The Polish war cemetery at

Monte Cassino The Abbey of Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a Catholic Church, Catholic, Benedictines, Benedictine monastery on a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Valle Latina, Latin Valley. Located on the site of the ancient ...

holds the graves of 1,072 Poles who died storming the bombed-out

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

abbey atop the mountain in May 1944, during the

Battle of Monte Cassino The Battle of Monte Cassino, also known as the Battle for Rome, was a series of four military assaults by the Allies of World War II, Allies against Nazi Germany, German forces in Kingdom of Italy, Italy during the Italian Campaign (World War ...

. The cemetery is maintained by the Council for the Protection of Memorial Sites of Struggle and Martyrdom. The religious affiliations of the deceased are indicated by three types of headstone: Christian crosses for

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

and

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

headstones bearing the

Star of David The Star of David (, , ) is a symbol generally recognized as representing both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the Seal of Solomon was used for decora ...

. The cemetery also holds the grave of General

Władysław Anders Władysław Albert Anders (11 August 1892 – 12 May 1970) was a Polish military officer and politician, and prominent member of the Polish government-in-exile in London. Born in Krośniewice-Błonie, then part of the Russian Empire, he serv ...

, who had commanded the Polish forces that captured Monte Cassino. Anders died in London in 1970 and his ashes were interred in the cemetery. The cemetery itself can be clearly viewed from the Abbey, which lies just a few hundred meters away. The cemetery is the closest of all allied cemeteries, symbolizing the importance of the Polish fighters during the battle. It was the Poles that are credited with liberating the abbey from Axis forces. As such, their war dead were honored with being buried in such close proximity to the structure for which they died liberating.

History

The cemetery is located on the slopes of what was designated as Point 445 and the abbey on the mountain of Monte Cassino. The majority of the soldiers buried here are from the Polish 2nd Army Corps of Lieutenant General

. Soldiers from this corps repeatedly attacked the German defenders inside the monastery at Monte Cassino during May 1944. On the morning of 18 May 1944, Polish forces finally entered the ruins of the abbey and hoisted the

Polish flag The national flag of Poland ( ) consists of two horizontal stripes of equal width, the upper one white and the lower one red. The two colours are defined in the Polish constitution as the national colours. A variant of the flag with the nation ...

. The first interments in the cemetery occurred in 1944 and the cemetery was completed in 1946 based on designs by Wacław Hryniewicz and Jerzy Skolimowski. The official consecration of the site took place on September 1, 1945.

Inscriptions

The Polish memorial at Monte Cassino bears two inscriptions. The first, based on the Epitaph of Simonides, reads: ::Passer-by, go tell Poland ::That we have perished obedient to her service The other on a gatepost near the entrance translates from Polish: ::For our freedom and yours ::We soldiers of Poland gave ::Our soul to God ::Our life to the soil of Italy ::Our hearts to Poland An anthem, "

The Red Poppies on Monte Cassino ''Czerwone maki na Monte Cassino'' (The Red Poppies on Monte Cassino) is one of the best-known Polish military songs of World War II. It was composed in May 1944 in Italy, during the Battle of Monte Cassino, on the eve of the Polish Army's capture ...

" — composed on the eve of the Polish storming of the German stronghold — memorializes the Polish soldiers who gave their lives. The refrain is familiar to most Poles: ::The red poppies on Monte Cassino ::Drank Polish blood instead of dew... ::O'er the poppies the soldiers did go ::'Mid death, and to their anger stayed true! ::Years will come and ages will go, ::Enshrining their strivings and their toil!... ::And the poppies on Monte Cassino ::Will be redder for Poles' blood in their soil.

Gallery

Image:Anders gravestone at Monte Cassino.jpg, Gravestone of Lieutenant General Władysław Anders at Monte Cassino Image:Orthodox and catholic gravestones at Monte Cassino.JPG, Orthodox (front) and Catholic (rear) gravestones at Monte Cassino Image:Jewish gravestone at Monte Cassino.JPG, Jewish gravestone at Monte Cassino image:ABRAHAM WURZEL MONTE CASSINO.jpg, The gravestone of the Jewish soldier from Anders army Abraham Wurzel Image:View of Monte Cassino monastery from Polish cemetery.jpg, View of Monte Cassino monastery from Polish Cemetery Image:Polish cemetery seen from Monte Cassino monastery.jpg, Polish Cemetery seen from Monte Cassino monastery Image:Plaque_at_Polish_cemetery_in_Monte_Cassino.jpg, Plaque at Polish Cemetery in Monte Cassino

References

External links

Polish World War II Military Cemeteries in Italy

The War Cemeteries at Cassino
(from Internet Archive Wayback Machine) {{DEFAULTSORT:Monte Cassino, Polish Cemetery Battle of Monte Cassino Polish military memorials and cemeteries World War II cemeteries in Italy Italy–Poland relations

History

Inscriptions

Gallery

See also

References

External links