The Fund for National Culture (Polish: ''Fundusz Kultury Narodowej'', FKN) was a Polish state foundation with headquarters in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, operating in the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

, between 1928–1939 and later during the war with the support of the

Polish government in exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile (), was the government in exile A government-in-exile (GiE) is a political group that claims to be the legitimate government of a sovere ...

. The Fund was subordinated to the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

, and later, to the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Public Education.

History

The Fund for National Culture was established in 1928. It was subsidized by the state and supported by contributions from private individuals and institutions. The Fund's task was to support Polish scientific and artistic enterprises through: allowances and scholarships for individual persons, subsidies for publishing houses and subsidies for scientific and artistic institutions and teams. Among the beneficiaries, that obtained subsidies for the implementation of specific scientific and research projects, was the

Polish Academy of Learning The Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences or Polish Academy of Learning (, PAU), headquartered in Kraków and founded in 1872, is one of two institutions in contemporary Poland having the nature of an academy of sciences (the other being the Po ...

. The Fund for National Culture was headed by a Committee chaired by the Prime Minister of Poland. However, the fund was self-governing and had some independence from political institutions. Scholars and artists sat on the Fund's council and committees. Stanisław Michalski was the director of the Fund for National Culture throughout all its activity. Pursuant to the Act of 16 July 1937, the Fund for National Culture took the patronage of

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...

, adopting the name of the Józef Piłsudski Fund for National Culture. Following the

German invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

, in October 1939 the Fund was reactivated by the

. It would play a significant role in supporting Polish educational, cultural and research initiatives during the war period in the Allied-controlled territories.

References

Bibliography

* {{authority control Foundations based in Poland Government agencies of Poland Culture of Poland 1928 establishments in Poland