At the “Anchor” – the symbol of Fighting Poland – the residents of Bolesławiec paid tribute to the Cursed Soldiers, members of the anti-communist underground after World War II.
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The annual observance of the National Remembrance Day of the “Cursed Soldiers” is an opportunity to honour these people and remember their post-war struggle. It is also an exceptional history lesson that helps correct the image of the Polish independence underground – often called “reactionary gangs” or “bandits” during the People’s Republic of Poland – and restore its rightful place in the history books and in the awareness of many Poles. Independent academic research conducted after 1989 and the establishment of the Institute of National Remembrance contributed to the beginning of this process.
1 March is a symbolic date. On that day in 1951, members of the Fourth General Directorate of the Association Freedom and Independence, the leadership of the last nationwide organisation continuing the AK tradition from 1945, were murdered by shots to the back of the head in Mokotów Prison in Warsaw. In February 2011, the Sejm of the Republic of Poland adopted a law under which 1 March became the National Remembrance Day of the Cursed Soldiers.