ESTABLISHING DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS BETWEEN POLAND AND NORWAY IN THE YEARS 1945–1946

SummaryThe article depicts the process of establishing diplomatic relations between Poland and Norway after the end of the Second World War, which started in August 1945 and ended in April 1946. The article is composed of two basic parts. The first part describes the efforts of the Polish Government in Exile to maintain the Polish diplomatic mission. Next it presents the activities of Colonel Tadeusz Tokarz, military attaché of the Mission of the Republic of Poland, accredited to the Norwegian Government in Exile in London, concerning the varied assistance for several thousand Poles gathered in repatriation camps, mainly in Moss and Mysen. At the end of the first part the author explains how and why the Polish Mission in Oslo was taken over on April 6, 1946 by Mieczysław Rogalski, the Communist representative of the Temporary Government of National Unity in Warsaw. He describes the first diplomatic contacts with the Norwegian authorities. In the second part a special attention was paid to the presentation of the endeavours of the Norwegian Government aimed at establishing – as soon as possible – their own diplomatic mission in Warsaw. The description concentrates on the central role played by Rolf Otto Andvord, the Norwegian Ambassador in Moscow, during his two-month mission in Poland concerning commercial and diplomatic matters. The mission took place in August and September 1945. Andvord was charged with two tasks: to sign a contract with the Polish authorities for a fast delivery of coal to Norway and to establish fast and good diplomatic relations with Poland. It has been emphasised that Andvord was provided with a threeroomed accommodation for the Norwegian Mission at the ‘Polonia’ Hotel. At the end of the article there is a short life history of Envoy Alfred Danielsen, who arrived in Warsaw on November 12, 1945, and a description of his first diplomatic activities and contacts with the Polish authorities.