Monuments commemorating the participation of Polish soldiers in the Prague operation in 1945.

In the strategic ‘race’ between the Allies – specifically between the Americans and the Soviets – it was crucial as to who would liberate the Czech capital. Militarily, the Soviet Union’s main objective was to liberate the north-western part of Czechoslovakia and defeat the German forces under the command of Field Marshal Schörner, who commanded Army Group Centre.

Polish units also took part in this operation: the 2nd Army of the Polish Armed Forces and the 1st Armoured Corps under the command of General Karol Świerczewski. Following heavy fighting near Budziszyn in April 1945, as a result of command errors by General Świerczewski, not only suffered defeat but also heavy losses; it is estimated that around 20,000 soldiers were killed at that time.

Despite these difficulties, the Polish forces managed to contribute to the liberation of Prague. On 9 May 1945, the Red Army entered Prague, successfully encircling and isolating the German forces attempting to withdraw towards the American lines. The Poles reached what were then the outskirts of Prague. On 10 May, Polish units reached Mielnik, where the Poles’ participation in this operation came to an end.

The history of these events is relatively little known in Poland. Several monuments have survived in the Czech Republic, erected during the communist era and serving primarily as propaganda.

1. Monument to Polish Army soldiers in Prague

Date of construction: c. 1970

Artist: unknown

War graves register number: CZE-0008-20324

Inscription on the monument:

AS PART OF THE SOVIET FORCES’ PRAGUE OPERATION / A UNIT OF THE 2nd POLISH ARMY / UNDER GENERAL ŚWIERCZEWSKI / REACHED 11 MAY 1945 THE AREA / BETWEEN ĎÁBLICE AND ČAKOVICE / AND CONCLUDED ITS OPERATIONS HERE ALONGSIDE THE SOVIET ARMY / THE POLISH ARMY’S COURSE OF BATTLE / DURING THE LIBERATION OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA //.

Description: a monument in the form of a pillar, set on a plinth with upper edges cut in a quarter-circle shape, forming a base narrower than the monument itself at the point of contact. On the front is a panel featuring a flat relief depiction of the Polish coat of arms from the People’s Republic of Poland era (an eagle without a crown), beneath which is a plaque with a cast inscription. The monument is made of light-coloured sandstone; the plaque is of bronze.

2. Monument to Czechoslovak-Soviet-Polish Friendship, Mělník

Date of construction: 1961

Creators: Viktor Dobrovolný (1909–1987), in collaboration with František Maria Černý (1903–1978)

Listed in the Cultural Heritage Register of the Czech Republic under No. ÚSKP 45848/2-1375

Restoration: 2015

Inscription:

IN ETERNAL MEMORY OF THE HEROIC SOLDIERS OF THE SECOND POLISH ARMY / AND ITS COMMANDER KAREL SWIERCZENSKI / WHO, SIDE BY SIDE WITH THE SOVIET ARMY, CONTRIBUTED TO THE LIBERATION / THE CZECHOSLOVAK ARMY AND CONCLUDED THEIR COMBAT JOURNEY IN MĚLNÍK / 10 MAY 1945 //.

A monument with an openwork finial depicting three figures within a frame: a Soviet soldier embracing a Polish soldier and a Czech partisan, all shaking hands. The whole structure is set on a sandstone plinth with an elliptical base. A cast inscription runs along the lower edge of the frame.

3. Monument to soldiers of the Polish Army, Mikulášovice

Date of creation: c. 1970

Central Register of War Graves No. CZE-4212-00363

Inscription:

POLISH 8th THE INFANTRY DIVISION OF THE ARMY / OF GENERAL K. SWIERCZEWSKI BROKE / ON 9 MAY 1945 THE STRONG RESISTANCE OF THE GERMAN / FASCISTS IN MIKULÁŠOVICE. THE FIGHT / BY POLISH TROOPS ALONGSIDE THE SOVIET / ARMY HELPED TO LIBERATE / OUR HOMELAND FROM HITLER’S OPPRESSION //.

A monument in the form of a stone slab, featuring a metal plaque bearing the Polish eagle, with an inscription carved below. The whole structure stands on a two-tiered plinth, the tiers of which are set at a 90-degree angle so that the second tier protrudes beyond the front of the monument.

