Civic Guard in Lublin

During the Polish-Bolshevik War, the civilian population of many towns prepared for defence. In the summer of 1920, on the initiative of Governor Stanisław Moskalewski, the Voivodeship Committee of National Defence was established in Lublin, and its numerous agencies were to operate in the Lublin area. The task of the institution was not only to organise social defence, but also to collect financial and material means to support the Polish Army, agitate for volunteers to join the army, provide assistance to wounded soldiers and their families, and any propaganda activity.

In mid-July 1920, the Lublin Gymnastic Society "Sokół", whose president at that time was the brother of the Lublin voivode Feliks Moskalewski, set up volunteer shooting teams. In August of that year, attorney Edward Rettinger organised a Provincial Civic Guard with the participation of school youth. Soon martial law was declared in the city.

The Provincial Committee of National Defence in Lublin ceased its activity in the autumn of 1921. One of the most interesting preserved souvenirs connected with the preparations for the defence of Lublin in 1920 is a group photograph of the members of the Civic Guard. The photo shows representatives of different generations, civilians, clergy and military. Among the adults, in addition to the leading representatives of the Guard, appeared: Henryk Wiercieński, a veteran of the January Uprising, Bishop Marian Fulman of Lublin, and General Bolesław Babiański, head of the General District Command in Lublin. They were surrounded by pupils of male and female gymnasiums in Lublin, wearing caps characteristic of their schools, students of younger and older classes. Most of them posed for a photo armed with rifles.