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Paper short abstract

Polish presence in Manchuria emerged in the late 19th century. A little-studied aspect was Polish military intelligence activity in the region, operating via the Harbin consulate and targeting Soviet Russia. Cooperation with the Japanese began in 1920 during the evacuation of Poles from Siberia.

Paper long abstract

Polish-Japanese intelligence cooperation in Northeast China was initiated in 1932, following the creation of the puppet state of Manchukuo. The principal objective of both parties was to weaken the Soviet Union and to deepen cooperation in anticipation of a potential war with the Soviets. These efforts were accompanied by so-called Promethean activities, which involved, among others, Ukrainian groups engaged in resistance against Soviet power. Cooperation developed in the informational, registrational, and political spheres, and the parties exchanged intelligence materials and documents they had obtained.

This collaboration, however, was far from equal. The Japanese exercised undisputed control over Manchuria, permitting Polish intelligence activities only insofar as they aligned with Japanese interests. After the fall of Poland in 1939, Polish intelligence could no longer rely on close institutional ties with its Japanese counterpart. Contacts were maintained merely on a private basis with certain Japanese officers. The Polish consulate in Harbin was closed on 14th December 1941, an event that brought any remaining forms of cooperation to a definitive end.

The paper draws largely on documents and periodicals preserved in the Archives of the Institute of National Remembrance in Warsaw, the Central Archive of Modern Records in Warsaw, the Central Military Archives in Warsaw, and the Slavonic Library in Prague. It seeks to explore the complex entanglements of Polish-Japanese intelligence connections in Manchuria during the period of Japanese dominance in the region. This objective is pursued by juxtaposing earlier historical interpretations with new findings derived from archival sources that have thus far remained little known. A further intended outcome of the study is to stimulate the engagement of a broader circle of Japanese historians in research on this subject.