Appeal to the Polish Nation Issued at the Outbreak of the World War II

The collection of Władysław and Zofia Bartoszewski, kept in the Social Life Documents Department of the NOI, contains a poster which is extremely valuable for the history of Poland. It is an appeal to the nation made by President Ignacy Mościcki on 1 September 1939, entitled “Obywatele Rzeczypospolitej!" (eng. Citizens of the Republic of Poland!”), announced by the head of state right after the Third Reich’s attack on Poland. This copy, kept in the Ossolineum collection, was issued by the Lublin Voivodship Office and printed in the Lublin Graphic Works. The message from Ignacy Mościcki was printed and distributed throughout the country. It aimed at lifting the spirits of the population and to assure them of victory, especially since Poland, as the country that had previously been invaded, was already a moral victor.