Until October 15, the Office of Search and Identification of the Institute of National Remembrance will work on finding the bodies of Polish soldiers who died in the First World War. The activities will be based on the documents collected and on the local vision carried out in 2020. Historians hope to find the remains of 10 soldiers.
In November 1918, World War I ended. This resulted, among others, in Poland regaining independence and creating the Latvian state.
Both nations had to fight for their borders with the Soviet Union. The Polish Legions fought with the Red Army on the territory of present-day Latvia from 1919. The joint Polish-Latvian offensive under the command of Edward Rydz-Śmigły began on January 3, 1920. Regular fights lasted a whole month until the Bolsheviks were driven out of Latvia. Due to the Soviet counteroffensive, in April 1920, the Polish Army was forced to leave the territory of Latvia.
Not all fallen soldiers were buried.
Based on documents and archival plans as well as an on-site inspection carried out in the spring of 2020, three places were selected where the Institute of National Remembrance expects to find the remains of fallen Polish soldiers.
“The search works are scheduled for October 5-15. A team of the INR’s Office of Search and Identification is working on the site,” said Dr. Rafał Leśkiewicz, press spokesman of the Institute of National Remembrance.