On the Warsaw Uprising Mound, in front of the Fighting Poland monument, the memory of the insurgents was honored. A fire was lit, which will burn as long as the fighting lasts. – We meet to light a fire. The Fire of Remembrance, the fire of gratitude – said the deputy mayor of Warsaw.
On August 1, the ceremony was attended by, among others, the chairwoman of the Warsaw City Council Ewa Malinowska-Grupińska, the deputy mayor of Warsaw Aldona Machnowska-Góra, the representative of the President of the Republic of Poland Prof. Marek Rymsza, the head of the Office for War Veterans and Victims of Repression Minister Lech Parell and the representative of the director of the Warsaw Uprising Museum Szymon Niedziela. The event was also attended by Warsaw insurgents: a medic from the “Baszta” regiment Barbara Tokarska and a former soldier of the Grey Ranks, a soldier of the Home Army, a member of the Warsaw Uprising Museum council, Prof. Leszek Żukowski.
– As every year, we meet in one of the most symbolic places in Warsaw, on the Warsaw Uprising Mound, to light a fire. The Fire of Remembrance, the fire of gratitude and the fire that is our commitment that this sacrifice of youth, the sacrifice of blood, and often the sacrifice of life of the Warsaw insurgents, together with this fire, will also be carried into the future by us, the next generations – said in her speech the deputy mayor of Warsaw, Aldona Machnowska-Góra. She emphasized that although the Warsaw Uprising Mound could have been a symbol of the destruction and end of Warsaw, it has become a symbol of hope, the future and the value of the insurgent fight.
During the ceremony on the Warsaw Uprising Mound in the Action “Burza” park, a candle with the Fire of Remembrance was transferred from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which was used to light a fire under the Fighting Poland monument. The flames will be maintained for 63 days. After lighting the fire, invited guests laid wreaths under the Fighting Poland monument.
Made of the rubble of destroyed Warsaw
For the first time, the ceremonies commemorating the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising took place in the modernized Akcja “Burza” park. It was an investment of the Warsaw Greenery Board, which cost over PLN 24 million. After the completion of the revitalization works in July 2023, the Warsaw Uprising Mound lacked the scout crosses, which in 2004 were placed on both sides of the road to the Fighting Poland Monument. Before being moved to the mound, the crosses were located in various places in Warsaw and commemorated the insurgents who died during the fighting. Since they were exposed to difficult weather conditions, they were replaced with new ones by the district from time to time. After several months of absence, the crosses were placed at the top of the mound and participants of the ceremony commemorating the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising could see them.
The Warsaw Uprising Mound was built from the rubble of destroyed Warsaw. For many decades it was neglected and forgotten. It was not until 2004 that it was given an official name, and a several-meter-high symbol of Fighting Poland with the date 1944 was placed on its top.
During the occupation, Mokotów was heavily occupied by Germans.
During the Warsaw Uprising, heavy fighting took place in Mokotów, which protected Warsaw from the south and prevented an attack on Śródmieście from that direction. During the occupation, Mokotów was heavily occupied by the Germans, and the difficulty in defending this district was also its development – only 60% of the district was densely built up. Despite this, the district defended itself for 57 days and capitulated only on September 27. About 1.7 thousand insurgents died in the fighting in Mokotów.
Main image source: PAP/Leszek Szymanski