Institutions across Poland will be marking National Accursed Soldiers Remembrance Day today to commemorate heroes of the anti-communist underground.
Following the end of WWII, the “żołnierze wyklęci” or the “cursed soldiers” faced a brutal crackdown by Poland’s communist authorities and were a taboo subject during the country’s decades under communist rule.
The Museum of the Second World War and the Institute of National Remembrance in Gdańsk will join other cultural institutions around Poland to offer special exhibitions, panel discussions, concerts, and a remembrance ceremony to honor those who lost their lives fighting against the communist regime.
According to IPN Director prof. Mirosław Golon, the Institute of National Remembrance “especially want(s) to reach the young generation” with its events, which include an interactive city game to learn about the life of Danuta Sieikówna of “Inka,” the brave Home Army nurse who died in Communist custody at the age of 17.
March 1st was chosen as the official day of remembrance in 2011, as it was on this day in 1951 that seven prominent members of the Freedom and Independence (Wolność i Niezawisłość – WiN) organization were executed in Warsaw by the Soviet-controlled Communist Polish secret police (Urząd Bezpieczeństwa).
More information on today’s events can be found HERE.
Thousands of central Moscow residents gathered on the weekend to commemorate the anniversary of the murder of Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov in 2015.
Following a clampdown on protests over the jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, supporters refrained from marching and carrying posters and instead laid flowers on the bridge in central Moscow where Nemtsov was gunned down six years ago.
At the time of his death, Nemtsov had been working on a report examining Russia’s role in the conflict in Ukraine. After his murder, local authorities turned down a request to put up a plaque in his honor, and city workers have dismantled temporary memorials on several occasions over the years.
Some 8,000 people and several Western ambassadors were reportedly in attendance at the event, including the US Ambassador to Russia, John J. Sullivan.
Warsaw’s Varso Tower has reportedly become the tallest building in the European Union after the recent installation of an 80-meter spire.
With its architectural height of 310 meters, Varso Tower is now taller than existing skyscrapers in Frankfurt, Milan, and Paris, according to international real estate developer HB Reavis.
Scheduled for completion next year, the building will feature two observation decks, at 205 and 230 meters, which twice as high as the viewing deck of the nearby Palac Kultury (Palace of Culture and Science).
Polish athletes had a markedly good weekend at events held around the globe.
On Saturday, teenage tennis phenom Iga Świątek beat her top-seeded Swiss opponent in straight sets (6-2, 6-2) to win the Adelaide International tennis tournament in Australia. The win gives Świątek her second career singles title after last year’s victory at the French Open.
Also on Saturday, ski jumper Piotr Żyła took the gold in the men’s normal hill event for Poland’s first medal at the 2021 Nordic World Ski Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany.
The championships are set to wrap up next Sunday.
Weather
Today will be partly sunny and mild, with a gentle breeze coming in from the west and very little chance of rain or snow. Temperatures will stay well above freezing during the day, with a high of 12°C, or 53°F, dropping to 2°C or 38°F overnight. Skies will remain mostly clear overnight, with a chance for rain or snow later in the week.
Elizabeth Peck/ako
