“80th Anniversary of the Outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising”

Narodowy Bank Polski has announced that a collector note “80th Anniversary of the Outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising” will be available on sale as of tomorrow.

The banknote with a face value of 20 złoty, measuring 150 x 77 mm, has been issued in up to 80,000 pieces. The banknotes can be purchased at all the Regional Branches of NBP and in the NBP online shop Kolekcjoner at the price of PLN 140.

The collector banknote features a symbolic image of the 1944 rebellion: on the front side, the victory of Polish soldiers who, in spite of being poorly armed and lonely in their struggle, were able to beat the German occupiers, for instance by capturing the PAST (Polish Telephone Joint Stock Company) building. On the reverse side, among others, there are civilians in prayer during one of the field masses celebrated mostly in the courtyards of Warsaw tenement houses. The symbol of Fighting Poland featured on the banknote – omnipresent on the walls and monuments of the insurgent capital – stood for the hope for regaining the independence of the homeland.

On 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising, we remember both the heroism of the soldiers engaged in this unprecedented effort to regain independence and of civilians who supported the insurgents while being exposed to the fighting taking place in the streets of Warsaw.

Warsaw carried on fighting for 63 days (from 1 August 1944 to 3 October 1944). For the first time since autumn 1939, the underground state structures had been revealed. Poland was alive again! The Warsaw Uprising was the culminating point and the ultimate attempt of the Polish Underground State at open, armed combat with the German occupiers for Poland’s independence. In political terms, it also meant fighting against the Soviets since following the insurgents’ victory the underground authorities were supposed to be vested with the role of the master of the territory the Red Army was encroaching upon. These goals had not been achieved. The battle was lost and, as it then seemed, independence too was lost for ever.

The responsibility for the decision to commence the uprising lay on the shoulders of its commanders led by General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski. Historians estimate that the fighting, air raids, shelling and massacres of civilians by German troops claimed 150-200 thousand victims altogether – among Home Army soldiers and civilian inhabitants of the city.

The Germans, through systematic demolition and bombing of the city, turned 85% of the pre-war Warsaw into debris, drove the population remaining in the ruins out of the city and imprisoned the soldiers in camps. The flower of Polish youth, the would-be elite of the nation perished.

Since the drama of the Warsaw Uprising was so poignant and the post-war verdict of the leaders of the winning powers so unfair, free Poles have been celebrating the day of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising every year for the last 35 years, with due and deep respect for its heroes. For the insurgents demonstrated extraordinary dedication and patriotism; their courage was additionally strengthened by faith.

Security features:

Security features , which include microprinting, guilloches, intaglio printing as well as a watermark featuring the symbol of Fighting Poland and the date 1944, have been applied to the banknote.

In addition, a two-colour micro-optic windowed security thread on the right-hand side of the banknote front is a feature applied in a Polish banknote for the first time. When moving the banknote, we can observe the dynamic change of colours of the individual graphic elements placed on the thread – the symbol of Fighting Poland and the date “1944”.

The 20 złoty denomination, placed in the bottom right-hand corner, is printed with optically variable ink in green-blue. A geometric image of bricks has been embedded into this security feature.

Another security feature worth mentioning is the recto-verso. In the top part of the banknote, a small letter “W”, partially printed on both the front and reverse side of the banknote, is visible as a complete image when the banknote is held against the light.

The front side of the banknote features the image of the Polish flag visible also under UV light in white and red.

On the reverse of the banknote, on the right-hand side, there is a graphic element in the form of a block of bricks printed with two types of special inks: iridescent ink – with this type of print, the glittering element is only visible from a certain angle in gold colour, and with optically variable ink – where we can see a smooth change of colour in the brick ruins from green to blue.

More information can be found in the brochure.

NBP collector coins and banknotes are sold in commercial packaging with an attached certificate.

The next issue is scheduled for 7 August 2024. On that date, Narodowy Bank Polski will be putting into circulation silver collector coins of the series “History of Polish Coin” – “The Domestic Copper Grosz of King Stanisław August”, with a face value of 20 złoty.

Contact:

Contact for collectors: e-mail kolekcjoner@nbp.pl, tel. +48 22 185 17 05

Contact for the media: e-mail press@nbp.pl, tel. +48 22 185 2012

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About NBP

Narodowy Bank Polski holds the exclusive right to issue banknotes and coins in Poland. All currency issued by NBP, including collector banknotes and coins, is legal tender in Poland. Issuing collector items is an occasion to commemorate historic figures and anniversaries as well as to develop the interest of the public in Polish culture, science and tradition.

High-resolution images of the coins: https://nbp.pl/en/coins-and-banknotes/collector-coins/catalogue/