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[Identification of item], Wladyslaw W. Kulski Papers, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
The Wladyslaw W. Kulski Papers were received by the University Archives as a gift in 1989.
Processed by Archives Staff, June 2006
Encoded by Kimberly Sims, July 2006
Accessions A89-0073, A89-0078 were merged into one collection, described in this finding aid.
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory:
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
Born in Warsaw, Poland on July 27, 1903, Wladyslaw W. Kulski was a diplomat and educator who earned a Master of Law degree in 1925 from Warsaw Law School and a Doctor of Law in 1927 from Paris School of Law. In 1938, he married Antonina Reutt of Kislovodsk, Russia. They had no children. He was a member of the Polish diplomatic service from 1928-1945 and Minister Plenipotentiary, Polish Embassy, London from 1940-1945. Dr. Kulski served as Professor of Political Science at the University of Alabama from 1948-1951, at Syracuse University from 1951-1964, and at Duke University from 1964-1973. He authored several works, including Thus Spake Germany (1941) and The Soviet Regime (1954) and was editor of the Polish "White Book." Dr. Kulski died in Durham, NC on May 16, 1989.
Dr. Kulski began his diplomatic career as a member of the staff of the League of Nations service at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1928-1933). In that position, he functioned as a legal and political officer, was a member of the Polish delegation to the Conference of the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments in Geneva (1932-1933), and was councilor and later Secretary of the Permanent Delegation of Poland to the League. From 1936-1940, he was head of the legal service at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1939, he was sent to London to negotiate the British-Polish Treaty of Mutual Assistance, which soon became the diplomatic basis for Britain's declaration of war on Nazi Germany. In 1940, he became Minister Plenipotentiary at the Polish Embassy in London and held that post until 1945 when he left the Polish service. He came to the U.S. in 1946 and became a naturalized citizen in 1953.
In 1964, he came to Duke University where he was named James B. Duke Professor of Political Science. He retired in 1973. During his academic career, Dr. Kulski continued to lecture to audiences in academia and government. He specialized in comparative government, in particular the Soviet government, international relations, and international law. He was awarded several foreign decorations and held both Fulbright and Guggenheim research awards.
Contains correspondence, diplomatic papers, conference papers, articles, printed matter and other materials related to Dr. Kulski's role as a Polish diplomat before and during World War II and as a lecturer and teacher of Political Science after the war. The materials, approximately half of which are in Polish, pertain to Slavic Studies, Soviet politics and government, and issues in European diplomacy and politics before, during and after World War II. The collection includes hand- and typed-written manuscripts in Polish, English, French and German and materials by and about his brother, Julian E. (1905-1988), including a memoir of Stefan Starzynski, mayor of Warsaw. Also included is the correspondence of Antonina Kulski, largely in Polish with a few in English and French. Her letters that largely cover the Kulski's time in London during World War II and consists of communication with Polish soldiers, namely Kazimierz Domaszewski and Bohdan Brzozowski. There are also some photographs of presumably Polish soldiers during World War II and likely Kulksi family members and friends. There is also a scrapbook of clippings and correspondence. Material ranges in date from 1710-1987, with the bulk covering 1933-1969.
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