Popular Fundraising in the Greater War: Patriotic War Bonds and the Rebirth of Poland

This article explores the patriotic war bonds of the Second Polish Republic, which were sold both domestically and to the diaspora in the United States, during Poland’s border conflicts of 1918–21. It reveals how government and grassroots initiatives converged to mobilise diverse constituencies in Poland, including ethnic minorities, women and the poor. In the United States, these efforts were also marked by tensions between patriotism and professionalism in fundraising for a nationalist cause. It finds commonalities between the Polish war bonds and those of the Great War, in particular the US Liberty Loans. However, for Poland, the article argues, the bonds were not merely financial instruments but also vehicles through which the Second Polish Republic performed its newfound sovereignty, seeking popular recognition at home and abroad.