Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki paid tribute to the fighters, referred to by some as the “Cursed Soldiers” and by others as “indomitable soldiers,” in a ceremony at a memorial at Warsaw’s Powązki Military Cemetery.
Fighting 'empire of evil'
He said the fighters “represented good, while their communist torturers… were representatives of an empire of evil."
He added that the fighters aimed to “make Poland free, independent, democratic, but also strong, secure and prosperous.”
After Poland's official underground army (AK) of World War II disbanded, thousands of Poles continued to fight in other formations as the Soviet Red Army extended its grip across the country.
The “cursed soldiers” faced a brutal crackdown by Poland’s communist authorities and were a taboo subject during the country’s decades under communist rule.
PM Mateusz Morawiecki pays tribute to Polish anti-communist fighters. Photo: PAP/Paweł Supernak
President Andrzej Duda is later on Monday scheduled to hand out state orders to the last of the living fighters.
People who have worked to spread the word about their deeds are also set to receive honours on Monday afternoon at the presidential palace in Warsaw, said Wojciech Kolarski, a senior aide to Duda.
Ceremony at 'wall of death'
On Monday evening, Duda is expected to light a candle in commemoration at the so-called “wall of death” at a former prison on Rakowiecka street in Warsaw, where seven fighters were executed by the communist authorities 70 years ago.
The ceremonies are scaled back compared to previous years because of the COVID-19 epidemic, and are taking place with sanitary rules in place.
An official day of remembrance for the fighters was introduced in 2011, more than two decades after the fall of the Iron Curtain.
(pk)
Source: PAP