Józef Beck
Józef Beck | |
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Beck before 1939 | |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| In office 2 November 1932 – 30 September 1939 | |
| President | Ignacy Mościcki |
| Prime Minister | Aleksander Prystor Janusz Jędrzejewicz Leon Kozłowski Walery Sławek Marian Kościałkowski Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski |
| Preceded by | August Zaleski |
| Succeeded by | August Zaleski |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 October 1894 |
| Died | 5 June 1944 (aged 49) |
| Signature | |
| Military service | |
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| Branch/service | Polish Legions Polish Army |
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| Battles/wars | |
Józef Beck (Polish: [ˈjuzɛv ˈbɛk] ⓘ; 4 October 1894 – 5 June 1944) was a Polish statesman who served the Second Republic of Poland as foreign minister, diplomat and military officer. A close associate of Józef Piłsudski, Beck is most famous for his role as Polish foreign minister, largely setting Polish foreign policy, in the 1930s.
He tried to fulfill Piłsudski's dream of making Poland the leader of a regional bloc, but he was widely disliked and distrusted by other governments. He was involved in territorial disputes with Lithuania and Czechoslovakia. With his nation caught between two large hostile powers, Germany and the Soviet Union, Beck sometimes pursued accommodation with them and sometimes defied them, attempting to take advantage of their mutual antagonism. He formed an alliance with the United Kingdom and France, and both declared war on Germany after its invasion of Poland in 1939. After the Soviet Union also invaded Poland, Beck and the rest of the Polish government evacuated to Romania.