The activities of Polish soldiers in Enges – background

Around 13,000 soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Division, formed in France by order of Commander-in-Chief Władysław Sikorski on 11 November 1939, following the defeat in France, were evacuated to neighbouring Switzerland on the night of 19–20 June 1940. There they were interned.

Whilst in the labour camps, the soldiers were encouraged to work in industry or agriculture, often under very harsh conditions. Despite this, many of them chose to do such work, as it allowed them to leave the camps and earn a symbolic wage of one franc a day. Some worked on the land, others were sent to quarries, or helped with construction, renovation or the drainage of marshy areas. Still others supported the Swiss army, working, amongst other things, in industrial plants.

‘The Polish Road’ and a plaque commemorating the work of the internees

The trails they built, known as the ‘Polish paths’ (Polenwege), such as the one leading from the picturesque mountain village of Enges to Cornaux-St Blaise.

On 15 August 1944, in the woods on the right-hand side of the road, in the presence of General Roth, the Swiss commander of the Seeland sector, a concrete plaque was unveiled on a boulder to commemorate the presence of a contingent of around 300 Polish soldiers stationed in the Enges area, who carried out various tasks for the local community during the war. The plaque features an image of an eagle and the inscription ‘Poles 1940–44’.