The Cursed Soldier Day

National Day of Remembrance of the Cursed Soldiers which is celebrated on March 1st plays a significant role for the Polish people . Why is this day enshrined as a national holiday in Poland?

(Source: NaszaHisotria)

Why were soldiers referred as 'cursed'?

The very word 'cursed' refers to the attitude of not recognizing the end of the war due to influence of USSR, by taking an active part in the fight for an independent and free homeland. Shortly after WWII, communism began to operate in Poland. It included propaganda of People’s of Poland who called those soldiers as 'bunch of reactionary underground.'

During such time, the Polish underground was active in opposing the prevailing system by taking rebellious attitude. The phrase 'Cursed Soldiers' was coined in 1993 by Leszek Żebrowski, a former member of the Republican League at Warsaw University. It refers to a letter received by the widow of a deceased soldier, "The eternal shame and hatred of our soldiers and officers accompanies him and beyond the grave. Anyone who feels Polish blood in him curses him - so let his own wife and child renounce him."

Łukasz "Pług" Ciepliński, Zygmunt "Łupaszka" Szendzielarz and Witold "Druh" Pilecki have shed their blood in the name of a free and independent homeland. It is estimated that the total number of members of underground organizations was between 120 - 180 thousand.

On March 1, 1951, an order was issued by communist authorities in order to execute people associated with nationalist movements in Warsaw's Mokotow district. The day was established thanks to President Lech Kaczynski and has been a national holiday in Poland since 2011.

Celebrations of the holiday will be held in Poland, at 17:30 p.m. at Pilsudski Square in Warsaw. There will be an Appeal of Remembrance of the Cursed Soldiers and laying of flowers to honor the fallen soldiers.