President Andrzej Duda handed out state orders to fighters referred to by some as the “Cursed Soldiers” and by others as “indomitable soldiers,” and to people who have worked to spread the word about their deeds.
During a ceremony at the presidential palace in Warsaw on the official day of remembrance for the fighters, an event established 10 years ago, Duda said Poland must not forget their sacrifice.
‘True patriotism’
He added that his country "remembers on account of its history, but most of all… it remembers for future generations, so that they know what kind of attitude is the attitude of true patriotism.”
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.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki paid tribute to the fighters on Monday during 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.
PM Mateusz Morawiecki at Warsaw’s Powązki cemetery on Monday. Photo: PAP/Paweł Supernak
Ceremony at 'wall of death'
In the evening, Duda lit a symbolic candle in a 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.
Monday's ceremonies were scaled back compared to previous years because of the COVID-19 epidemic, and were conducted 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/IAR