Following the German aggression against Poland on 1 September 1939 and the attack by the USSR on 17 September 1939, thousands of Poles, both civilians and soldiers, crossed the Hungarian border. Despite the difficult international situation and Hungary's affiliation with the Axis powers, the Hungarians were very sympathetic and provided assistance to the Polish refugees. The Poles were cared for - both by the Hungarian state and by Polish organisations operating in Hungary. The internees were placed in numerous military and civilian camps.
The number of Polish internees in the initial period of exile is estimated at about 140,000, including about 33,000 privates and officers. Over time, the number of refugees, mainly military, decreased as a result of the evacuation campaign organised by the Poles to France and the Middle East to Polish military units being formed there.
In the local cemetery in Fertőszentmiklós, 6 Polish servicemen who died in the camp at the Bregenc-Major estate are buried. The graves are located in the right-hand part of the cemetery, in plot No. I, near the cemetery chapel. Those buried are commemorated with an obelisk made of dark granite, which was funded by the local government. The monument bears an inscription in Hungarian (translated: "In memory of Polish / soldiers killed / during the Second / World War"), without the names of those buried. Previously, there were 4 crosses made of artificial stone, placed on a base of natural limestone, without inscription.
It is worth mentioning that in Fertőszentmiklós, on the square at the junction of Vadász and Kolozsvári Streets, there is a monument to the memory of the dead Polish refugees with the following inscription in Polish and Hungarian: "IN MEMORY OF POLISH REFUGEES / INTERNOVATED IN THE YEARS 1939-1943 IN THE FERTŐSZENTMIKLÓS / MILITARY CAMP BREGENC-MAJOR./ Those who died in the camp are buried in the local cemetery / platoon sergeant JÓZEF SKOWRONEK / rifleman WŁADYSŁAW CISZEWSKI / sergeant JÓZEF WYSOGLĄD / st. sergeant MICHAŁ BYLEC / WAWRZYNIEC SZKÓŁKA / lieutenant EDWARD DROSE / Fertőszentmiklós Town Hall and the Town Lovers' Association".

Compiled by. A.Wojda, MKiDN, VII 2025