A metal cigarette case of rectangular shape. The object has been made of brass and plated with silver on the outside. The cigarette case consists of two halves and is closed with a clasp. Both halves (from the outside) are decorated with regular embossing. On one side (recto) a regular grid pattern with small meshes is visible over the whole surface. On the surface there are also two longitudinal grooves running parallel along the longer sides (approx. 1.5 cm from the edge). The other half (verso) was decorated with regular grooves visible on the whole surface. The colour of the object inside is gold-copper (brass colour). After opening the cigarette case, on the inside of one of the halves (verso), a decorative engraving can be seen. In the central part there is a representation-view of city buildings. It is a view of the Warsaw W-Z route with St. Anne's Church visible on the left, the tunnel under the castle square and buildings visible above it in the middle and the Column of Sigismund III Vasa on the right. Above the view, on the left, the acronym "WZ" can be seen. Below the representation the dates are engraved: "15 April 1947", "22 July 1949". Below them the inscription "Zygmunt" (Sigismund). Inside each half of the cigarette case there is a striped rubber band (used to hold cigarettes).
The cigarette case is a memento of Józef Sigalin (1909-1983), a Warsaw architect and urban planner of Jewish origin. After the war he was the deputy head of the Office for the Reconstruction of the Capital (BOS). In 1951-1953 he co-created the General Plan of Warsaw (at that time he was the Chief Architect of Warsaw; 1951-1956). During this time he also supervised the construction of the Poniatowski Bridge (1945-1946), the Marszałkowska Housing Estate (MDM; 1950-1955), and in later years the Starzyński Route, the Szczeciński and Hel Coasts, the downtown ring road from Okopowa to Towarowa Streets, Waryńskiego Street and the Łazienkowska Route. He was also a plenipotentiary for the construction of the Palace of Culture and Science (1952-1955). He was the author of the architectural design of the following squares: Zamkowy, Konstytucji, Defilad, and Zawiszy. He co-created the Mariensztat estate, Traugutta and Agrykola parks, green areas around the Palace of Culture and Science, in the area of the Vistula River and Świder.
The building is a gift from Zygmunt Stępiński, with whom Sigalin implemented one of the most important projects in his career - the construction of the famous W-Z (East-West) Route. The route was the first major transport investment after World War II. It was to connect the eastern and western parts of the city, and one of its most important electrodes was to be the Śląsko-Dąbrowski Bridge, built on the pillars of the Kierbedzia Bridge destroyed in 1944, and a tunnel running under Miodowa Street and Krakowskie Przedmieście Street. The group carrying out the project also included Jan Knothe and Stanisław Jankowski (acting as manager of the Studio). Construction of the route lasted from 1947 to 1949. The date chosen for the opening was 22 July, the National Rebirth of Poland Day, symbolic for the rebuilding of the capital. The realisation of this innovative and daring project for those times revealed many problems related to the monuments along the route. One of the biggest challenges was to save St. Anne's Church (captured on a cigarette case). The Vistula embankment, on the slope of which the building is located, started to slide and the church walls started to crack. However, the sliding of the escarpment was stopped.
To this day, the construction of the route is considered to be one of the symbols of post-war Warsaw, rising from the rubble and entering into modernity. Apparently, one of the ways to commemorate this event was to name a still popular dessert after the investment. It was, of course, the W-Z cake. The cakes were to be made in one of the pastry shops located near the route.
After the death of Józef Siglin, his daughter bequeathed the keepsake to his son Zygmunt Stępiński (also Zygmunt), who at the time held the post of deputy director of the POLIN Museum. The memento was later donated to the Museum."
Marta Frączkiewicz
