The incident occurred around January 27 at the Kutuzov Cemetery in Bolesławiec. Unknown perpetrators tore down a plaque commemorating Lieutenant Paweł Zajcew, a Red Army soldier and Hero of the Soviet Union (he shielded a firing aperture in a bunker with his own body).
The Municipal Housing Management Authority in Bolesławiec, the cemetery administrator, reported the matter to the police. The losses were estimated at PLN 3,000. Measures are under way to establish the perpetrators’ identities and apprehend them. The vandals face up to five years in prison.
As Agnieszka Gergont, spokesperson for the Bolesławiec City Office, assured us, the monument will soon be repaired. This event prompts one reflection: we want Polish cemeteries abroad to be maintained in the best possible condition, yet we ourselves do not respect the necropolises of other nations.
(information: ii)