03. The Polish Red Cross and the Polish White Cross existed simultaneously, the president of which was Helena Paderewska.

Helena Paderewska in 1917 in the United States, sought to transform and recognize the organization she established and led in the United States, called the Committee for the Care of Polish Soldiers, into a national association of the Red Cross of Poland. Following the refusal of the International Committee of the Red Cross to create a Polish branch of this organization, H. Paderewska organized and financed the recruitment of female volunteers for nursing service, to send them to places where Poles conscripted into three armies – Russian, German, and Austrian – were fighting during World War I. She named the organization the Polish White Cross. In the beginning, the organization operated in the United States, where its numerous members gathered supplies, clothing for soldiers fighting in the country, as well as for volunteers of the army being formed in France (underwear, sweaters, medical supplies, socks, soap, tobacco). Polish parishes also joined the action. The White Cross provided particular care for the families of volunteers, especially in the event of the father's death or disability. The second statutory goal of the association, for which the White Cross became particularly known, was to promote culture and education, to awaken patriotic attitudes, and to raise national and civic awareness among Polish soldiers serving in the occupying armies, and after the end of World War I among the soldiers of the regular service of the Polish Army.

After arriving in France in 1918, H. Paderewska recruited volunteers to fight for Poland's freedom among war prisoners and wounded soldiers in hospitals. The activity of the Polish White Cross in France began on March 1, 1918, and lasted until June 1, 1919, i.e., until the final transport of the Polish Army to Poland. During this time, the Polish White Cross organized holiday aid for 27,000 soldiers, delivered underwear, books, cigarettes, medical supplies, and medicines to volunteers. It sent 12 ambulances and two cars for the army, and maintained 42 nurses working in hospitals and canteens.

After arriving in Poland in 1918, Helena Paderewska established the Polish White Cross in the country, of which she became president. How did the PBK differ from the PCK, both operating in independent Poland? In the book Helena Paderewska. On the fifteenth anniversary of her national and social work 1914-1929, Chicago 1929, we read:

“There were no collisions with the Red Cross established almost simultaneously in Poland, as the Red Cross dealt with emergency services during the war and the wounded in war, as well as their families, while the Polish White Cross took care of the soldier in general, when he was healthy and to keep him in good health, to maintain him in full love and dedication for the cause, to uplift his spirit, to enlighten him, and to familiarize him with civic duties.”

In the interwar period, the PBK developed, ran hospitals, warehouses, inns, soldiers' libraries, and organized vocational courses. In 1936, it was recognized as an association of higher utility. During World War II, the Germans, carrying out the liquidation of social organizations, partially transferred the assets of the Polish White Cross to the Polish Red Cross, but this did not improve the situation of the PCK, rather it worsened due to the fact that the funds from the organization’s accounts were lower than the budget burdens due to real estate. The Polish White Cross was dissolved by a resolution of the Council of Ministers on November 28, 1946 (Journal of Laws 1947, no. 2, item 6) and its assets were transferred to the Soldiers’ Friends Society.