Up for auction a VERY RARE! "Polish Ambassador in Exile" Edward Raczyński Hand Signed 2.5X3.5 Card. This RARE! item comes with the original transmittal letter from the future President of Poland's secretary dated 1940

ES-4013

Count Edward

Bernard Raczyński (December 19, 1891 – July 30,

1993) was a Polish diplomat, writer, politician and President of Poland in

exile (between 1979 and 1986). He was the longest living (101), and oldest

serving Polish President (from the age of 88 to 95). Count Edward Bernard Maria

Raczyński was born December 19, 1891 in Zakopane, to a Polish aristocratic family. His father was Count Edward Aleksander

Raczyński of Nałęcz coat of arms, and

his mother Róża née Countess Potocka. The Raczyńskis were related to the Austro-Hungarian house

of Habsburgs. The full name was "Raczyński z Małyszyna",

as they were a branch of the noble family Nałęcz-Małyski from Greater Poland (the area of the town of Wieluń) and about 1540 took their name from the estate

of Raczyn near Wieluń. However, the Raczyńskis remained

relatively unknown until the 18th century, when four of them became Senators of

Poland under different reigns. One of the Raczyńskis became a Knight of

the Order of the White Eagle during

the reign of King August the Strong, six of

them were awarded the Virtuti Militari order during the time of Duchy of Warsaw and three received the same distinction

during the November Uprising of

1831. The title of Count was awarded to different branches of the family by

Prussian Kings Friedrich Wilhelm III (in

1824) and Wilhelm II (in 1905).

One of their kin was a Knight of the highest Prussian Order of the Black Eagle. Raczyński

spent most of his childhood in Kraków, in the family palace Pod Baranami and

in the family palace in Rogalin in Greater Poland. He studied law in Lipsk, Kraków, and London

(the London School of Economics) and was awarded with a doctorate of the Jagiellonian University in

Kraków in 1915. In November 1918, Raczynski joined the army of the resuscitated

Poland, from which he was called to the diplomatic service in May 1919. Until

1925, he worked in Polish embassies and missions in Bern,

Copenhagen and London. Back in Warsaw, he became the head of the department of international

agreements. In 1932, Raczyński was appointed Polish ambassador to the League of Nations and in 1934 he became the ambassador of

the Republic of Poland in the United Kingdom. On behalf of Poland, he signed

the Polish-British alliance[1] (August 25, 1939) which ultimately

led the United Kingdom to declare war on Nazi Germany after the country's

invasion. Following the September 1, 1939 German Invasion of Poland Raczyński

remained in London where he continued to serve as the ambassador of the Polish Government in Exile and

one of its prominent members. Between July 22, 1941 and July 14, 1943 he was

also the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Władysław Sikorski. In

this capacity, he provided the Allies with one of the earliest and most

accurate accounts of the ongoing Holocaust ("The mass extermination of

Jews in German occupied Poland", Raczyński's Note addressed

to the Governments of the United Nations on December 10, 1942") and pleaded for action. After 1945,

when the government of the United Kingdom broke the pacts with Poland and

withdrew support for the Polish government, Raczyński remained in London, where

he acted as one of the most notable members of Polish diaspora there. He was

active in various political and social organisations in exile, including

the Fundusz

Pomocy Krajowi (Help for the Country Fund) which

actively supported the democratic opposition in communist-controlled Poland.

Between 1954 and 1972 he was one of the members of the Council of the Three, the collective presidential body of the

Polish government in exile. He was also a member of the Committee for Polish

Affairs and an advisor of various British

governmental agencies and ministries. In March 1979, Raczyński

became President in exile, after being previously chosen by the outgoing

President Stanisław Ostrowski. In

turn, he chose as his successor Prime Minister Kazimierz Sabbat. During the Raczyński presidency (1979–1986)

the Solidarity movement

was established in Poland. Raczyński played an important role in raising

awareness about the events in Poland in Western countries and in establishing

closer ties with the opposition movement in Poland. President Raczyński at some

point considered naming Władysław Bartoszewski as

his successor, as he wanted to choose someone "from the country" and

with strong ties to the Polish opposition movement. Bartoszewski, however,

declined the offer.

After

serving a 7-year term he resigned from his post on April 8, 1986. He was the

last Polish President-in-Exile who had held an important office during the era

of the 2nd Republic: his successors, Kazimierz Sabbat and Ryszard Kaczorowski were

in their twenties at the outset of the Second World War.[6] As he left office he received a

praise for reuniting the Polish political emigration and reshaping the

Government in exile.

Edward

Raczyński died July 30, 1993, at his home in London as the last male descendant

of his line. His coffin was placed in the mausoleum of his family located at the chapel in Rogalin.

In his last will and testament, Count Raczyński bequeathed his family's palace

in Rogalin, and his library to the Polish nation. He was the

longest living head of state in Poland's history and one of the very few centenarians among European politicians of the 20th

century.

In

2004, a blue plaque was

installed on the house where he lived and died, No. 8 Lennox Gardens in Brompton.