A memorial Mass and remembrance ceremony were held on Thursday at the Polish War Cemetery in the San Lazzaro di Savena district on the outskirts of the city.
The cemetery, established at the initiative of Gen. Władysław Anders, is the largest of four Polish military cemeteries in Italy.
It holds the graves of 1,432 soldiers from the Polish 2nd Corps who died fighting along the Gothic Line, in the Apennine Mountains, and during the Battle of Bologna in April 1945.
Speaking at the event, Polish Senate Speaker Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska recalled that "early on the morning of April 21, 1945, a white-and-red Polish flag was raised over the city by the Carpathian Rifles."
She described the liberation of Bologna as decisive in the defeat of Nazi forces in Italy, but noted its heavy cost: "Six hundred wounded and three hundred killed, whose ashes rest here with us."
'Never again the division of Europe'
Kidawa-Błońska told the ceremony that the 80th anniversary was also a moment to reflect on Europe’s political future.
"We must reject, once and for all, the idea of carving Europe into spheres of influence," she said. "Here in Bologna, near the site of Europe's first university, we must say with clarity: never again a new Yalta. We owe this to the soldiers of the II Corps. Never again the division of Europe."
The Polish delegation has been in Italy since Wednesday for commemorations organised by Poland's Office for Veterans and Victims of Oppression, along with the Polish Consulate General in Milan.
Veterans of the II Corps, including Maj. Władysław Dąbrowski, Capt. Krzysztof Flizak, 2nd Lt. Józef Skrzynecki and Stanisław Guścin, joined the ceremony, along with clergy from various denominations and a crowd of local residents, students and Polish and Italian officials.
Lech Parell, head of the Polish Veterans' Office, paid tribute to the sacrifice endured by the Anders Army.
"These soldiers crossed three continents in the hope of reaching a free Poland, which most never did," he said. "They faced defeat in September 1939, deportation to Soviet labour camps, starvation and death, before General Anders led them out of what he called the inhuman land. In Italy, they wrote a heroic chapter."
Parell also thanked Italians for preserving the memory of those soldiers.
"The people who brought freedom to Italian cities are still remembered warmly," he said. "Out of their sacrifice came the reality of postwar Europe and the roots of Polish freedom, even if that freedom was delayed for decades."
'A shared Polish-Italian story'
Gen. Ryszard Schnepf, head of Poland’s diplomatic mission in Italy, emphasised the ongoing ties between the two nations.
"Eighty years later, this place allows us to connect not only with the past, but also with local communities and above all with the veterans and their families," he said. "Nowhere else have I felt this sense of a shared Polish-Italian story as deeply."
Lt. Gen. Adam Joks read a message from Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, in which he paid homage to all soldiers of the II Corps—those who survived, those who were long exiled, and those who faced persecution in communist Poland.
“And those whose graves now lie along the path of their combat journey,” the message added.
Ceremonial wreaths were laid at both the Polish and British war cemeteries in Bologna.
During the ceremony, Parell presented Pro Bono Poloniae and Pro Patria medals to individuals for their contributions to preserving Polish heritage and memory abroad.
Also present at the event were Agnieszka Gloria Kamińska, Poland’s Consul General in Milan; Karol Polejowski, deputy head of the Warsaw-based Institute of National Remembrance; Bishop Wiesław Lechowicz of the Polish Army; Archbishop Jerzy Pańkowski of the Polish Orthodox Church; and Lutheran Military Chaplain Tomasz Wola.
Italian local government and education officials also attended.
The Battle of Bologna, fought from April 9 to 21, 1945, was the Polish II Corps’ final operation and one of the last battles on the Italian front. Breaking through German defences at Bologna hastened the collapse of the Nazi presence in Italy.
On April 21, the 9th Battalion of the Carpathian Rifles entered the city and raised the Polish flag before other Allied units arrived.
The battalion was later awarded the honorary title "Bologna Battalion," and 17 of its commanders became honorary citizens of the city.
Bologna's city council also presented 215 commemorative medals specially minted for Polish soldiers, in recognition of their role in the city’s liberation.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP