Towarzystwo Polsko-Ormiańskie we Lwowie (1920-1922)

Abstract

Polish-Armenian Society in Lwów (1920-1922) Using Armenian and Polish sources, the author analyses the activities ofthe Polish-Armenian Society (Towarzystwo Polsko-Ormiańskie) founded in Lwów(Poland) on June 15, 1920. This organization focused on building relations betweenPoland and Armenia. Its leaders, Jan Grzegorzewski, Garabed Keuprulian and AugustTeodorowicz established cooperation with the Armenian National Delegationin Paris, chaired by Boghos Nubar Pasha, and with its branch in Berlin. They alsoundertook the difficult mission of lobbying for the Armenian case in Warsaw. In thefirst phase of its activity, the Society planned to relocate Polish Armenians (officialsand intelligentsia) to the territories of Western Armenia; due to the deteriorating internationalsituation, the idea was abandoned. Subsequently, efforts were focused onhelping Armenian refugees from Turkey in the Caucasus; on this matter, the Societymade an appeal to the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Count Konstanty Skirmunt.The suspension of the Society’s activity was related to the deterioration of Armenia’ssituation on the international arena. With the abandonment of the Armenianquestion by France and Great Britain, the exchange of letters with activists in Parisalso stopped. The author compares the Society with its counterpart in London – theBritish Armenian Committee, emphasizing the organization of Polish Armenianswas truly exceptional because it was the first one of its kind, and also because itfocused not on the problems of the local diaspora, but on the issue of Armenia’s independence.