Warsaw. Some of the poppies taken from Marshal Józef Piłsudski Square have been returned

The poppies that decorated the lawn near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw were made of biodegradable materials by people with disabilities at the Occupational Therapy Workshops in Męczenin near Płock and during workshops organized by the “Jestem” Association in Płock. The installation was prepared by the Płock Foundation “Vivat Polonia!” and the Stado Ogierów company in Łąck.

There were 1,773 flowers, including 923 red ones – to commemorate the Polish soldiers who died 80 years ago in the battle for Monte Cassino, and 850 purple ones – that was the number of horses in one of the 40 cavalry regiments of the Polish Army as of September 1, 1939. After the celebrations of Polish Army Day, the poppies were taken by passers-by. The exhibition organizers did not hide their surprise and appealed for the flowers to be returned to their place.

As reported by the president of the “Vivat Polonia!” Foundation, Cezary Supeł, several dozen poppies from 1773 have returned to Marshal Józef Piłsudski Square.

– We are very happy that at least a small part of the poppies returned. We would like to thank those who reflected and decided to correct their mistake. We also appreciate their civil courage, which allowed them to admit to this mistake. We believe that this will be a history lesson, that the message of the installation will remain in their memory for a long time – said Supeł.

Earlier, the poppies near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw appeared with the consent of the Warsaw Garrison Command and were to remain there until the beginning of September, so that they would also be visible during the anniversary celebrations of the outbreak of World War II. The campaign to prepare the installation involved volunteers, scouts from the 69th Troop named after the Heroes of Monte-Cassino from the capital city of Ursynów, volunteer firefighters from the Specialist Rescue Group Płock-Podolszyce, as well as residents of Warsaw and tourists staying in the capital.

The “Vivat Polonia!” Foundation based in Płock organizes initiatives to popularize national and regional traditions and cultural heritage. Since 2011, every November 11, it has been running the “Polish Cuisine Day” campaign on the National Independence Day and “Native Colors”, a social campaign to popularize the presence of Polish national symbols in everyday life.

The State Stallion Stud in Łąck near Płock was established in 1923 by decision of the President of the Republic of Poland as one of the first studs in independent Poland and was the largest stallion breeding farm in Poland before World War II.

As part of the celebrations of the 85th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, the Stallion Stud in Łąck will host a two-day National Show Jumping Competition – it will begin on August 31 and last until September 1. As the organizers announce, “the competition will be full of references to the glorious, centuries-old traditions of Polish arms, in order to honor the memory of the heroism of soldiers of the Polish Army, and especially the cavalry of the Second Polish Republic.”

Special guests will include soldiers and horses of the Polish Army Cavalry Squadron, which is part of the Representative Regiment of the Polish Army.

In the years 1938-1939, the Łąck stud was the summer residence of the General Inspector of the Armed Forces, Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły. The stud farm cooperated closely with the 4th Mounted Rifle Regiment, a cavalry unit of the Polish Army stationed in Płock in the years 1922-1939. The regiment was assigned to the Nowogródek Cavalry Brigade, and after the outbreak of World War II, it became part of the Cavalry Operational Group of General Władysław Anders, whose headquarters in September 1939 were located on the stud farm.