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The National Defence Fund (FON), created by the April 1936 decree of the President of the Republic of Poland Ignacy Mościcki, was designed to provide off budget funding to the accelerated modernisation of the Polish Army. In addition to the Central Industrial District, the fund was one of several projects of how to quickly strengthen Poland’s defence capabilities. The Polish authorities counted on the generosity of the Poles and their calculations did not fail. According to various estimates, a total of 1.1-1.5 billion złoty was accumulated during the voluntary fundraising activities, which were conducted in various forms until the outbreak of World War II. The huge amounts of funding were a true testament to patriotism and social responsibility. However, this fact is primarily known only to a small group of historians. In the public mind, the National Defence Fund consisted mainly of valuables, including items made of gold and silver, and gifts “in-kind” donated to the fund. A few months before 1 September 1939, by order of Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły, the valuables were allocated to the so-called silver and gold FON. Before the war, the value of the latter was estimated at approx. 50 million złoty, which corresponded to just around 3-4% of the fund’s total value. Compared to the 80-tonne gold reserves of Bank Polski SA, which were evacuated in 1939, the fund’s gold represented just a fraction of the reserves’ value. Nevertheless, the complex fate of the gold and silver FON deserves to be commemorated as this treasure was a testimony to the dedication and patriotism of the people of the Second Republic of Poland.
