DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.29195#0090
Did Hitler’s henchmen know that during the First World War Polish-German
constructive negotiations had been conducted in the Palace? In 1915 German forces
had pushed the Russians out of Warsaw and tried to reach a modus vivendi with
the Poles, whom they even allowed to reinstate the University of Warsaw and the
University of Technology, with Polish as the language of instruction. The atmos-
phere of these talks, in which German kings and princes took part, is described in
the extensive and fascinating memoirs of Bogdan Hutten-Czapski, a Pole in the
service of the Prussians. He was born a Pole and died in Poland, — as one of the his-
torians writes about him — he received a cosmopolitan education, but from his early
years he thought of himself as a citizen ofPrussia, and very often his loyalty to Prussia
and Germany was the decisive factor determining his conduct. He wrote andpublished
his memoirs bilingually, in Polish and German (Dunin-W^sowicz 1971, p. 113). The
following information will throw light on Hutten-Czapski’s account and way of
thinking: Ifl were to carry out the task entrusted to me in Warsaw, I had to be able to
engage in social life on a grand scale, so as to arrange meetings between the Germans and
the Poles. For this I neededelegantpremises. My choice was CountJdzefPotocki’s Palace,
in which Murat had stayed a century earlier. Hundreds of people could congregate in
its magnificent rooms. But there was another particular reason determining my choice.
CountJozef Potocki was an oldfriend of mine. He had been born an Austrian subject and
held the ojfice of chamberlain to the Emperor ofAustria. Long before the War broke out
he had to become a Russian subject in order to inherit his mother’s estate in Volhynia. He
was even appointed to an office at the Tsar’s court. At the beginning ofthe War Nicholas
II took Potocki with him to his headquarters in Lwdw. There Jozef’s elder brother Roman,
a Knight ofthe Austrian Order ofthe Golden Fleece, had a spacious mansion, in which
the Tsar decided to stay. Thanks to their hospitality, the Tsar exempted Lahcut Castle
and Count Roman’s vast estates in Galicia from all manner of Russian billeting for the
duration of the War. The Austrian authorities were not at allpleased with Count Jozef,
and a certain high-rankingAustrian personage in Warsaw asked the governor ofWarsaw
to turn the Potocki Palace into an officers’ mess. To save my friend's residence and at the
same time to acquire the elegantpremises I needed, Igot General Gereke to issue an order
under which the entire groundfloor ofthe Palace could not be let and was to be left at the
governor’s disposal. I obtained modest lodgings in the Palace for myself (Hutten-Czapski
1936, pp. 274-275). Hutten-Czapski’s choice of residence was determined by the
Palace’s location and his friendship with its proprietor, but to a certain extent also
by its rich history, as evidenced in the reference to Napoleon’s famous Marshal, and
no doubt recollections of the Czartoryski and Lubomirski as well. In an atmosphere
conjured up by memories of the lords and princes of Poland-Lithuania and of Mu-
rat, Marshal and Prince in the Napoleonic age, and later King of Naples, negotia-
tions were conducted with kings and princes on the establishment, or rather the
restoration, of a Polish state, albeit on Prussian and Austrian terms.
Hutten-Czapski continued his story: in the course of 1916 we managed to persuade
a series ofPrinces ofthe German Reich, including three Kings, ofBavaria, Saxony, and
Wurrtemberg, to visit the Polish capital. We wanted them to seefor themselves what had
been done in Warsaw, and what the objective was, and to convince them ofthe need to set
up a Polish state, so that they could influence the instructions issued to their representa-
tives in the Councilofthe Union. The Governor-General welcomedeach ofthe monarchs
[Frederick Augustus III of Saxony, Ludwig III of Bavaria, and Wilhelm II of Wiirt-
temberg], at the station in an elaborate ceremony, after which he escorted them with
96
constructive negotiations had been conducted in the Palace? In 1915 German forces
had pushed the Russians out of Warsaw and tried to reach a modus vivendi with
the Poles, whom they even allowed to reinstate the University of Warsaw and the
University of Technology, with Polish as the language of instruction. The atmos-
phere of these talks, in which German kings and princes took part, is described in
the extensive and fascinating memoirs of Bogdan Hutten-Czapski, a Pole in the
service of the Prussians. He was born a Pole and died in Poland, — as one of the his-
torians writes about him — he received a cosmopolitan education, but from his early
years he thought of himself as a citizen ofPrussia, and very often his loyalty to Prussia
and Germany was the decisive factor determining his conduct. He wrote andpublished
his memoirs bilingually, in Polish and German (Dunin-W^sowicz 1971, p. 113). The
following information will throw light on Hutten-Czapski’s account and way of
thinking: Ifl were to carry out the task entrusted to me in Warsaw, I had to be able to
engage in social life on a grand scale, so as to arrange meetings between the Germans and
the Poles. For this I neededelegantpremises. My choice was CountJdzefPotocki’s Palace,
in which Murat had stayed a century earlier. Hundreds of people could congregate in
its magnificent rooms. But there was another particular reason determining my choice.
CountJozef Potocki was an oldfriend of mine. He had been born an Austrian subject and
held the ojfice of chamberlain to the Emperor ofAustria. Long before the War broke out
he had to become a Russian subject in order to inherit his mother’s estate in Volhynia. He
was even appointed to an office at the Tsar’s court. At the beginning ofthe War Nicholas
II took Potocki with him to his headquarters in Lwdw. There Jozef’s elder brother Roman,
a Knight ofthe Austrian Order ofthe Golden Fleece, had a spacious mansion, in which
the Tsar decided to stay. Thanks to their hospitality, the Tsar exempted Lahcut Castle
and Count Roman’s vast estates in Galicia from all manner of Russian billeting for the
duration of the War. The Austrian authorities were not at allpleased with Count Jozef,
and a certain high-rankingAustrian personage in Warsaw asked the governor ofWarsaw
to turn the Potocki Palace into an officers’ mess. To save my friend's residence and at the
same time to acquire the elegantpremises I needed, Igot General Gereke to issue an order
under which the entire groundfloor ofthe Palace could not be let and was to be left at the
governor’s disposal. I obtained modest lodgings in the Palace for myself (Hutten-Czapski
1936, pp. 274-275). Hutten-Czapski’s choice of residence was determined by the
Palace’s location and his friendship with its proprietor, but to a certain extent also
by its rich history, as evidenced in the reference to Napoleon’s famous Marshal, and
no doubt recollections of the Czartoryski and Lubomirski as well. In an atmosphere
conjured up by memories of the lords and princes of Poland-Lithuania and of Mu-
rat, Marshal and Prince in the Napoleonic age, and later King of Naples, negotia-
tions were conducted with kings and princes on the establishment, or rather the
restoration, of a Polish state, albeit on Prussian and Austrian terms.
Hutten-Czapski continued his story: in the course of 1916 we managed to persuade
a series ofPrinces ofthe German Reich, including three Kings, ofBavaria, Saxony, and
Wurrtemberg, to visit the Polish capital. We wanted them to seefor themselves what had
been done in Warsaw, and what the objective was, and to convince them ofthe need to set
up a Polish state, so that they could influence the instructions issued to their representa-
tives in the Councilofthe Union. The Governor-General welcomedeach ofthe monarchs
[Frederick Augustus III of Saxony, Ludwig III of Bavaria, and Wilhelm II of Wiirt-
temberg], at the station in an elaborate ceremony, after which he escorted them with
96