On 8th May, the Remembrance Museum hosted another ‘Encounter with History’. This time, the meeting was held in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Monte Cassino. Among those who fought at Monte Cassino were residents of the Land of Oświęcim. Participants learnt about several participants in one of the most famous battles of the Second World War and deepened their knowledge of the genesis and course of the battle itself thanks to lectures and family stories.
The introductory lecture entitled “The Battle of Monte Cassino. The combat trail of General Władysław Anders’ Army – from the Soviet land to Italy” was delivered by Andrzej Synowiec, Ph.D. (Jagiellonian University). He presented the genesis of the creation of the 2nd Polish Corps, the reasons for evacuation to Iran, the combat trail, up to the post-war fate of General Anders’s Army, focusing, in particular, on the General and the course of the Battle of Monte Cassino.
The second speaker was Mr Andrzej Kacorzyk, president of the Society of Friends of Osiek, who gave a lecture entitled “From Grunwald to Monte Cassino”. The name of the lecture refers to the chapel dedicated to the commemoration of the Battle of Grunwald, on the so-called “Kopieck”. – a characteristic place on the map of Osiek. Eight villagers participated in the Battle of Monte Cassino. They were: Antoni Frej, Andrzej Jarzyna, Ludwik Jakiełek, Stanisław Jurczyk, Franciszek Kacorzyk, Jan Kwaśniak, Wawrzyniec Mleczek and Stefan Rusin. All of them returned to Osiek after the war, with the exception of Jan Kwaśniak, who was killed at Monte Cassino. The son of the fallen, also Jan Kwaśniak, was present. The lecture was devoted to introducing the Osiek heroes.
An important and moving point of the event were the accounts of witnesses to history. Family members of the heroes from Monte Cassino spoke. Mrs Danuta Rydzoń talked about her grandfather Stanisław Wrona. Mr Adrian Chucher spoke about his grandfather Edward Chucher.
A performance by students and teachers of the K. Szymanowski State Music School of the First Degree in Oświęcim brought a very special touch to the event with performances of Fryderyk Chopin’s composition ‘Variations on a Theme by Rossini’ for flute and piano performed by Aleksandra Jarosz and Piotr Gębis, a polonaise ‘Farewell to the Homeland’ performed by an accordion trio composed of: Anna Paleń, Amelia Nikliborc, Michał Młot, culiminating in a resounding performance of “Czerwone maki na Monte Cassino” (Red poppies at Monte Cassino), performed by Tatiana Ignaczak and accompanied on the piano by Piotr Gębis.
The meeting was accompanied by the opening of a temporary exhibition from the collection of the Bohaterów Monte Cassino Primary School No. 2 Memorial Chamber in Kęty. The school was established in 1973 and was the first in Poland to bear this honourable name. At the school, on the initiative of Alojzy Czarkowski, a soldier of the Polish Armed Forces in the West, a Memorial Chamber was established, currently managed by Ms Bożena Talaga. The Chamber has amassed a rich, unique collection of items relating to the Battle of Monte Cassino. The contributors to the Chamber included Lieutenant Edward Chucher, Captain Stanisław Jura, Lieutenant Edmund Wilkosz, Platoon Sergeant Józef Jankowski and others. Part of the Chamber’s collection, courtesy of the school’s headmistress, Mrs Maria Koperska, has been loaned to our museum for a temporary exhibition.
On display are, among others: documents, battle decorations of participants, an officer’s uniform of the 2nd Polish Corps, and an ammunition box. Of exceptional value are the mementoes of Edmund Wilkosz – half of the immortal remains of the Oświęcim scoutmaster killed at Monte Cassino, as well as Wilkosz’s handwritten biography dated August 1942. Not only does this document have emotional value, but it also provides a completely new perspective on Wilkosz’s military service, contradicting information available on the Internet that he had already graduated from a reserve officer cadet school before the war and held the rank of officer.
The temporary exhibition can be viewed free of charge at the Remembrance Museum until 16th May. The meeting was broadcast live and the recording can be viewed here:
