Poland’s Treasury in Romania

In the autumn of 1939, shortly after the hated Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact was signed by Nazi Germany and the USSR, the two totalitarian powers started to divide their spheres of occupation and influence according to the treaty.

Ștefan Baciu, 06.07.2015, 11:24

In the autumn of 1939, shortly after the hated Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact was signed by Nazi Germany and the USSR, the two totalitarian powers started to divide their spheres of occupation and influence according to the treaty. Poland was first on the black list, and in the second half of September it was effectively wiped off the map. The German attack of September 1st 1939 was followed by the Soviet one on September 17th; Poland, caught in a giant pincer, could not hold on for more than two weeks.

What followed was a disaster as refugees, military survivors and civilians tried to flee to safety, but there was also a scramble to safeguard Polish wealth, mainly the National Treasury of the country, most of it kept in the royal Wawel Castle in Krakow. As Czechoslovakia had been taken over in March 1939 and also wiped off the map, and Hungary was a German ally, the only way out for Polands treasures was through Romania. After WWI, Romania became once again Polands neighbor, after the former kingdom of Moldavia in the Middle Ages shared a border with the Kingdom of Poland, and the two had a very significant relationship up until the 18th century.

This was the beginning of a veritable odyssey for hundreds of major artifacts. The most important were the over 300 Jagellon silk tapestries, in gold and silver thread, about 110 of them dating to the first half of the 16th century, the famous Szczerbiec (Shcherbiets) coronation sword, used by Polish kings between 1320 and 1764, and an original Gutenberg Bible from 1455. The way to Romania was still open, and the Romanian authorities worked closely with the French and the British, who endorsed the transfer of the treasury. Traian Borcescu, an officer with the Special Intelligence Service, witnessed the operation by which the Polish treasures traversed Romania under very watchful eyes. He spoke to Radio Romanias Center for Oral History in 2003:

“I was on the General Staff, and I was appointed as an aid to Colonel Diaconescu, who was in charge of supervising the transfer of population and authorities from Poland to Romania. The Polish were better friends with the Hungarians, Poland had not recognized Transylvanias union with Romania, they were rather on the side of the Hungarians. And it turned out that it was exactly the Hungarians who didnt lend a hand. The only ones to do so were we; we took in the treasury at the suggestion of the French and the English. Armand Calinescu acquiesced on condition that the army turn over their weapons at the border, then undergo triage to eliminate possible foreign agents, have the weapons put in storage, then bring in the treasury in complete secrecy, on a day not know to either the Germans or the Russians, since it could fall under attack.

The Romanian-Polish border, which would disappear after 1945, started being crossed by a convoy of trucks, cars and several trains on September 3rd, 1939. Traian Borcescu traced for us the Polish treasury to its destination, the Black Sea, where a submarine was set to take it further:

“There were two transports: one from Visnita to Cernauti, then from Cernauti to Constanta. A part of the treasury was kept by us, to help with the Polish refugees and troops, but, under pressure from the French and English. We had to allow the treasury, a collection of about 70 crates and parcels to be loaded on a British submarine, awaiting in Constanta, under the command of Captain Brett. The transport was done by train, by car between Visnita and Cernauti, and then again by train to Galati. I dont know what happened from Galati to Constanta, it may have been by car. In Constanta it was blocked by the Romanian army, State Security and Polish intelligence, in addition to French and English agents. The treasury could not stay with us, even though we offered to keep it. The English realized that Romania would have the same fate as Poland, under the August 1939 treaty, as the Russian influence sphere was towards the Baltic area, while the German sphere was towards Romania, Bulgaria and so on. If we were to be occupied, the treasury was not to fall into the hands of the Germans.

A small part of the Polish treasury did stay in Romania, however. I the summer of 1944, that small part of it, 3 tons of gold, joined the 242 tons in the National Bank of Romania treasury that was carried west, towards Tismana Monastery, to be protected from the Soviet invasion. The operation, code named Neptune, took the treasury under greatest secrecy to a cave near the monastery. In 1947, the gold in the Romanian National Bank went back to Bucharest, while the 3 tons of Polish gold went back to its rightful owner.

The odyssey of the Polish gold was immortalized in a Romanian-Polish co-production, The Golden Train, made in 1986, directed by Polish director Bohdan Poreba. The movie features both Polish and Romanian actors. Once it was no longer in danger of being captured by the Germans, the Polish treasury went on a long trip to Malta, Switzerland, the Vatican and France. It could not stay in France, as the German threat was looming over it there too. It crossed the ocean towards North America and much coveted safety.