 On 3 September 1939 , two days after Germany invaded Poland triggering the 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 . On the way from Bordeaux to Falmouth , the ship carrying Polish national treasures came under fire from the Luftwaffe . 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 . When the German bombing of Britain began in July 1940 , the valuables were transported aboard the Polish ocean liner MS Batory to Canada and finally deposited at the Polish consulate and then other locations in Ottawa . 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 . 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 . 