4. Monument to the Polish liberators, Ludvikovice

Creators: Military Art Studio

Listed in the Cultural Register of the Czech Republic under No. ÚSKP 18530/5-4966

Inscription:

During the liberation of northern Bohemia, on 10 May 1945, units of the 5th Infantry Division passed through Ludvíkovice. Until 13 May 1945, the 9th Infantry / 16th Tank Brigade and the 28th Self-Propelled / Regiment of the Polish 2nd Army under General Karol Świerczewski were stationed here. //.

Description: a granite monument in the shape of a truncated plinth, on the front of which is mounted a slightly curved bronze plaque (measuring 70 x 80 cm) featuring a bas-relief depicting two soldiers, one kneeling and firing a machine gun, with a second soldier standing in the foreground, holding a grenade ready to be thrown in his left hand. Below is an inscription; on the left-hand side is the Polish coat of arms. A pylon made of roughly hewn granite blocks and eight dressed blocks forming a frame around the plaque.

At present (prior to 2019), the monument has been dismantled; only the plaque, set into a low plinth, remains.

5. Monument to the soldiers of the Polish Army, Lobendava

Date of creation: 1970

Creators: Military Art Studio

Listed in the Cultural Register of the Czech Republic under No. ÚSKP 53039/5-4967

Inscription:

on the plinth, two-thirds of the way up: On 8 May 1945, the 34th Regiment of the 8th Infantry Division of the 2nd Polish Army liberated Lobendava. //.

on the plinth at the bottom:

They fell heroically / Capt. Anteni Grodzki / Lt. Kazimierz Kaczyński / Lt. Aleksander Iwanow / 2nd Lt. Włodzimierz Miszczenko / 2nd Lt. Marian Bilinski / Platoon Leader Jeřzy Biechenski / Platoon Sergeant Stanisław Kraczkowski / Private First Class Józef Cinkiewicz / Captain Eugenius Kojel / Corporal Jan Kroscanczuk / Private Antoni Drob / Private Władysław Gierasin / Private Jan Kierski / Private Antoni Kulesza / Private Stanisław Podkapaik / Private Jan Mlynarzik / Private Florian Wojno / Private Stanislav Szymkiewicz //

Description: a monument featuring a bronze casting of the Polish eagle without a crown, clutching a machine gun and a laurel branch in its talons. It stands on a rectangular base and a plinth in the form of a roughly hewn granite block tapering towards the top. At two-thirds of its height is a bronze plaque with a cast inscription. The monument stands above the grave of 18 Polish soldiers

6. Monument to Polish soldiers in Úštěk

Date of construction: c. 1970

Central Register of War Graves No. CZE-4205-00449

Inscription:

UNITS OF THE 2nd POLISH ARMY / UNDER GENERAL SWIERCZEWSKI BROUGHT / FREEDOM TO ÚŠTĚK IN MAY 1945 AND / TO DOZENS OF TOWNS IN NORTHERN BOHEMIA. / THEIR VICTORIOUS ADVANCE ALONGSIDE / THE SOVIET ARMY CONTRIBUTED TO THE COMPLETION / OF THE JOINT STRUGGLE OF THE PEOPLES / THE SOVIET UNION AND / CZECHOSLOVAKIA AGAINST FASCISM. //.

Description: a monument consisting of two prismatic columns in the shape of triangular prisms with bevelled upper edges, placed on a plinth and facing each other with their sharp edges. On the side, at one-third of the height, there is a plaque with an engraved inscription; on the front side of one of the pillars, there is a plaque depicting the Polish eagle without a crown. The entire structure is made of light-coloured sandstone, with a granite plaque.

7. Monument to General Karol Świerczewski, Mělník

Date of creation: 1965

Designer: Andrzej Jesion

Central Register of War Graves No. CZE2114-27547

Inscription:

on the plinth: GEN. KAROL ŚWIERCZEWSKI //.

on the plaque:

LIEUTENANT-GENERAL KAROL ŚWIERCZEWSKI / COMMANDER OF THE 2ND POLISH ARMY, / WHICH IN 1945 PARTICIPATED / IN THE LIBERATION OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA / FROM HITLER’S OCCUPATION. //.

Description: a monument in the form of the head of General Karol Świerczewski on a plinth with stepped corners and a base. At the bottom, on the front, there is a plaque made of a copper alloy.

The monument was donated to the town of Mělník to commemorate the town’s liberation by the Polish Minister of National Defence, Marian Spychalski. It was originally located in the town hall, but was subsequently moved to its current location. It was unveiled at its new site on 7 May 1965. Dimensions of the bust: 80 x 45 x 45 cm; pedestal: 180 x 110 x 110 cm.