On Saturday, November 12, the funerals of three presidents in exile will take place: Władysław Raczkiewicz, August Zaleski and Stanisław Ostrowski. It is the culmination of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of Polish independence, which has been going on since 2018. Symbolic compensation for maintaining ties in exile with the judicial authorities of the Second Polish Republic and Free Poland. – They were right – emphasizes Minister Jan Dziedziczak.
“O Lord who art in heaven, stretch out your right hand! (…) Let’s go back to free Poland! That it would become a fortress of new strength, Our Home – our Country”
– with these words of the “Prayer Camp”, created just after September 1939 in the internment camps of Romania and Hungary, Polish Army Field Bishop Wiesław Chlebowicz during a farewell mass in the Church of St. St. Mary Magdalene in Newark, he solemnly announced the return of the ashes of three presidents of the emigration: Władysław Raczkiewicz, August Zaleski and Stanisław Ostrowski to the homeland. The lyrics of the song rang eloquently more than 90 years after another emigration in our history.
“They were the embodiment of the aspirations of Polish patriots living at home and abroad for the sovereignty and independence of Poland”
– said the Field Bishop during the homily. Now they will return to Poland.
It’s about preservation of the constitutional continuity of the authorities of the Republic of Poland since September 1939, when Germany and the Soviet Union attacked Poland, throughout World War II and the post-war Soviet occupation, until the first entirely free presidential elections in 1990. The Presidents’ mission ended with the Presidential Insignia Ceremony in 1990 at the Royal Castle in Warsaw. Ryszard Kaczorowski – the last president of the Republic of Poland in exile, handed them over to Lech Wałęsa – the first Polish president elected in general elections after World War II.
The remains of the presidents of the Republic of Poland in exile, brought to Poland, will be placed in special marble sarcophagi. Besides the tombs of Presidents Raczkiewicz, Zaleski, Ostrowski and Kaczorowski, the mausoleum will also include two sarcophagi, the so-called Cenotaphs, symbolically commemorating Presidents Edward Raczyński, buried in the Rogalin family estate, and Kazimierz Sabbat, buried in Gunnersbury Cemetery in London.
“We are repaying the debt to Polish emigration who, for half a century after the end of the Second World War, remained firmly committed to independence”
– underlines Wojciech Labuda, Plenipotentiary of the Prime Minister for the protection of sites of memory.
Mass celebrated in St. Mary Magdalene Church in Newark began the farewell ceremonies of three Polish presidents in exile. She was also a thank you for remaining faithful to the institution of independent Poland in exile. It was attended by representatives of the authorities of the Republic of Poland, the Polish army, the royal family and the parliaments of both countries. As well as Polish and non-governmental organizations. The ceremony was broadcast by TVP.
Newark on the River Trent, UK. It is in the cemetery of this small town that the remains of several hundred Polish soldiers are buried, mainly airmen from the Polish squadrons fighting during the Second World War. It is in this cemetery that three Polish presidents were buried who, on Saturday November 12, will rest in the mausoleum of Polish presidents in exile at the Temple of Divine Providence in Warsaw. Their symbolic graves will remain in the English necropolis. it is a special place. This cemetery is one of the largest Polish cemeteries in Britain, as well as the largest Polish aviation cemetery in the world. A total of 351 Polish Air Force pilots are buried there. Besides them, 45 other soldiers, mostly paratroopers, were also buried here. And about 130 Commonwealth soldiers.
On July 15, 1941, P. pb. Józef Gawlina blessed a large cross erected at its central point. There was a plaque on it with a quote from the Holy Scriptures “I fought a good fight, I finished my profession, kept by faith” and the inscription “For freedom”. The plaque was unveiled by the Commander-in-Chief, General Władysław Sikorski. Where he was buried two years later. In 1993 his remains were exhumed and have been buried in the Wawel Crypt for almost 30 years.
On Sunday November 6 of this year. The Polish delegation visited the Polish Airmen Cemetery in Newark-on-Trent, beginning their visit by laying flowers under the aforementioned cross at the symbolic grave of General Sikorski today. Representatives of the President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Dera, Minister Jan Dziedziczak, State Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Chancellery and Government Plenipotentiary for the Polish Diaspora and Poles Abroad, representatives of the Sejm and the Senate and the Polish army surrendered to England.. There were also representatives of emigrant scouting organizations. Among them are children born in the UK. There are many emigrants on the streets of the city who appeared there after 2005. Characteristically, also Ukrainians who left after the outbreak of war with Russia. However, the old military emigration is going away, although their descendants or newcomers try to maintain the traditions of the Polish organizations that appeared there after the end of the war.
The Bishop quoted the words from the poem “Pan Cogito” by Zbigniew Herbert: “No one will console you, be faithful.” He recalled the most important thing related to the continuation of Polish emigration after 1939. Freedom costs money, it is measured with crosses, because it was the leaders of Polish political exile who carried during several decades “the cross of hopeless struggle, loneliness, misunderstanding”, they faced events that undermined faith in the effectiveness of this struggle. ”
“The presidents to whom we say goodbye did not live to see their dreams and goals. This does not mean that they were in vain” – the field bishop said. in exile, they saved Poland in themselves and for countless Poles – those who settled in the British Isles and in many other places of the world – he stressed.He expressed his gratitude for it they were independent Poland out of Poland.
Newark City Hall also hosted an exhibition entitled “Presidents of the Republic of Poland in Exile 1939 – 1990”. It presents the history and activities of the immigration authorities. The foreign land exhibit is devoid of virtually any overtones that would indicate the drama that unfolded in the British Isles during the last war. It is devoid of references to the so-called Strange War, the failed military aid to Poland in 1939, and the betrayal at Yalta.
Meet at the town hall after mass. Speech by Ambassador Piotr Wilczek Reading of a letter from the President of the Republic of Poland, speech by the Mayor of Newark Lawrence Goff, awarded the medal “Guardian of National Memorials” and Jan Dziedziczak. Jan Ostrowski and Tadeusz Musioł, the last surviving member of the Polish government in exile, spoke on behalf of the families. Three coffins containing the ashes of Polish presidents in exile will return to Poland on Saturday November 12 at 1 p.m. on board a military plane, accompanied by the Polish army. From there they will be transported to Wilanów, where their farewell ceremony will begin at 3 p.m. The remains of the presidents will be laid in the Mausoleum of the Presidents of the Republic of Poland in Exile, established on the initiative of the Prime Minister, in the basement of the Temple of Divine Providence. The celebrations will bring together state and church authorities, families, representatives of the Polish diaspora from Britain and around the world.
In addition to the temple mausoleum, a memorial hall will also be built. Its designer of the exhibition in the Chamber of Remembrance is Jarosław Kłaput, who was responsible, among other things, for the projects of the Museum of the Family House of the Holy Father John Paul II in Wadowice or the main exhibition of the Museum of John -Paul II and Primate Wyszyński. You will be able to see photographs and original documents from the period when he was head of state, as well as from the period of their previous activity. Artifacts on display include, among other memorabilia related to the last President of the Second Polish Republic, Ignacy Mościcki, passport and health service worker’s card from 1944, Stanisław Ostrowski, seal of the President of the Republic of Poland in exile Kazimierz Sabbat and the gorget offered to Ryszard Kaczorowski on the occasion of the 85th anniversary of his birth.
A copy of the Presidential Banner of the Republic of Poland, the original of which flew over the Royal Castle from 1926 to 1939 and then was carried by President Ignacy Mościcki to London, will occupy a special place in the Memorial Chapel. The multimedia screen will show a film dedicated to all Polish presidents in exile.
The project is covered by the honorary patronage of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. The project is carried out by the Foundation “Pomoc Polakom na Wschodzie” in cooperation with the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, the Institute of National Remembrance, the Center of Divine Providence, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Program Office “Niepodległa”. The project is accompanied by the information and education campaign “Mission: Free Poland”.
