Political incumbents
On September 30, 1939, the last government of the Second Polish Republic which resided in Warsaw was dissolved. The government was originally designed on May 15, 1936, by Polish president Ignacy MoÃ
Âcicki under prime minister Felicjan SÃ
Âawoj SkÃ
Âadkowski.
Members of the government
- President of Poland â Ignacy MoÃ
Âcicki,
- Prime Minister â Felicjan SÃ
Âawoj SkÃ
Âadkowski,
- Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Treasury â Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski,
- Minister of Foreign Affairs â Józef Beck,
- Minister of Justice â Witold Grabowski,
- Minister of Military Affairs â Tadeusz Kasprzycki,
- Minister of Agriculture â Juliusz Poniatowski,
- Minister of Communication â Juliusz Ulrych,
- Minister of Post Office and Telegraphs â Emil KaliÃ
Âski,
- Minister of Religious Beliefs and Public Enlightenment â Wojciech Ã
ÂwiÃÂtosÃ
Âawski,
- Minister of Industry and Trade â Antoni Roman.
Other personalities
Events
January
- January 1. Józef Beck welcomes the new year in Monte Carlo, while president Ignacy MoÃ
Âcicki stays in Jaworzyna near Zakopane
- January 2. Flu epidemic in ZagÃ
ÂÃÂbie DÃÂ
browskie, where 25% of residents are sick
- January 3. In Warsaw a funeral of Cardinal Aleksander Kakowski (who died on December 31, 1938), takes place. The service is led by primate August Hlond, and by bishop Antoni Szlagowski
- January 4. Józef Beck arrives in Munich
- January 5. Minister Józef Beck meets Adolf Hitler in Berchtesgaden. Apart from Hitler and Beck, the meeting is attended by Joachim von Ribbentrop, Hans von Moltke, Polish ambassador to Berlin Józef Lipski, and Józef Beck's chef de cabinet, Michal Lubienski. The meeting lasts three hours
- January 6. In Munich, minister Beck meets Joachim von Ribbentrop
- January 7. In Warsaw, a funeral of Roman Dmowski takes place. Jadwiga Wajs gets married in Ã
ÂódÃ
º
- January 8. President MoÃ
Âcicki returns to Warsaw, where he meets foreign diplomats and ambassadors to Poland. On the same day, Jurgis Ã
 aulys, a Lithuanian envoy, begins his mission in Warsaw
- January 25. Joachim von Ribbentrop comes by train to Warsaw, he arrives at Warsaw GÃ
Âówna rail station 4:50 p.m.
- January 26. Joachim von Ribbentrop meets Ignacy MoÃ
Âcicki, Józef Beck and Edward Rydz-Ã
ÂmigÃ
Ây
- January 27. Joachim von Ribbentrop leaves Warsaw and returns to Berlin
February
March
- March 1. On the last day of his visit, Galeazzo Ciano visits Kraków
- March 2. A hurricane in Wilno destroys several houses
- March 4. Romanian minister of foreign affairs, Grigore Gafencu, comes to Warsaw by train, greeted by Józef Beck, Stefan StarzyÃ
Âski and Jan Szembek
- March 6. Grigore Gafencu returns to Bucharest. A group of Polish writers, including Konstanty Ildefons GaÃ
ÂczyÃ
Âski, visits Trans-Olza
- March 16. Units of Hungarian Army meet troops of the Polish Army, after Hungarian invasion of Carpatho-Ukraine
- March 17. In Berlin, Józef Lipski meets Hermann Göring, discussing establishment of Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
- March 22. A meeting of key Polish figures takes place at the Warsaw Castle. Present are Ignacy MoÃ
Âcicki, Edward Rydz-Ã
ÂmigÃ
Ây, Józef Beck and Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski. All agree that Poland will not accept German proposal of extraterritorial rail and road connection between East Prussia and the rest of Germany. On the same day, StanisÃ
Âaw Mackiewicz is imprisoned in the Bereza Kartuska detention camp
- March 26. In Berlin, Polish ambassador Józef Lipski meets Joachim von Ribbentrop, who demands that GdaÃ
Âsk becomes part of Germany. Lipski, following Beck's order, refuses
- March 30. In Warsaw, British ambassador Howard Kennard asks Józef Beck if Poland will accept British guarantees. Beck answers in the affirmative. On the same day, Wincenty Witos returns to Poland and stays in Kraków
- March 31. In London, prime minister Neville Chamberlain officially declares that Great Britain will help Poland in case of war
April
- April 2. In the afternoon, Józef Beck leaves Warsaw and goes by train to London. On his way, he stops at Berlin, to meet ambassador Józef Lipski
- April 4. Józef Beck meets at breakfast with lord Halifax and Winston Churchill in London. On the same day in the afternoon, Beck talks with Neville Chamberlain
- April 5. In London, Józef Beck meets king George VI at Windsor Castle. In Warsaw, a funeral of Walery SÃ
Âawek takes place
- April 8. StanisÃ
Âaw Mackiewicz is released from Bereza Kartuska. Józef Beck returns to Warsaw
- April 11. Adolf Hitler signs Fall Weiss
- April 14. In Warsaw, Józef Beck meets Hungarian attaché, Andreas Hory
- April 17. General Johan Laidoner, Commander-in-chief of the Estonian Army, comes to Warsaw
- April 18. A regular air connection Warsaw â Copenhagen â London is opened
- April 19. ORP SÃÂp (1938), built in the Netherlands, comes to Gdynia
- April 22. General Johan Laidoner visits Kraków. Anatole de Monzie, French Minister of Public Works, comes to Poland
- April 23. A 49-kilometer railroad connection CzÃÂstochowa â Chorzew Siemkowice, part of the Polish Coal Trunk-Line is opened
- April 24. Józef Beck meets British ambassador, Sir Howard Kennard. Wojciech Korfanty returns to Poland. He comes to PoznaÃ
