Roman Michalowski Papers, (1928 - 1968)

Roman Michalowski (1895-1974) was a noted Polish diplomat, a military officer in the Polish and in the American Armies (at the rank of colonel in the former and lieutenant-colonel in the latter), an employee of the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS), a lecturer at the Institute of Public Affairs in Charlottesville Virginia and at the New York University, a member and vice-president of The Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America.

Born in Poland in 1895, Roman Michalowski received his education in Cracow in the Gimnazjum Jana III Sobieskiego and subsequently during the academic year 1913/1914 at Oxford University. During the period 1921/1922 he remained a student of the École Supérieure de Guerre and the École des Sciences Politiques in Paris.
He played a significant role in the Poland's fight for independence. After joining the Brigade I of the Polish Legions as a private in January 1915, he took part in battles on the Eastern front. In 1917 he endorsed Pilsudski's stand on the issue of non-cooperation with Austria and Germany. He became an active member of the POW (Polish Military Underground Organization) in 1917 and Jozef Pilsudski's aide-de-camp in 1918. In 1920 he was appointed Chief of Staff of the 24 Infantry Division and in this capacity took part in the Polish -Russian campaign of 1920.

After graduating from the École Supérieure de Guerre (1922), he was appointed Military Attaché in London (1923-1928) and then in Bucharest (1929-1932). In 1932 Roman Michalowski was transferred to the Polish diplomatic service and served as the Secretary and Counselor in the Polish Embassy in London and from 1938 as the Counselor in the Polish Embassy in Tokyo. In December 1939 he ceased his activity in the Polish diplomatic service and arrived in the USA, where he became the editor of a political monthly review 'New Europe' and in 1942 Deputy Director of The Research and Reference Division of The Interallied Information Center in New York City. He launched his career in the American Army (Gen. Dewers's 6 Army Group), taking part in the African, Italian, French and German campaigns as chief operational intelligence officer. After his final return to the USA in December 1945 he gave lectures at The Institute of Public Affairs in Charlottesville Virginia and at the New York University. In 1950 he became co-founder of The Polish Federalist Association. Awarded the Cross of Independence, the Cross of Valor four times and many others Polish and foreign military decorations, he died in New York City in 1974.

Arrangement in Series: Works; Activity; Correspondence; Materials By Other People.

The fonds consists of records documenting Roman Michalowski's concern over the Polish issue at the background of international politics and functioning of the Soviet Union, as well as records of his diplomatic, military and scientific career. Documents are arranged in chronological order within every series. The collection is not complete - a part of Roman Michalowski's archive is being stored in the Jozef Pilsudski Institute of America.

Acquisition Note: Gift, 2008

Language: Polish, English, French

Dimensions: 4 storage box, 38 folders, 1,3 ft. = 0, 40 m

Local system # 070

Finding Aids: Collection inventory, database description, folder level control.

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