Poland: Refugees Who Became U.S. Diplomats
From Poland to the service of the United States.
Invasion and occupation
Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, and the Soviet Union invaded from the east weeks later. The war and the Holocaust killed millions of Poland's citizens, including most of its Jewish community.
Under communism
After the war, Poland came under Communist rule. A government-backed antisemitic campaign in 1968 drove many of Poland's remaining Jews to emigrate. In the 1980s, martial law and the crackdown on the Solidarity movement sent more Poles abroad.
Connected stories
Two people on this site left Poland as children: Nicholas Rey, whose family fled in September 1939 and who later served as U.S. Ambassador to Poland, and Tom Malinowski, who left at six and later became the Department's Assistant Secretary for human rights.