On the occasion of the National Day of Remembrance of “Cursed Soldiers” on March 1, the Museum of Cursed Soldiers was officially opened in Ostrołęka. The event was attended by the last surviving Unbreakable Soldiers. This is the first museum in Poland devoted to the history of the anti-communist underground.
The opening of the museum was held with the participation of the deputy prime minister, minister of culture and national heritage, Prof. Piotr Gliński.
The museum’s permanent exhibition will be open to visitors from March 2. The program of the opening includes other events to be held in the following days: a scientific conference “The war continues – the fight of the Unbreakable Soldiers for a free Poland”, a concert of the Luxtorpeda band “Faith, Strength, Bravery” and the Wolf Track Run.
Following the intention of late President Lech Kaczyński, in 2011, the Sejm of the Republic of Poland established the National Day of Remembrance of “Cursed Soldiers” on 1 of March.
The fate of the heroes fighting for free Poland has become a permanent element of the collective memory of Poles. The sacrifice, courage and devotion to the Homeland of the heroes of the anti-communist underground have been worthy of commemoration in the form of a museum, which is located on the premises of the former Detention Center in Ostrołęka. It was established in the region where the resistance of the society and the activity of anti-communist groups including the National Military Union (NZW), the Home Army, Freedom and Independence (WiN) organization were very large. The fights lasted there until the end of 1953, when the last partisans of the Ostrołęka region died on November 11 in Dudy Puszczańskie.
Janusz Kotowski, the director of the Museum, said that the Cursed Soldiers fought already in 1939 with two powerful enemies: Nazi Germany and Bolshevik Russia. One occupant was defeated in 1945, the other began to impose a strange, godless, satanic order. Therefore, the Unbreakable Soldiers continued their fight for a truly free Motherland. They were hounded, murdered, buried in nameless graves, doomed to oblivion.
Adrian Andrzejewski