During archaeological work being carried out beneath Warsaw’s Piłsudski Square, researchers discovered old, partially burned propaganda posters dating from World War II. They feature an image of the Führer and the Belarusian inscription “Hitler the Liberator.”
It is known that similar printed publications were distributed by the occupation authorities in the territory of the General District of Belarus within the Reichskommissariat Ostland. Their purpose was to inform the local population that the attack on the Soviet Union launched in 1941 had brought the desired liberation from the Soviet regime and Stalin.
In this way, the Germans attempted to win the support of the local population.
“Identical images were circulated in Ukraine, but with a Ukrainian inscription,” explained Sławomir Kulińskii, spokesman for the Saski Palace, whose reconstruction is the purpose of the excavations.
“It is not yet known how the propaganda material from Belarus ended up in Warsaw and who tried to burn it,” Kuliński told reporters.
Archaeologists discovered a large number of fragments of burned posters. Kuliński explained that the posters had most likely been thrown into a pile and set on fire. The fire did not fully develop in the middle of the pile, so fragments of the posters survived.
In the near future, the discovered posters will be handed over to staff of the Archive of New Documents, where they will undergo conservation. The World War II artifacts are then expected to enrich the collections of selected historical institutions in the capital. They may be transferred to the Warsaw Uprising Museum and the Museum of Warsaw.
“We will certainly preserve one copy for ourselves, which will enrich our memorial room in the casemates of the reconstructed palace,” Kuliński added.
