Polskie Dokumenty Dyplomatyczne 1935

Polish Diplomatic Documents 1935 is the 24th Volume of the PDD series. There are 344 archival documents which show Polish foreign policy in 1935.

One of the most important events documented in the volume is the illness and death of Józef Piłsudski. The passing away of the Marshal meant the symbolic end of an epoch in Polish political life during the interwar period. It did not, however, result in changes in foreign policy, and Józef Beck proved to be a faithful continuator of the course laid out by the commandant.

Much attention was also given to Polish-German relations. Warsaw and Berlin continued the so-called 26 January line, a policy of rapprochement, which was initiated by the declaration on non-violence in the previous year. The beginning of the year saw the visit of Hermann Göring in Białowieża and the accompanying pan-European interest. Mutual relations were also influenced by the situation in the Free City of Danzig and the related economic issues. The shape of mutual relations also encouraged dissemination (aided by Soviet propaganda) of the existence of a secret Polish-German agreement. Diplomacy was constantly trying to deny such rumors.

A serious problem illustrated in this volume was the growing Italian-Ethiopian crisis, which due to the aggression of Italy on 3 October, turned into an armed conflict. Poland, despite not wanting to worsen relations with Rome, joined the sanctions imposed on Italy by the League of Nations.

The documents published in the volume are arranged in chronological order. The vast majority are secret materials which have not yet been published. The sources of the volume are documents from the Central Archives of Modern Records in Warsaw (AAN) and the materials of the Polish Institute and the General Sikorski Museum in London. There is also archival information from the Joseph Pilsudski Institute in America, as well as the Hoover Institute at Stanford University in the United States (based on microfilm available in AAN).

In addition to documents, the introduction, registers (which include a brief description of each document), the volume includes also personal and material indexes to assist with finding  information.