×
Search this website for:
20.05.2021

The funeral of 8 soldiers of the Polish Army who died in the defense of Fort III in Pomiechówek in 1939 - Pomiechowo, 20 May 2021

The funeral ceremony was attended by the Deputy President of the Institute of National Remembrance, Jan Baster and the Director of the IPN's Office for Commemorating the Struggle and Martyrdom, Adam Siwek.

The funeral of 8 soldiers of the Polish Army who died in the defense of Fort III in Pomiechówek in 1939 - Pomiechowo, 20 May 2021

The funeral celebrations began at 12:00 with a Holy Mass for the Defenders of the Homeland in St. Anna Church in Pomiechowo, concelebrated by Fr. Lt. Col. Marcin Czeropski and the Pastor of St. Anna Parish in Pomiechowo. The funeral procession, assisted by the Polish Army, then marched to the Parish cemetery in Pomiechowo, where occasional speeches were delivered and where the remains of the soldiers will rest.

 

 

 

"Today, Poland is bidding farewell to its heroes - eight soldiers of the Polish Army who in 1939 gave their lives in defense of Fort III in Pomiechówek. Today's funeral ceremony is a tribute to those who, following the path of service, did not hesitate to pay the highest price for the freedom of our state. I express my deepest respect to the organizers and participants of the funeral ceremony" said Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in a letter adressed to the participants.

 

***

On 17 December 2020, the IPN’s Office for Commemorating the Struggle and Martyrdom completed the third stage of exhumation works at Fort III in Pomiechówek. The remains of 74 victims, including infants, were excavated from the death pits.

A surprising discovery of a mass grave of 8 Polish Army soldiers was also made. They were buried randomly, their bodies thrown into a shallow hollow (perhaps formed by an artillery shell), covered with a thin layer of earth. This indicates that the burial took place after the fort had been occupied by the Germans. Contrary to the graves of soldiers who died in defense of the fort, which were still arranged by Poles, this grave remained unmarked and thus was omitted during the post-war exhumations. The defenders of the facility are going to be buried next to their fellow- soldiers in the war quarters of the cemetery in Pomiechowo.

The history of the Fort in Pomiechówek - although it was built in the 1880s - is mainly associated with the period of World War II, which was the time of the tragic fate of the families displaced in 1941 from the vicinity of Płońsk, Sochocin and Nasielsk and repressions against the Jewish population. The most tragic moment in the history of the Fort is associated with the German penal and investigative prison operating there. The fort then became a site of mass executions of prisoners.

On 10 October 2018, the IPN’s Office for Commemorating the Struggle and Martyrdom began its mission to write the last chapter of this story: to provide a dignified resting place and to commemorate the thousands of victims of German crimes in Fort III. During the funeral ceremony of those exhumed on 5 September 2019,  which took place in the presence of, among others, the Polish Minister of National Defense Mariusz Błaszczak, the President of the IPN, Jarosław Szarek Ph.D., said: “We are standing on the site where 15,000 people - our ancestors - were murdered. If we were to bury them all, 450 such rows would have to be erected here". He added that the Institute of National Remembrance does not forget about such places as Fort III or the camp in Działdowo - "Who, apart from the inhabitants of northern Mazovia, has heard about Pomiechówek? Who has heard about Działdowo, where 15,000 people also lost their lives? ",  asked President Szarek. As a result of three years of works conducted in Fort III, the remains of 146 people and bone fragments belonging to over 130 people were buried in the temporary cemetery in the left courtyard.

 

 

 

The funeral of the victims of German terror at Fort III - Pomiechówek, 5 September 2019


Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up for a fresh look at history: stay up to date with the latest events, get new texts by our researchers, follow the IPN’s projects