"50 years have passed – 17/IX- 1945/1995.
We came from the Eastern Borderlands,
we stayed, we will remain... settlers".
These words are part of the inscription on the commemorative plaque of the Monument to the Pioneers—settlers from the Eastern Borderlands of the Second Polish Republic, whose first railway transport stopped at the PKP station in Bolesławiec on 17 September 1945—a day that was, incidentally, the memorable anniversary of the aggression by Soviet forces against Poland, already being beaten down by the Germans. Yet this is not the most important aspect of this beautiful patriotic symbol of the generation of pioneer veterans. They brought their Poland to the Recovered Territories of that time and built their family homes here. Today, a generation of great-grandchildren has already been born here. In the natively Polish Bolesławiec, on the land of the Piast forefathers and warriors of Mieszko I and Bolesław the Brave.
I do not know what deserves greater respect and admiration: the creative ingenuity of the initiators, the enthusiasm and dedication of the builders, the authorship of the unconventional dedication, or the generosity of the sponsors. The monument was created through community funding, without money from the local government treasury, without grants, without lengthy discussions—simply, from an outpouring of the heart. At first, it was to be an anonymous stone obelisk commemorating the transport of displaced people from Drohobych /an initiative of Adam Kowalski!/, then the idea was expanded, and the Towarzystwo Miłośników Bolesławca played a major role in the entire undertaking. The work does credit to its master: on 17 September 1995, the MONUMENT TO THE KRESY PEOPLE will be solemnly unveiled on the square in front of the PKP station.
Detailed program of the ceremony:
12:30 p.m. – solemn Holy Mass in the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the Poles from the East who came to Bolesławiec and their descendants /with the participation of a military band/. Address by a representative of the Monument Construction Committee.
1:30 p.m. – procession from the church, accompanied by a military band, to the Monument.
2:00 p.m. – Official addresses, including one by the Mayor of Bolesławiec. Reading of the foundation charter and placement of an urn containing soil from Polish cemeteries in Vilnius, Ina Rossiel, Nowogródek, Lviv and Drohobych.
—unveiling of the commemorative plaque by a representative of the Kresy community and the Mayor of Bolesławiec. Blessing of the Monument by Rev. Prelate Władysław Rączka, Dean of Bolesławiec.
Performance of the National Anthem and Rota—“We shall not abandon the land...”
—laying of wreaths and bouquets of flowers in front of the Monument.
We will return to the course of this extraordinary, unusual, atypical and deeply patriotic ceremony in the next issue of “Głos”.