Bank Handlowy w Warszawie : Citi Handlowy commemorates Julian Kulski, Hero of Warsaw

On 4 July, at 16 Senatorska Street, where today Citi Handlowy has its head office and where the Citi Hall of the Capital City of Warsaw was situated at the beginning of the 20th century, a memorial plaque was unveiled to commemorate Julian Spitosław Kulski, Deputy Mayor and Appointed Mayor of Warsaw in 1939-44. This is just another initiative of the bank to protect cultural heritage. A few years ago, the bank also commemorated Marceli Porowski, Mayor of the Capital City during the Warsaw Uprising. Previously, Citi Handlowy's commitment contributed to the erection of a monument of Tadeusz Kościuszko on the Iron Gate Square.

For years, Citi Handlowy has been supporting various initiatives to protect Polish cultural heritage. It actively implements a program aimed at recovering cultural goods lost by Poland during and as a result of the Second World War.

Both over 140 years of history of Bank Handlowy w Warszawie S.A. and the building which today hosts its head office do obligate us to think responsibly about the future. And we are creating our future by remembering heroes who can today inspire next generations. One of them is Julian Spitosław Kulski, Deputy Mayor of Warsaw during the Second World War. As Jan Nowak-Jeziorański once said: 'During the Nazi occupation, this City Hall was a stronghold of our Underground State. Mayor Kulski, a genuine hero, closely cooperated with the Underground State.' During the occupation, his administration was refuge for thousands of people. He gave them jobs to protect them from concentration camp or forced labor in Germany. He saved many Polish Jews. He helped commanders and soldiers of the Polish Home Army and provided shelter for hundreds of families with children, said Sławomir S. Sikora, President of Citi Handlowy.

The Julian Spitosław Kulski memorial plaque has joined other reconstructions funded by Citi Handlowy: commemorative plaques of Jan Henryk Dąbrowski and Tadeusz Kościuszko from before the Second World War and plaques commemorating Stefan Starzyński and Marcel Porowski, Mayors of Warsaw. All these are displayed on the front of the building in the Senatorska street.

The ceremony to unveil the Julian Spitosław Kulski memorial plaque was attended by many representatives of the Government, from the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and of the Warsaw City Hall.

Julian Spitosław Kulski, decorated with a Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta and, twice, with the Gold Cross of Merit, was Deputy Mayor of Warsaw since 1935 (when the Mayor was Stefan Starzyński, whose memorial plaque was placed on the building in the Senatorska street a few years ago). Between 28 October 1939 and 5 August 1944, Julian Kulski was the Appointed Mayor of Warsaw, upon consent of the Underground Government. During the occupation, he was detained several times by the Nazi, for example as a hostage in November 1939. He was also arrested by the Gestapo in July 1940. On 5 August 1944, he passed his function to Marceli Porowski, the Government's Delegate for Warsaw.