The plaque, approved by the Polish parliament, places the grave under the care of Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), which runs a programme to preserve and commemorate the graves of war veterans in Poland and abroad.
The commemoration was preceded by a meeting at the Polish consulate in Sydney, attended by Polish journalist and writer Bogumiła Żongołłowicz.
She recently moved to Australia and funded the renovation of Jasiński’s grave.
Żongołłowicz is the author of his upcoming biography, set for release later this year.
Born in 1908, Jasiński was a sailor, journalist and poet. He fought in the September Campaign following the German invasion of Poland in 1939 and joined the underground Home Army in 1941.
During the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, he served as a press correspondent.
After the war, Jasiński worked in the British merchant navy before settling in Australia in 1952, where he earned a living in various jobs. He continued to write, though he later admitted that his "poetical efforts vanished with the Warsaw Uprising."
He died in 1984.
Warsaw calling
Jasiński gained fame for his poem We Demand Ammunition, broadcast by the Błyskawica (Lightning) underground radio station on August 24, 1944.
The fiery verses, calling on London-based broadcasters to abandon mournful songs and instead send support, became instantly popular among fighters in besieged Warsaw:
Why do you keep playing a mournful chorale in London / When the long-awaited celebration has finally come! / The girls fight arm-in-arm with their boys / And little children fight, and the blood cheerfully flows / Hello! Here’s the heart of Poland! This is Warsaw calling! / Stop playing funeral songs in your broadcasts! / We have enough spirit for us and for you! / We need no applause! We demand ammunition!
Czemu żałobny chorał śpiewacie wciąż w Londynie / Gdy tu nadeszło wreszcie oczekiwane święto! / U boku swoich chłopców walczą tu dziewczęta/ I małe dzieci walczą, i krew radośnie płynie / Halo! Tu serce Polski! Tu mówi Warszawa! / Niech pogrzebowe śpiewy wyrzucą z audycji!/ Nam ducha starczy dla nas i starczy go dla Was! / Oklasków nie trzeba! Żądamy amunicji!
(mk/gs)
Source: dzieje.pl