Originals of the Treaty of Riga and alliance treaties with Romania and France presented to the public
12.03.2021
On 12 March 2021, originals of international agreements were displayed at the MFA seat located at 2 Krywulta Street. The documents included the original of the Treaty of Riga of 18 March 1921 which ended the Polish-Bolshevik war. Also presented to the public were the original of the alliance treaty between the Second Polish Republic and Romania (signed on 3 March 1921) and ratification documents (featuring Marshal Józef Piłsudski’s signature) of the Polish-French alliance (concluded on 19 February 1921).
“Due to their historic value and the need to be protected, the documents are not available to researchers on everyday basis. Today’s unique display and the opportunity to take photos and record videos will make it possible to present the original treaties to a wider audience,” highlighted the MFA’s Undersecretary of State Marcin Przydacz.
During the event, the deputy minister stated that both the originals of the treaties that are made public today and other agreements concluded by the Second Polish Republic are kept safe by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which plays the role of their depositary. Their proper storage, emphasised the deputy minister, is all the more important as most of the MFA’s archive records got damaged during World War II.
Luckily, the documents put on display today have survived. In September 1939, they were evacuated from Warsaw to Krzemieniec, and then to Białokrynica where they remained hidden in the vault of a local castle. Found by the NKVD in 1941, the documents were transferred deep into the Soviet Union. In the 1950s, after Stalin’s death, those archival materials were returned to Poland. However, the Treaty of Riga and other treaties were seriously damaged during the war. The deputy head of Polish diplomacy also added that thanks to the MFA’s efforts the damaged documents were thoroughly reconstructed and repaired in 2006.
After today’s display, the alliance treaties will return to the MFA’s archives, whereas the original of the Treaty of Riga will be loaned for the Royal Castle’s temporary exhibition The Treaty of Riga – heritage regained. After it closes this April, the original treaty will return to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Archives.
MFA Press Office
Photo: Łucja Sucharska/ MFA
Video: Gabriel Piętka/ MFA
