Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Culture Minister Piotr Gliński and Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak spoke about the collection at a ceremony on Monday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The items include silver jewellery, silverware and other valuables donated to a former Polish government by the public between 1936 and 1939 to help fund the expansion of the army, officials said.
It was a time when Poland sought to arm itself amid the threat from Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany, the PAP news agency reported.
To help finance the expansion of the armed forces, the Polish government had set up a National Defence Fund, asking people to contribute in any way they could, according to officials.
Many people responded by donating money, real estate and valuables, as well as grain, animals and their own unpaid labour, according to PAP.
In September 1939, after Nazi Germany invaded Poland, in-kind contributions to the National Defence Fund, including gold and silver, were transferred abroad.
Most of the silver valuables donated to the National Defence Fund returned to Poland in 1976 and have since been locked up in a safe at the National Museum in Poznań, reporters were told.
Now the government has decided to officially hand over the valuables to the museum.
'Symbol of readiness to defend the homeland'
The Polish prime minister said at Monday’s ceremony: “May these valuables donated to the National Defence Fund serve as a marvellous symbol of readiness to defend the homeland.”
The collection will soon be showcased to audiences across Poland during a nationwide tour, the PAP news agency reported.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, niezalezna.pl, gov.pl