About the Collection

This collection of Polish posters were originally printed for the World Peace Council, an international organization that advocates universal disarmament. Our collection came from a set of reproductions selected by Karol Małcużyński published by Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza around 1978.

The World Peace Council emerged after a congress held by the World Congress of Intellectuals in Wroclaw, Poland in 1948. This conference attracted prominent artists, scientists and intellectuals such as Pablo Neruda, Julian Huxley, Tadeusz Kotarbiński, Pablo Picasso, Ivo Andrić and Mikhail Sholokhov. The poster for this conference in 1948 is the first in the collection. The World Peace Council was officially founded in 1950 at the Polish Peace Congress in Warsaw. The ideas behind the group originated from the policy of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The idea was to promote peace campaigns around the world as a response to the perceived "warmongering" by the USA during the Cold War. The poster advertising the 1950 conference in Warsaw is the second image in our collection. The World Peace Council exists today and is a registered NGO at the United Nations.

Our collection, consisting of 23 posters, highlights Polish artists advocating peace and disarmament.