 and talks to Primate August Hlond
- April 30. In Gross Strehlitz near Oppeln, personnel of the Polish Theatre from Katowice is beaten by a Nazi crowd. In Warsaw, a great air show takes place. PoznaÃ
 International Fair opens in PoznaÃ
Â
May
- May 2. Polish Council of Ministers approves a bill according to which the President can issue decrees. A local election in Volhynia takes place
- May 3. A military parade, to commemorate the Constitution Day, takes place in Warsaw
- May 4. Marshall Edward Rydz-Ã
ÂmigÃ
Ây meets schoolchildren from Warsaw and Trans-Olza
- May 5. Józef Beck delivers a famous speech in the Sejm, in which he rejects Hitler's demands towards Poland
- May 7. Mass patriotic demonstrations of peasants and workers take place across Poland, with the biggest in Warsaw and Tarnów
- May 9. General Stasys RaÃ
¡tikis, Defense Minister of Lithuania, comes to Warsaw
- May 11. Polish ambassador in Moscow, WacÃ
Âaw Grzybowski, meets Vyacheslav Molotov
- May 12. A mutual help agreement between France and Poland is signed in Paris by Polish ambassador Juliusz Ã
Âukasiewicz and French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Georges Bonnet
- May 13. Galeazzo Ciano informs Józef Beck that in case of future Polish-German conflict, Italy will support Germany
- May 15. General Tadeusz Kasprzycki begins in Paris negotiations about military help with General Maurice Gamelin
- May 16. General WacÃ
Âaw Stachiewicz orders his subordinates to create a plan of fortifications along the Polish-German border
- May 18. Floods in Poland, in the areas of Kielce and Lwów
- May 19. Polish-French military negotiations end in Paris. Both sides pledge to help each other in case of war
- May 23. Polish-British military negotiations begin in Warsaw. Józef Beck meets General Józef Haller
- May 26. Nationwide local elections are finished, with Obóz Zjednoczenia Narodowego winning 48% of votes. A Polish Institute is opened in Budapest
- May 30. The funeral of Aleksander Brückner takes place in Berlin
June
- June 2. A new ambassador of the Soviet Union, Nikolai Sharonov, comes to Warsaw and begins his mission
- June 6. A dangerous fire in the unfinished complex of the Warsaw GÃ
Âówna rail station
- June 7. Seven people die, when an express train Katowice â Warszawa derails near Pruszków
- June 11. President Ignacy MoÃ
Âcicki begins a tour of the Central Industrial Area
- June 13. A delegation of the Polish government, under Adam Koc, comes to London, to negotiate a loan for Polish Army
- June 15. Polish Airlines open new connections: Gdynia â Warsaw â Budapest â Venice â Rome, and Warsaw â Budapest â Belgrad
- June 16. A heat wave in Poland, with temperatures ranging from 35 C in Zaleszczyki, to 21 in PoznaÃ
Â, ToruÃ
 and Gdynia. Representatives of Polonia from the United States collect $750,000 to the National Defence Fund
- June 21. A Convention of 300 Polish rabbis begins in Wilno
- June 23. In Polish schools, summer vacation begins
- June 24. Annual Days of the Sea begin in Gdynia. General Louis Faury visits Polish garrisons
- June 26. Florian Znaniecki leaves Poland for a series of lectures at American universities
- June 29. Jan Kiepura, together with wife Marta Eggerth, sing to thousands of people on the Old Town Market Place, Warsaw. All profits were given to the National Defence Fund
July
- July 5. Grand Rabbi Ben Zion Halberstam of Bobov visits OÃ
ÂwiÃÂcim, enthusiastically greeted by some 3000 followers
- July 6. At Warsaw's Castle, a meeting of Ignacy MoÃ
Âcicki, Felicjan SÃ
Âawoj SkÃ
Âadkowski, Edward Rydz-Ã
ÂmigÃ
Ây and Józef Beck takes place. The gathered discuss Polish policies concerning the Free City of Danzig
- July 8. Due to unusually hot and sunny weather, harvest begins in Poland earlier than usually
- July 7. King of Albania Zog, comes to Lwów and, after a short break, he goes to Warsaw together with family
- July 10. Neville Chamberlain, speaking in the House of Commons, states that Britain is determined to help Poland in case of an attack
- July 11. In JazÃ
Âowiec, the 14th Regiment of JazÃ
Âowiec Uhlans celebrates its day
- July 13. Felicjan SÃ
Âawoj SkÃ
Âadkowski tours the PoznaÃ
 Voivodeship
- July 15. On the anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald, a mass demonstration takes place in Kraków. On the same day in Katowice, Jan Kiepura sings to 20 000 people, with profits going to the National Defence Fund
- July 17. General Sir Edmund Ironside of the British Army comes to Warsaw, via Gdynia. Jan Kiepura sings to 10,000 people in Karwina, Trans-Olza
- July 18. General Ironside visits the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw
- July 20. General Ironside visits garrisons of the Polish Army in Rembertów and Modlin. Wojciech Korfanty leaves prison
- July 27. MS Batory, a passenger ship, enters service in the port of Gdynia
August
- August 1. Officers of Polish Police arrest in Lwów around 30 activists of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists
- August 2. In London, governments of Poland and Great Britain sign an agreement according to which Poland gets a loan in the amount of 8 million British pounds (200 million Polish zlotys). Poland initially demanded four times as much. On the same day, Benedictine monks return to the abbey in Tyniec
