The De Republica Institute has published a unique monograph of the Polish anthem. The publication “The Dabrowski Mazurka. Images, words, notes” is aimed at all those who would like to learn about its extraordinary history and take a closer look at the prominent figures of the authors of the anthem’s words, Józef Wybicki, and General Henryk Dąbrowski, who created the Polish Legions in Italy.

According to Prof. Janusz Górski, the album’s scientific editor, the book is addressed to a wide range of readers. 

“This is not a scientific position for a narrow group of specialists. This is also reflected in the iconography and the illustrations, which I tried to include as many and as varied as possible. The idea was to visualise the dry text of the lecture, to show how people, their uniforms and the first prints of the hymn looked like”, says Prof. Górski. 

For various reasons, the text of the hymn underwent many changes over the decades, mainly because it was initially transmitted to the homeland by emissaries who learned it by heart. The changes were also introduced due to the fact that the song did not have the status of an anthem, and the text changed depending on what was in demand at the time. 

The Dabrowski Mazurka did not gain the status of an anthem until 1927, after the May Coup. The song had several rivals. The National Democrats supported the “Rota”, the Church supported the “Boże coś Polskę” (God save Poland), and the Piłsudski followers supported the “Pierwsza Brygada” (First Brigade). Ultimately, however, the Mazurka, as not only very popular but also the least controversial, was chosen as the Polish anthem and remains so to this day.

Publishing is one aspect of the activities of the De Republica Institute, whose main task is to support, promote and popularise Polish humanist and social ideas. The Institute’s publishing house has already produced 55 publications. Now it can boast an exceptional editorial work on the Polish anthem.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński