JUNE 1 - DAILY CHRONICLES OF HISTORY

JUNE 1

1895

Tadeusz "Bor" Komorowski (dob)  was a Polish military leader. He was appointed Commander in Chief a day before the capitulation of the Warsaw Uprising. After taking part in the fighting against the German invasion of Poland at the beginning of World War II in 1939, he helped organize the Polish underground in the Kraków area and in July 1941 became deputy commander of the Home Army (Armia Krajowa or "AK"). In March 1943 Komorowski was appointed Commander, with the rank of Brigadier-General.  After the war Bór-Komorowski moved to London, where he played an active role in Polish émigré circles. From 1947 to 1949 he served as Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile,  but by then the Allies no longer gave them diplomatic recognition.

1926

Ignacy Mościcki was elected President of Poland on June 1, 1926, and served until 1939. He was the longest serving President in Poland's history.  Following Pilsudski's coup d'etat on May 12, 1926, Moscicki was elected on the recommendation of Pilsudski. However, he remained subservient and obedient to Piłsudski's leadership.  Three main factions emerged after Pilsudski's death in 1935:  those supporting Mościcki as Piłsudski's successor; those supporting General Edward Rydz-Śmigły; and those supporting Prime Minister Walery Sławek. The ensuing power struggle resulted with Rydz-Śmigły as the de facto leader of Poland though Mościcki remained influential by continuing in office as President.  After the outbreak of World War II, Mościcki was interned in Romania and was forced by France to resign his office. He transferred the Office to General Bolesław Wieniawa-Długoszowski, who held it for only one day, before General Władysław Sikorski and the French government deposed him in favor of Władysław Raczkiewicz.

1942

Jews in France, Holland, Belgium, Croatia, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania were ordered to wear yellow stars. But in Denmark, the Jewish badge was never introduced.  The story has oftentimes been told that the Danish King Christian X wore a yellow star to demonstrate his solidarity with the Jews, but this is purely myth. Perhaps it was a mistaken interpretation of the King's remarks to his finance minister, Vilhelm Buhl, that if the Germans introduced the star in Denmark, "perhaps we should all wear it." The Jewish badge was not introduced in Norway either, however , after January 10, 1942, all Jews had to carry identification cards stamped with the letter "J." The imposition of this Nazi law was to facilitate the identification of Jews for deportation (and death in the concentration camps.)

1991

During his first 4th papal pilgrimage Poland, John Paul elaborated on the subject of the true meaning of freedom and expressed alarm at the assumption that “anything goes”. He urged people to guide themselves by the ethical concepts of Christianity and not misuse freedom as an excuse to violate the moral order. Beatification of Józef Sebastian Pelczar, Boleslawa Lament and Rafal Chylinski.  The places he visited: Koszalin, Rzeszów, Przemyśl, Lubaczów, Kielce, Warsaw, Łomża, Białystok, Olsztyn, Włocławek, Płock.