- August 4. Polish customs officers in the Free City of Danzig are informed that they no longer can make inspections in the port. On the next day, under Polish pressure, the Senate of Danzig voids the decision
- August 6. In Kraków, the 25th anniversary of First Cadre Company's departure is celebrated with estimated 200,000 watching the parade
- August 8. A Polish-Hungarian celebration takes place at the Cross of the Legions in eastern Carpathians
- August 9. Polish chargé d'affaires in Berlin, Stefan Lubomirski, meets Ernst von Weizsäcker, who hands Lubomirski a note from von Ribbentrop about tense situation in the Free City of Danzig
- August 10. In Warsaw, Tomasz Arciszewski meets German chargé d'affaires, Johan von Wuhlisch. On the same day, Gauleiter Albert Forster makes a speech in Danzig, telling the crowds that the city will soon return to Germany
- August 11. A conference of Józef Beck, Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski, Ignacy MoÃ
Âcicki, Felicjan SÃ
Âawoj SkÃ
Âadkowski and Edward Rydz-Ã
ÂmigÃ
Ây, takes place at the Warsaw Castle
- August 12. In Moscow, talks between military delegations of France, Great Britain and Soviet Union begin
- August 13. Partial mobilization of the Polish Army
- August 15. Poland celebrates 19th anniversary of the Miracle at the Vistula (see: Battle of Warsaw (1920)), with the biggest demonstration taking place in Radzymin. On the same day in Moscow, Vyacheslav Molotov talks with German ambassador to the Soviet Union, Friedrich Schullenburg. Schullenburg informs Molotov about von Ribbentrop's willingness to come to Moscow
- August 17. French government grants Polish government credit in the amount of 430 million French francs
- August 19. In Warsaw, Józef Beck, talking to British ambassador Howard Kennard and French ambassador Léon Noël, says that Polish government will not give permission for the Red Army to enter Polish territory in case of war with Germany. On the same day, Northern Trade Fair opens in Wilno
- August 20. In Katowice, funeral of Wojciech Korfanty takes place
- August 22. Heat in Poland, with temperatures reaching up to 31 degrees Celsius in Pomerania. Edward Rydz-Ã
ÂmigÃ
Ây orders alarm mobilization in military districts along western border of Poland. Joachim von Ribbentrop leaves Berlin for Moscow
- August 23. In Moscow, MolotovâÂÂRibbentrop Pact is signed
- August 24. In the morning, secret mobilization takes place in Poland, which covers around 75% of the Polish Army manpower
- August 25. Pact of mutual help between Poland and Great Britain is signed in London. In Moscow, SovietâÂÂFrenchâÂÂBritish negotiations end. German battleship Schleswig-Holstein anchoress in the channel near Westerplatte
- August 26. Adolf Hitler changes his order and attack on Poland is postponed to September 1. Nevertheless, some Wehrmacht units attack, especially in the south. Józef Beck meets Soviet ambassador, Nikolai Sharonov
- August 28. German chargé d'affaires, Ernst Krummer meets Jan Szembek. Krummer declares that the GermanâÂÂPolish Non-Aggression Pact is unilaterally abrogated by Adolf Hitler. On the same day, Hitler speaks at Reichstag, and the speech is broadcast by the radio (see: List of Adolf Hitler speeches). 20 people die in the Tarnów rail station bomb attack
- August 30. The Polish destroyers ORP Burza, ORP BÃ
Âyskawica and ORP Grom are ordered to execute the Peking Plan, and the warships head for Great Britain. A mobilisation of the Polish Army is ordered
- August 31. Gleiwitz incident. Polish ambassador in Berlin, Józef Lipski, for the last time sees Joachim von Ribbentrop. At 12:40 pm, Adolf Hitler gives an order to attack Poland on September 1, at 4:45 am
September
October
- October 1. In Paris, a Government in Exile, under General WÃ
ÂadysÃ
Âaw Sikorski, is sworn
- October 2. Polish Army garrison in Hel capitulate. Governments of the United States and France officially recognize the government of General Sikorski. battle of Kock begins
- October 4. In Wilno, the NKVD incarcerates Colonel Zygmunt Berling
- October 5. Adolf Hitler greets German troops during the parade of victory in Warsaw. Battle of Kock ends
- October 7. Adolf Hitler orders Heinrich Himmler to organize mass expulsions of Poles from western part of the occupied country. In Eastern Poland, electoral campaign begins
- October 8. Upon decree of Hitler, Western provinces of Poland, with a population of 10 million and the area of 91 000 km<sup>2</sup>, together with the cities of PoznaÃ
Â, Gdynia, ToruÃ
Â, Bydgoszcz, Ã
ÂódÃ
º and Katowice are incorporated into the Third Reich
- October 10. In Kiev, Soviet authorities arrest consul of Poland, Janusz Matuszynski, who vanishes without a trace
- October 11. General Kazimierz Sosnkowski reaches Paris
- October 12. General Government, with capital in Kraków, is created
- October 16. Polish consul in Kaunas, Franciszek Charwat, leaves Lithuania, after both countries broke diplomatic relations when Lithuania incorporated the area of Wilno
- October 19. The Germans transport to Berlin archives of the Polish Foreign Ministry
