Poland – First to Fight, Poster by Marek Zulawski, ca. 1940
History and Design
This powerful wartime poster was created by Marek Żuławski (1908–1985), a Polish painter and graphic artist who settled in London before World War II. Produced around late 1939 or early 1940 under the auspices of the Polish Government-in-Exile in London, it was distributed primarily through the Polish Information Centre in London and Polish diplomatic missions abroad, especially in Britain, the United States, and Canada.
Żuławski’s image — a battle-torn red-and-white Polish flag entwined around a spear topped with the White Eagle, Poland’s national emblem — captures both defiance and sacrifice. The bold inscription POLAND / FIRST TO FIGHT became a signature phrase of Polish wartime identity. The poster appeared in multiple formats (large lithographs, smaller prints, postcards) and was reissued several times by British and Allied printers, including Raphael Tuck & Sons and Victoria House Printing Co.
Historical Context
The phrase “First to Fight” reflected historical fact, not propaganda. On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland, launching World War II. Despite being attacked from the west by 1.5 million German troops and, two weeks later, from the east by the Soviet Union, Poland resisted for 35 days, fighting intense, mobile battles at Westerplatte, the Bzura River, and Warsaw. Poland’s army — outnumbered and outgunned, with no air or armored reinforcements from its allies — inflicted heavy casualties on German forces before organized resistance ended on 6 October 1939.
By contrast, when Germany turned west in May 1940, the supposedly impregnable French army — backed by Britain’s elite Expeditionary Force and the Maginot Line — collapsed in just six weeks (46 days). Paris fell without prolonged urban resistance, and Britain was forced into the Dunkirk evacuation. In effect, the Polish September Campaign lasted nearly as long as the combined Anglo-French defense of Western Europe — a striking fact not lost on Allied observers in 1940. Żuławski’s poster therefore reminded the world that Poland had stood alone longer against the same Blitzkrieg that soon overwhelmed far stronger nations.
Meaning and Legacy
“First to Fight” thus expressed both pride and a moral appeal. It was a factual statement — a declaration that the Polish nation had lit the first beacon of armed resistance to totalitarianism, enduring destruction but never surrendering. After the fall, Poland’s government, airmen, and soldiers regrouped abroad and fought on in every major Allied campaign — from the Battle of Britain to Monte Cassino, Normandy, and Arnhem. Żuławski’s poster, now held in the Imperial War Museum and Polish Institute & Sikorski Museum in London, remains one of the most enduring symbols of Poland’s wartime legacy: a nation bloodied, but unbroken.
