The Cursed Soldiers refused to lay down their arms after the Second World War because they believed in a Poland that was free and sovereign from its communist enemies, said President Andrzej Duda during Sunday’s National Cursed Soldiers Remembrance Day observations in Warsaw.
“The Cursed Soldiers did not lay down arms, because they did not want to live in a country where there was no real freedom, sovereignty or independence, and which was in fact ruled by the enemy,” Duda said.
After the Polish president handed out state distinctions to surviving members of the Cursed Soldiers, he said it was a “surreal moment“ to be able to meet Polish heroes who had not allowed themselves to be destroyed in the “toughest of times.”
Duda emphasized that the celebration of the Cursed Soldiers was not only about honoring the fallen, but also those who were present and who “conveyed the truth to younger generations and what independent Poland was worth.”