- October 22. "Elections" in the Soviet-occupied areas of eastern Poland, marked by terror of the NKVD troops
- October 23. Last Polish Army unit in Eastern Poland is dissolved near Orany. It was commanded by Colonel WÃ
ÂadysÃ
Âaw Wysocki
- October 24. Nikita Khrushchev, talking to General WÃ
ÂadysÃ
Âaw Langner assures him that officers of the Polish Army, kept by the Soviets, will be released (see: Katyn massacre)
- October 25. Since September 1, the Germans, in 700 mass executions, murdered around 16,000 Polish civilians
- October 26. Hans Frank is appointed Governor-General of the Germany-occupied territories. In Lwów, first meeting of the People's Assembly of Western Ukraine takes place
- October 27. Stefan StarzyÃ
Âski is arrested in Warsaw. In Lwów, the NKVD arrests General Marian Zegota-Januszajtis
- October 28. Lithuanian Army units enter Wilno. According to German data, there are 360,000 Jews in Warsaw. In BiaÃ
Âystok, first meeting of the People's Assembly of Western Belarus takes place
November
- November 1. Upon decree of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, southeastern part of Poland (see: Territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union) is incorporated into Soviet Ukraine as Western Ukraine, with the size of 88,000 km<sup>2</sup> and population of 8,000,000. On the same day, at Rossa Cemetery in Wilno, a mass, patriotic demonstration takes place, with 20,000 people present
- November 2. The Germans officially change name of the Wawel Castle into Krakauer-Burg. First Poles, displaced from German-occupied western part of country, come to Warsaw
- November 3. German occupational authorities confiscate all radios. Hence, those Poles who keep their radios, are punished with death
- November 5. Mass expulsions of Poles from PoznaÃ
 begin. They are replaced with Germans from the Baltic states
- November 6. Sonderaktion Krakau â arrest of 183 professors from Kraków
- November 7. In Reichsgau Wartheland, a ban on Polish-German marriages is announced
- November 8. Aleksandra PiÃ
Âsudska, together with daughters Wanda PiÃ
Âsudska and Jadwiga PiÃ
Âsudska arrive in London,
- November 9. Mass arrests of Polish teachers in Ã
ÂódÃ
º county. The city of Ã
ÂódÃ
º, together with surrounding areas, is incorporated into Wartheland
- November 12. General MieczysÃ
Âaw Boruta-Spiechowicz leaves Lwów and tries to get to Hungary. Caught by the NKVD, he is arrested. On the same day, German authorities begin printing of German-language newspapers, Krakauer Zeitung (in Kraków) and Warschauer Zeitung (in Warsaw)
- November 14. Upon decree of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, northeastern part of Poland (see: Territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union) is incorporated into Soviet Belarus, as Western Belarus, with the size of 108,000 km<sup>2</sup> and population of 4,800,000
- November 19. In Lwów, a group of Polish writers (WÃ
ÂadysÃ
Âaw Broniewski, Tadeusz Boy-Ã
»eleÃ
Âski, StanisÃ
Âaw Jerzy Lec, Aleksander Wat and Adam WaÃ
¼yk), together sign an article published in Czerwony Sztandar, in which they praise incorporation of southeastern Poland into the Soviet Union
- November 20. General WÃ
ÂadysÃ
Âaw Langner crosses former PolishâÂÂRomanian border
- November 21. Colonel StanisÃ
Âaw Sosabowski leaves Warsaw and heads for Budapest. On the same day, German authorities officially transfer Spisz and Orawa to Slovakia
- November 22. French government declares the town of Angers seat of Polish government-in-exile
- November 23. Upon decree of Hans Frank, all Jews over the age of 12 must wear armbands with the Star of David
- November 29. Upon decree of the Supreme Soviet, all inhabitants of the Soviet-occupied areas of Poland are granted Soviet citizenship
December
- December 3. President in Exile, WÃ
ÂadysÃ
Âaw Raczkiewicz, moves from Paris to Angers
- December 4. General Kazimierz Sosnkowski signs a Decree number 1 for Citizen Rakon (Rakon was nom de guerre of Stefan Rowecki), which contains text of oath of members of the Union of Armed Struggle
- December 5. A Theological college in Lwów is dissolved by Soviet authorities
- December 7. In Zakopane, NKVD and Gestapo officers discuss mutual cooperation and methods of fighting Polish resistance (see: GestapoâÂÂNKVD Conferences). In Palmiry, the Germans execute 80 persons
- December 10. In Lwów, NKVD agents arrest around 800 officers of the Polish Army, including General Mariusz Zaruski. In Volhynia, resettlement of ethnic German population begins. The Germans move to Wartheland
- December 13. In Warsaw, BolesÃ
Âaw Piasecki is arrested
- December 15. Lithuanian government liquidates Polish-language University of Stefan Batory in Wilno, creating a Lithuanian-language Vilnius University
- December 23. In Lublin, the Germans execute 10 leaders of local Polish community
- December 24. In Eastern Poland, occupied by the Soviets, exchange of currency takes place. Polish zÃ
Âotys are replaced with the much less valued Rubles
- December 27. In Wawer, the Germans execute 106 Polish civilians
Arts and literature
Awards
New books
Film
- Sportowiec mimo woli, with Adolf Dymsza, directed by MieczysÃ
Âaw Krawicz, music by Henryk Wars, premiered on May 31 1940.
