Marian Chodacki

Marian Stanisław Chodacki (July 15, 1898, Nowy Sącz - June 26, 1975, New York City) – certified colonel of the infantry branch of the Polish Army under the Second Republic, diplomat, the last Commissioner General of the Republic of Poland in the Free City of Gdańsk in the years 1936-1939, executive director of the Józef Piłsudski Institute of America in the years 1949-1951.

Youth and military service
He received a law degree from the Department of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw. In the years 1912-1914, Chodacki belonged to the Riflemen's Association. Next, he served in the Polish Legions (1914-1918) and in the Polish Army. On June 1, 1921, he served in the Highest Evaluating Commission; his home unit was the 34th Infantry Regiment in Biała Podlaska. On May 3, 1922, Chodacki's standing as lieutenant was verified with seniority dating from June 1, 1919 and the 168th rank in the infantry officers' corps. In the years 1922-1924, he followed the regular curriculum at the Higher Military Academy in Warsaw. On March 31, 1924, he advanced to the rank of captain with seniority dating from July 1, 1923 and the 131st rank in the infantry officers' corps. Having received an academic diploma of an officer of the General Staff after the completion of the curriculum, he was transferred to the Second Branch of the General Staff of the Polish Army in Warsaw on October 1, 1924. During his studies and service at the Staff, he officially remained officer of the 21st Infantry Regiment "Dzieci Warszawy" ("Warsaw's Children"). In the years 1927-1931, he was a military attaché to Finland and Sweden. On November 1, 1931, he was attached to the 67th Infantry Regiment in Brodnica, with which he underwent a practical leadership training session at the head of a riflemen's company. On December 10, 1932, Chodacki was given to the disposal of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the period of six months. On June 30, 1933, he was transferred to the reserve, and at the same time from the reserve of the 21st to that of the 30th Infantry Regiment (30 Pułk Strzelców Kaniowskich) in Warsaw.

Diplomatic service
Chodacki was given the function of ministerial adviser in the Political Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On October 24, 1935, he became chargé d’affaires in the Polish mission to Czechoslovakia. He was a confidante of the foreign minister Józef Beck, who considered him the best politician among the officers transferred from military service to diplomacy. On December 30, 1936 Chodacki assumed the office of the Commissioner General of the Republic of Poland in the Free City of Gdańsk. During his term of office, he attained the rank of authorized minister (minister pełnomocny) and special envoy (poseł nadzwyczajny). His uncompromising attitude as General Commissioner caused the quarreling Polish organizations in Gdańsk to unite. As for the Polish policy toward the Free City, it did not change under Chodacki and continued to be marked by a strong opposition to the Nazification of the city. The Commissioner often intervened in the defense of Poles, whose health and life at the time was frequently endangered. During Chodacki's service as Commissioner, the work of Polish Intelligence was intensified as employees of the Commissariat collected information about the military preparations in the Free City. Still in August 1939 the Polish Commissioner, according to the accepted custom, paid a visit to the battleship Schleswig-Holstein. On September 1, 1939, Chodacki, along with other employees of the Polish Commissariat, was arrested by the Germans. As the result of the protests by the already-expelled High Commissioner of the League of Nations in Gdańsk, Carl Jakob Burckhardt, the Germans released Chodacki and others on the border with Lithuania on September 5.

Second World War and aftermath
During World War II, Chodacki was a soldier of the Polish Armed Forces in France and Great Britain. He was consequently transferred to the Polish Consulate in New York City and on September 1, 1943 became the head of the secret branch of Polish Intelligence Estezet. In the years 1944-1945, he was a Polish liaison officer in the rank of major attached to the American Office of Strategic Services. After the war, Chodacki worked at the Józef Piłsudski Institute in New York City, serving as executive director between 1949 and 1951.

Orders and awards

 * Silver Cross of the Military Order of Virtuti Militari
 * Independence Medal
 * Cross of Valour (three times)
 * Silver Cross of Merit
 * Knight's Cross of the Légion d'honneur

Works (Polish)

 * Dzienniki Personalne Ministerstwa Spraw Wojskowych.
 * Roczniki oficerskie 1923, 1924, 1928 i 1932.