (Polish Pułkownicy ) around the new Marshal of Poland Edward Rydz-Śmigły . Prime Minister was Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski .

The Polish defeat after the German and Soviet invasions in September 1939 forced Mościcki to flee to avoid surrender. He first fled to Romania and from there traveled to Switzerland in December 1939 , where he died on October 2, 1946. The urn with his ashes was transferred to Warsaw in 1993 and buried in the crypt of the Cathedral of St. John . His wife was buried in the avenue of the traditional Powązki cemetery in Warsaw . A few years ago the furniture from his study was put up again in the Royal Castle in Warsaw.

September 1, 1939: Appeal

On September 1, 1939 , after the German invasion of Poland, the following appeal by the President of the Republic to the Polish people was published:

Obywatele Rzeczypospolitej!
Nocy dzisiejszej odwieczny ...

Translation:

Mościcki's appeal on September 1, 1939
Citizens of the Republic!
Tonight our ancient enemy began acts of aggression against the Polish state, as I see before God and history.
At this historic moment, I address all citizens with the deep conviction that the whole people are concentrated around the Commander-in-Chief and the armed forces in defense of their freedom, independence and honor and that they give the attacker an appropriate response, as has often been shown in the history of Polish-German relations.
All the Polish people, blessed by God [and] united with the army in the struggle for their holy and just cause, go arm in arm into battle and to complete victory.
Ignacy Mościcki
The President of the Republic
Warsaw, September 1, 1939

See also

literature

  • Paweł Zaremba: Historia Dwudziestolecia. 1918–1939 (= Kultura. Biblioteka kultury 333, ISSN  0406-0393 ). 2 volumes. Ddo druku przygotował Marek Łatyński. Instytut Literacki, Paris 1981.

Web links

Commons : Ignacy Mościcki  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ according to the article Prezydenci Polski: Ignacy Mościcki, 1926-1939  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as broken. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Toter Link / usa.se.pl   in the US edition of Super Express (Super Express USA Publishing Corp.) dated June 7, 2010 (Polish).
  2. ↑ Translation quoted from gelsenzentrum.de
personal data
SURNAME Mościcki, Ignacy
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Polish scientist and politician
DATE OF BIRTH December 1, 1867
PLACE OF BIRTH Mierzanów near Ciechanów
DATE OF DEATH October 2, 1946
Place of death Versoix