- Trzy serca, with ElÃ
¼bieta Barszczewska and Aleksander Ã
»abczyÃ
Âski, based on a book by Tadeusz DoÃ
ÂÃÂga-Mostowicz, directed by MichaÃ
 WaszyÃ
Âski, music by Zygmunt Wiehler, premiere March 17, 1939,
- Doktór Murek, with Nora Ney based on a book by Tadeusz DoÃ
ÂÃÂga-Mostowicz, directed by Juliusz Gardan, music by WÃ
ÂadysÃ
Âaw Szpilman,
- WÃ
ÂóczÃÂgi, a comedy directed by MichaÃ
 WaszyÃ
Âski, music by Henryk Wars,
- U kresu drogi with MieczysÃ
Âawa ÃÂwikliÃ
Âska and Kazimierz Junosza-StÃÂpowski, screenplay by Anatol Stern, directed by MichaÃ
 WaszyÃ
Âski.
Sports
January
- January 8. A 20-year-old Polish glider Tadeusz Góra is awarded the Lilienthal Medal for his 577.8-kilometer glider flight from Bezmiechowa near Lesko to Soleczniki near Wilno
- January 10. In the Upper Silesian city of Beuthen, football team of Polish Upper Silesia loses 3âÂÂ5 to the team of German Upper Silesia, with Leonard PiÃÂ
tek scoring two goals and Jerzy Wostal one
- January 11. Jadwiga Wajs, discus throw Olympic silver and bronze medalist gets married in Ã
ÂódÃ
º
- January 15. In Warsaw, in an international boxing match, Poland beats the Netherlands 16-0
- January 16. In Stockholm, in an international boxing match, Poland beats Sweden 12-4
- January 22. In a football friendly in Paris, France beats Poland 4-0
- January 25. The national ice hockey team for the 1939 World Ice Hockey Championships in Switzerland has been announced. It consists of 15 players â 5 from Cracovia, 4 from DÃÂ
b Katowice, 4 from Warszawianka Warszawa, 1 from AZS PoznaÃ
 and 1 from Czarni Lwów
- January 27. Men's volleyball championships of Poland begin in Lwów
- January 29. In Lwów, Sokol Drugi Lwów becomes men's volleyball champion of Poland. Second is Cresovia Grodno, third â CWS Warszawa
February
- February 4. In the 1939 World Ice Hockey Championships, Poland in Group C (Basel) beats the Netherlands 9-0
- February 5. In the 1939 World Ice Hockey Championships, Poland in Basel loses 0âÂÂ4 to Canada
- February 7. In the second round of the 1939 World Ice Hockey Championships, Poland in Basel loses to Switzerland 0-4
- February 8. In the second round of the 1939 World Ice Hockey Championships, Poland in Basel beats Hungary 5-3
- February 9. In the second round of the 1939 World Ice Hockey Championships, Poland in Basel loses to the United States 0-4
- February 10. In the consolidation round of the 1939 World Ice Hockey Championships, Poland in Zürich beats Hungary 3-0
- February 11. Skiing championships of the world (FIS), begin in Zakopane
- February 12. In the consolidation round of the 1939 World Ice Hockey Championships, Poland in Zürich loses to Germany 0âÂÂ4, finishing sixth overall
- February 12. In PoznaÃ
Â, in an international boxing match, Poland beats Hungary 14-2
March
- March 3. In Katowice, the team of DÃÂ
b Katowice becomes ice-hockey champion of Poland. Second is Warszawianka Warszawa, third Ognisko Wilno
- March 5. In Ã
ÂódÃ
º, in an international table tennis game, Poland beats Latvia 5-4
- March 12. In Lwów, in an international boxing match, Poland beats Finland 14-2
- March 12. In Riga, in an international boxing match, Poland B beats Latvia 10-6
- March 19. In PoznaÃ
Â, in an international boxing match, Poland beats Italy 10-6
- March 26. In the first game of the 1939 season of the Polish football league, Garbarnia Kraków beats at home Ruch Chorzów 2-1 (att. 4000)
April
- April 2. Games of the 1939 season of the Polish football league begin. In the first round, Warszawianka Warszawa loses at home to Ruch Chorzów 0-5 (att. 3000), AKS Chorzów loses in Chorzów 1âÂÂ2 to Cracovia (att. 6000), PogoÃ
 Lwów beats at home Garbarnia Kraków 5-1 (att. 4000), WisÃ
Âa Kraków beats at home Polonia Warszawa 2-1 (att. 3500) and Warta PoznaÃ
