On the eve of the National Day of Remembrance of the Cursed Soldiers, a disgraceful act of vandalism took place at the Warsaw Uprising Mound in Warsaw. The Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) is demanding that the perpetrators be punished – the institution stated in a declaration published on social media.
Vandalism of Crosses at the Warsaw Uprising Mound – IPN Responds
Unknown perpetrators destroyed approximately ten crosses placed by Warsaw residents at the Warsaw Uprising Mound. The crosses were torn from the ground and thrown into bushes, and some commemorative plaques were damaged.
IPN announced in a statement that the incident occurred on the eve of the National Day of Remembrance of the Cursed Soldiers.
“Unknown perpetrators removed around ten crosses commemorating the heroes of the anti-communist independence underground and discarded them in the bushes. Informational plaques funded by residents and football supporters were also destroyed. The Institute of National Remembrance demands that those responsible for this act of vandalism be punished,” the statement emphasized.
The Institute recalled that the wooden crosses first appeared at the Warsaw Uprising Mound in 2004.
“They were removed by the Warsaw city authorities during the modernization works that began in 2021. Community activists later found them in a warehouse belonging to the municipal green spaces authority. At the end of July last year, thanks to the efforts of residents, veterans, and scouts, the crosses returned to the mound. Now they have once again become the target of acts of barbarism,” the statement reads.
As noted, “unfortunately, in recent times we have witnessed various attacks on Polish historical memory and national symbols.” “At the beginning of February this year, the Home Army monument at the Central Cemetery in Szczecin was vandalized,” the Institute pointed out.
The Warsaw Uprising Mound was created from the rubble of destroyed Warsaw. For many decades it remained neglected and forgotten. It was only in 2004 that it received its official name, and a several-meter-high symbol of Fighting Poland, bearing the date 1944, was placed at its summit.