The main event of the ceremony was the installation of a commemorative plaque bearing the inscription: “After exile and a hunger-stricken wandering in Siberia, we returned to our Homeland. In memory of the 68th anniversary of our return.” The plaque was placed on the Kresowiacy Monument, which was erected on the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the first railway transport of Poles resettled from the Eastern Borderlands – Drohobych Land. Nearby is a plaque commemorating the arrival of repatriates from France. The Kresowiacy Monument, together with the plaques installed on it, is intended to recall the suffering, humiliation and pain caused by the loss of loved ones, and to bear witness to historical truth.
The ceremony marking the 68th anniversary of the return of Siberian exiles to their homeland was attended, among others, by representatives of local government authorities, school students and veterans’ organizations. The ceremony was enhanced by a concert of patriotic songs performed by students of Municipal School Complex No. 2 and Municipal Lower Secondary School No. 2 named after Poles Deported to Siberia.
The unveiling of the commemorative plaque reading “After exile and a hunger-stricken wandering in Siberia, we returned to our Homeland. On the 68th anniversary of our return” took place in a year of particular significance for Siberian exiles, as in 2013 three anniversaries closely associated with those exiled to Siberia were commemorated: the 150th anniversary of the January Uprising, the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Union of Siberian Exiles and the 25th anniversary of the Union of Siberian Exiles’ reactivation.
The main task carried out by the Union of Siberian Exiles is to pass on historical truth, particularly to young people, and to commemorate the martyrdom of Poles in the East by creating Memorial Signs – banners, monuments, street names, schools named after Siberian exiles and commemorative plaques. The Union of Siberian Exiles adopted the motto of its activities: “Remembrance for the Dead – Reconciliation for the Living.”
(information: UM Bolesławiec/ii)