 beats at home Union Touring Ã
ÂódÃ
º 7-0 (att. 2000)
- April 10. During the Easter holidays, several foreign football teams came to Poland. Gedania GdaÃ
Âsk, a Polish minority side from the Free City of Danzig, beat 3-1 Warszawianka Warszawa in Warsaw, Elektromos Budapest lost 1âÂÂ2 to WisÃ
Âa Kraków and beat 1-0 Cracovia Kraków, Kispest FC beat 2-1 AKS Chorzów and lost 1âÂÂ2 to Ruch Chorzów, and SK Bratislava beat 2âÂÂ1 in Lwów the reserve team of PogoÃ
 Lwów
- April 13. Polish team leaves PoznaÃ
 and goes by train to Dublin, to participate in the 1939 European Amateur Boxing Championships
- April 16. In the games of the Polish football league, Polonia Warszawa beats at home Warta PoznaÃ
 3-1 (att. 4000), Cracovia beats at home Warszawianka Warszawa 2-1 (att. 7000), Garbarnia Kraków loses at home 2âÂÂ3 to AKS Chorzów (att. 7000), Ruch Chorzów beats at home PogoÃ
 Lwów 4-1 (att. 4000) and WisÃ
Âa Kraków beats in Ã
ÂódÃ
º Union-Touring 3-1 (att. 3000). In Warsaw, in a table tennis international game, Kaunas beats Warsaw 7-2
- April 22. Polish boxing team, with one gold (Antoni KolczyÃ
Âski), three silver medals (Antoni Czortek, Józef Pisarski, Franciszek Szymura) and a bronze by Zbigniew Kowalski, leaves Dublin, after the 1939 European Amateur Boxing Championships. Poland overall is the winner of team competition. In Riga, in a basketball international friendly, Poland loses to Latvia 18:42
- April 23. In the games of the Polish football league, Cracovia Kraków beats at home Union-Touring lodz 1-0 (att. 3000), Garbarnia Kraków beats away Warszawianka Warszawa 2-0 (att. 3000), PogoÃ
 Lwów beats at home Polonia Warszawa 3-2 (att. 3000), Warta PoznaÃ
 beats at home WisÃ
Âa Kraków 4-1 and in the Upper Silesian classic, Ruch Chorzów beats on home turf AKS Chorzów 3âÂÂ2, with attendance of 10,000. In Riga, in a basketball international friendly, Poland beats Latvia 31-29
May
- May 3. In Kraków, in the Polish Football League game, WisÃ
Âa Kraków beats PogoÃ
 Lwów 2-1 (att. 4000). In international tennis game, Poland beats Romania 3âÂÂ1. In Warsaw and major Polish cities (Kraków, Lwów, Wilno, PoznaÃ
Â, ToruÃ
Â, Gdynia, BiaÃ
Âystok, Zakopane, Lublin, Brzesc, GrudziÃÂ
dz, Slonim), National Running Day competitions take place, with numerous athletes participating
- May 7. In games of the Polish Football League, Warszawianka Warszawa beats Polonia Warszawa 5-1 (att. 8000), Ruch Chorzów beats Garbarnia Kraków 5-0 (att. 5000), WisÃ
Âa Kraków beats Cracovia Kraków 5-1 (att. 8000), PogoÃ
 Lwów ties at home with Union-Touring Ã
ÂódÃ
º 2-2 (att. 2000) and Warta PoznaÃ
 beats at home AKS Chorzów 2-1 (att. 5000). In Warsaw, in the Davis Cup match, Poland beats the Netherlands 4-1
- May 14. In Warsaw, in an international football friendly, the team of the city of Warsaw beats the team of the city of Kaunas 5-2
- May 19. A Davis Cup game Poland-Germany begins
- May 21. In games of the Polish Football League, Warszawianka Warszawa loses at home 0âÂÂ4 to AKS Chorzów (att. 3000), Ruch Chorzów routs at home Union-Touring Ã
ÂódÃ
º 12-1 (with 10 goals by Ernest Wilimowski, att. 2000), PogoÃ
 Lwów beats away Warta PoznaÃ
 1âÂÂ0, and WisÃ
Âa Kraków ties 1âÂÂ1 with Garbarnia Kraków (att. 6000)
- May 22. In Kaunas, during the Basketball Championships of Europe, basketball team of Poland beats Estonia 40-36
- May 23. In Kaunas, basketball team of Poland beats France 38-36
- May 24. In Kaunas, basketball team of Poland loses to Lithuania 18-46
- May 25. In Kaunas, basketball team of Poland beats Hungary 42-20
- May 27. In Ã
ÂódÃ
º, in a football friendly, Poland ties 3âÂÂ3 with Belgium, with two goals by Ernst Wilimowski and one by Jerzy Wostal. On the same day in Lwów, events marking 35th anniversary of PogoÃ
 Lwów take place
- May 28. Polish national basketball team finishes the EuroBasket 1939 on the third spot, behind Lithuania and Latvia
June
- June 4. In Warsaw, in a football friendly, Poland ties 1âÂÂ1 with Switzerland, with a goal by Leonard PiÃÂ
tek
- June 8. In a game of the Polish Football League, WisÃ
Âa Kraków loses at home 0âÂÂ1 to Ruch Chorzów (att. 7000)
- June 11. In games of the Polish Football League, Warta PoznaÃ
 beats at home Warszawianka Warszawa 4-2 (att. 3500), Garbarnia Kraków loses at home to Cracovia 1-2 (att. 4000), Polonia Warszawa routs at home Union-Touring Ã
ÂódÃ
º 6-1 (att. 4000) and AKS Chorzów beats at home PogoÃ
 Lwów 2-0 (att. 5000)
- June 18. In games of the Polish Football League, PogoÃ
 Lwów beats at home Cracovia Kraków 3âÂÂ0, Warta PoznaÃ
 ties away with Ruch Chorzów 1-1 (att. 6000), WisÃ
Âa Kraków beats in Warsaw Warszawianka Warszawa 1-0 (att. 2500), Garbarnia Kraków ties at home 2âÂÂ2 with Polonia Warszawa (att. 2000) and AKS Chorzów beats in Ã
ÂódÃ
º Union Touring 7-1 (att. 3000). On the same day, handball team of Poland beats Sweden in Katowice 8-6
- June 25. In an international women's track and field match in Bergamo, Poland loses to Italy 33âÂÂ51. In games of the Polish Football League, Polonia Warszawa beats at home WisÃ
Âa Kraków 5-4 (att. 6000), AKS Chorzów ties at home 0âÂÂ0 with Warszawianka Warszawa (att. 2000), Cracovia Kraków loses at home 2âÂÂ5 to Ruch Chorzów (att. 6000), PogoÃ
 Lwów beats in Ã
ÂódÃ
º Union-Touring 2-1 (att. 1500) and Warta PoznaÃ
 beats at home Garbarnia Kraków 5-0 (att. 4000). In Ã
ÂódÃ
º, Ã
ÂKS Ã
ÂódÃ
º becomes man's handball champion of Poland. Second is Pogon Katowice, third AZS Warszawa, and fourth, AZS Lwów
July
- July 2. In the games of the Polish Football League, Ruch Chorzów loses at home 2âÂÂ3 to Polonia Warszawa (att. 4000), Cracovia beats Warszawianka Warszawa in Warsaw 3-1 (att. 1500), WisÃ
Âa Kraków routs at home Warta PoznaÃ
 5-0 (att. 3000), and PogoÃ
 Lwów, in its last ever official home game, ties 1âÂÂ1 with AKS Chorzów (att. 5000)
- July 8. Men's track and field championships of Poland begin in PoznaÃ
Â
- July 9. In Kraków, in the Polish Football League game, Garbarnia Kraków beats Union Touring Ã
ÂódÃ
º 2-1 (att. 1000)
- July 15. Women's track and field championships of Poland begin in Katowice
- July 16. In the Polish Football League game, Polonia Warszawa ties 2âÂÂ2 at home with Ruch Chorzów (att. 4000), on the same day women's swimming championships of Poland end in Bielsko-BiaÃ
Âa
- July 22. Tour de Pologne begins with the first stage, from Warsaw to Lublin
- July 23. Second stage of Tour de Pologne, from Lublin, via ZamoÃ
Âàand Rawa Ruska, to Lwów
- July 24. Third stage of Tour de Pologne, from Lwów, via Przeworsk to Rzeszów,
- July 25. Fourth stage of Tour de Pologne, from Rzeszów, via Tarnów to Kraków
- July 26. Fifth stage of Tour de Pologne, from Kraków, via Bielsko-BiaÃ
Âa, to Cieszyn
- July 28. Sixth stage of Tour de Pologne, from Cieszyn, via Trzyniec, to Katowice
- July 29. Seventh stage of Tour de Pologne, from Katowice, via CzÃÂstochowa, to Piotrków Trybunalski
- July 30. Last, eighth, stage of Tour de Pologne, from Piotrków Trybunalski to Warsaw. BolesÃ
Âaw NapieraÃ
Âa wins the tournament
August
- August 2. In Gdynia, Józef Hebda becomes tennis champion of Poland
- August 10. International tennis game Poland â China starts in Warsaw
- August 12. Rowing championships of Poland begin in PoznaÃ
Â
- August 13. In the Polish Football League qualifiers, Legia PoznaÃ
 ties at home 1âÂÂ1 with Junak Drohobycz and Ã
ÂlÃÂ
sk Ã
ÂwiÃÂtochÃ
Âowice beats at home Ã
ÂmigÃ
Ây Wilno 2-1
- August 15. In the Polish Football League game, Cracovia loses at home 3âÂÂ4 to PogoÃ
 Lwów (att. 4000)
