Editing Szczerbiec (section)

=== Evacuation in World War II ===
{{See also|Evacuation of Polish National Treasures during World War II}}
[[File:Bank of Montreal Wellington Street Ottawa.jpg|thumb|upright|From 1945 to 1959, Szczerbiec was locked away in a vault of the [[Bank of Montreal]] branch at [[144 Wellington Street]], [[Ottawa]].{{sfnp|Swoger|2004|p=77|ps=}}]]
On 3 September 1939, two days after [[Nazi Germany|Germany]] invaded Poland triggering the [[World War I|Second World War]], began the evacuation of the most precious national treasures, including Szczerbiec, from the Wawel Castle. The cargo was transported on barges, wagons, buses and trucks to Romania. From there, it was shipped by sea to France and later to Britain.{{sfnp|Rożek|1987|pp=138–139|ps=}} On the way from [[Bordeaux]] to [[Falmouth, Cornwall|Falmouth]], the ship carrying Polish national treasures came under fire from the [[Luftwaffe]].{{sfnp|Swoger|2004|p=53|ps=}} [[Karol Estreicher (junior)|Karol Estreicher]], who oversaw the evacuation, decided then to remove Szczerbiec from a chest and sandwich it between two wooden planks, and to attach to them an explanatory [[message in a bottle]] – so that in the event that the ship was sunk, at least the coronation sword could be salvaged.{{sfnp|Rożek|1987|p=139|ps=}} When the [[Battle of Britain|German bombing of Britain]] began in July 1940, the valuables were transported aboard the Polish ocean liner [[MS Batory|MS ''Batory'']] to Canada{{sfnp|Rożek|1987|pp=138–139|ps=}} and finally deposited at the Polish consulate and then other locations in [[Ottawa]].{{sfnp|Swoger|2004|p=58|ps=}} After the war, one of the custodians of the national treasures, who remained loyal to the [[London]]-based [[Polish government-in-exile]], was reluctant to return them to Poland, which had fallen under communist rule and Soviet influence.{{sfnp|Swoger|2004|p=76|ps=}} After lengthy negotiations, the first batch of the most important objects, including Szczerbiec, was ultimately returned in 1959; the rest followed in 1961. Since then, the Polish coronation sword has been on permanent display in the treasure vault of the Wawel Castle.{{sfnp|Rożek|1987|pp=138–139|ps=}}