Monument of the Soldier of the First Army of the Polish Army (General Anders Street)
In the summer 1943 in the USSR, within the Soviet armed forces, the 1st Infantry Division name Tadeusz Kościuszko under the command of General Zygmunt Berling was formed. The rows of the formed army were fueled by Poles – the recent exiles, prisoners of Russian camps, who for various reasons and unfortunate coincidences have failed to join General Anders’s army. For ordinary soldiers this was the only way to return to the homeland.
The Division, largely composed from civilians and prisoners exhausted by slave labor, passed its baptismal battle on October 12th and 13th 1943, at the Battle of Lenino in Belarus. Poorly prepared and devoid of suitable support artillery, also due to mistakes of command, the division suffered heavy losses.
The division had a special political mission to fulfill. Together with the Red Army, our country were entering Polish troops proclaiming brotherhood of arms and forming the nucleus of the communist regime. Then the officers of the 1st Division formed the PKWN (Polish National Liberation Committee). Soldiers in the ranks had no influence on how their military units would be used in Stalin’s policy towards Poland. After reformation ,,Kościuszko’’ soldiers entered the 1st Army of the Polish Army, which took part in the fights for Warsaw, Kolobrzeg and participated in the assault on Berlin.
The monument, which is the last work of Ksawery Dunikowski, was created in the 1960s at the behest of then-Minister of National Defense, general Marian Spychalski. Its unveiling took place on October 12th 1963, on the 20th anniversary of the Battle of Lenino. During the Polish People’s Republic this lost battle was presented as the one of the greatest victories in the history of Polish arms. Since 1950 October 12th, the day of the start of the battle was celebrated as the Feast of the Polish Army. This holiday was abolished in free Poland in 1992.