- August 20. In the last prewar round of the Polish Football League, Polonia Warszawa beats at home PogoÃ
 Lwów 2-1 (this is the last ever game in the history of the Lwów side, att. 5000), Cracovia beats 3âÂÂ2 in Ã
ÂódÃ
º the team of Union Touring Ã
ÂódÃ
º (att. 3000), Warta PoznaÃ
 beats at home Ruch Chorzów 5-2 (att. 8000), AKS Chorzów beats at home Garbarnia Kraków 3-0 (att. 3000) and WisÃ
Âa Kraków beats at home Warszawianka Warszawa 4-2 (att. 3000). On the same day, in the qualifiers to the League, Ã
ÂmigÃ
Ây Wilno beats at home Legia PoznaÃ
 5-1 (att. 3000), and Junak Drohobycz ties at home 0âÂÂ0 with Ã
ÂlÃÂ
sk Ã
ÂwiÃÂtochÃ
Âowice (att. 4000),
- August 25. For the first time in the interbellum period, a Polish football team, Ã
ÂmigÃ
Ây Wilno, goes to Lithuania to play friendlies there,
- August 27. In Warsaw, Polish football team beats Hungary 4âÂÂ2, with three goals scored by Ernest Willimowski and one by Leonard PiÃÂ
tek (see: 1939 Poland vs Hungary football match)
September
Births
- February 2 – Marcin Libicki, conservative politician is born in PoznaÃ
Â,
- February 6 – CzesÃ
Âaw Niemen, a singer and composer, is born in Stare Wasiliszki
- April 20 – Anna RadziwiÃ
ÂÃ
Â, historian, educator, and politician,
- April 27 – StanisÃ
Âaw Dziwisz, a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, is born in Raba WyÃ
¼na
- May 2 – StanisÃ
Âaw Ciosek, a prominent member of the Polish United Workers' Party, is born in the village of PawÃ
Âowice near Radom
- May 28 – Wojciech Karolak, jazz musician, born in Warsaw
- June 17 – Krzysztof Zanussi, producer and film director is born in Warsaw
- July 2 – Film actress Iga CembrzyÃ
Âska is born in Radom
- July 19 – Bohdan CywiÃ
Âski, a writer and member of anticommunist movements, is born in Milanówek
- July 29 – Witold Baran, a middle-distance runner, is born in Chmielów near Kielce
- August 9 – Maria Czubaszek, a poet and songwriter, is born in Warsaw
- August 23 – Edward Linde-Lubaszenko, actor, born in BiaÃ
Âystok
- September 19 – Jerzy BartmiÃ
Âski, linguist and ethnologist, is born in PrzemyÃ
Âl
- September 23 – Janusz Gajos, an actor, is born in DÃÂ
browa Górnicza
- November 5 – Jan Nowicki, actor, born in Kowal
- December 14 – WÃ
Âodzimierz Jakubowski, footballer, is born in Poznan
- December 29 – Konrad FiaÃ
Âkowski, scientist, born in Lublin
Deaths
- January 2. In the village of Drozdowo near Ã
ÂomÃ
¼a, at 1:05 a.m., dies Roman Dmowski
- February 24. In Warsaw dies Tadeusz PuszczyÃ
Âski, commandant of the Wawelberg Group and the Sarny Fortified Area
- March 8. In Warsaw dies professor WÃ
ÂadysÃ
Âaw Marian Zawadzki, former Minister of Treasury
- April 2. Walery SÃ
Âawek commits suicide
- May 24. Professor Aleksander Brückner dies in Berlin
- July 3. Football player Hubert Gad drowns in a pond in Ã
ÂwiÃÂtochÃ
Âowice
- August 17. Wojciech Korfanty dies in Warsaw
- September 9. Józef Czechowicz, avant garde poet, dies in Lublin
- September 10:
- WÃ
ÂadysÃ
Âaw Raginis commits suicide at Wizna
- Wilhelm Fritz von Roettig, German Waffen SS general becomes the first general killed in action during World War II
- September 18. Following Soviet invasion on Poland, StanisÃ
Âaw Ignacy Witkiewicz commits suicide in the Polesie Voivodeship
- September 20. Tadeusz DoÃ
ÂÃÂga-Mostowicz dies in a skirmish with Soviet forces in Kuty
- September 22. General Józef Olszyna-WilczyÃ
Âski is murdered by the Red Army soldiers
- September 24. Samuel Dickstein, mathematician (b. 1851)
- October 30. In Konstantynów dies WacÃ
Âaw GÃÂ
siorowski, writer of popular historic novels
- December 14. WacÃ
Âaw Niemojowski, a monarchist politician, dies in Kalisz
- December 24. Professor Antoni Meyer dies in Sachsenhausen concentration camp
- December 28. StanisÃ
Âaw Estreicher dies in Sachsenhausen concentration camp
References