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01.03.2021

The ceremony of unveiling a plaque commemorating Col. Łukasz Ciepliński and members of the 4th Main Board of the "Freedom and Independence" Association (WiN)

On 1 March, the IPN’s President Jarosław Szarek, Ph.D., unveiled a plaque commemorating Col. Łukasz Ciepliński and members of the 4th Main Board of WiN.

Unveiling of the WiN plaque at the Mokotów prison
Unveiling of the WiN plaque at the Mokotów prison
Unveiling of the WiN plaque at the Mokotów prison
Unveiling of the WiN plaque at the Mokotów prison
Unveiling of the WiN plaque at the Mokotów prison
The plaque commemorating Col. Łukasz Ciepliński and members of the 4th Main Board "WiN"

The ceremony took place on the 70th anniversary of the execution of Col. Łukasz Ciepliński and his subordinates: Maj. Józef Batory, Maj. Franciszek Błażej, Cpt. Karol Chmiel, Col. Mieczysław Kawalec, Lt. Col. Adam Lazarowicz and Maj. Józef Rzepka. The plaque was installed at the main entrance of the Museum of Cursed Soldiers and Political Prisoners of the People's Republic of Poland, former political prison in Rakowiecka Street in Warsaw.

The unveiling has a symbolic dimension, since 70 years ago, on the prison premises functionaries of the communist regime murdered those seven officers of the Polish Army, steadfast defenders of independent Poland. The commemoration is part of the celebration of the 11th National Accursed Soldiers Remembrance Day.

The road back to our memory is long and rocky for the Accursed Soldiers. I rememeber that years ago I spoke to Professor Barbara Otwinowska, who told me all about the problems of restoring the history of our pre-1956 struggle for free and independent Poland; apparently, some people preferred to think that this resistance was born in 1956, and everything before was to be forgotten.

said the IPN’s President Jarosław Szarek at the ceremony.

The plaque commemorating Col. Ciepliński and his officers, made of the charcoal-gray granite, is decorated with the cast Cross of the "Freedom and Independence” Association. The plaque was made and installed by the IPN's Office for Commemorating the Struggle and Martyrdom. It is the 10th commemorative plaque in the Mokotów prison, dedicated to the victims of communist crimes, and funded by the Institute of National Remembrance.


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