Deprivation of Citizenship and Diplomatic Fallout: The Law of March 31, 1938, and the Ordinance of October 6, 1938, in Polish–Swiss Relations, 1938–1941

This article examines the impact of the Polish Ordinance of October 6, 1938, which enabled large-scale deprivation of citizenship and primarily affected Polish Jews living abroad. Using previously unused Polish and Swiss archival sources, it reconstructs the diplomatic tensions this policy created and reassesses the role of Tytus Komarnicki, the Polish envoy in Bern, whose actions reflected firm support for Warsaw’s objectives. The study also situates these events within Switzerland’s restrictive refugee policy and shows how the ordinance contributed to the erosion of trust in Polish passports. By placing these developments in dialogue with contemporary debates on citizenship revocation, the article highlights the enduring risks of transforming citizenship from a stable right into a conditional and politically vulnerable status.