Anti-communist guerrillas to get Warsaw museum

Members of WiN. Photo: wikipedia

The project has been approved by the Masovia regional council, and it is hoped that the institution will open its doors before the year is out.

The museum will be based in the Praga district of eastern Warsaw, in a building that housed the headquarters of the NKVD (Soviet secret police) from late 1944 to 1945 and was later used by the UB (Poland's communist secret police).

Part of the funding for the museum will come from Regional Operational Funds awarded to Masovia for the period 2007-2013.

The 'Cursed Soldiers' took in several resistance formations that fought the communist regime following the Second World War.

Among the most prominent groupings were Freedom and Independence (WiN) and the National Armed Forces (NSZ).

The guerrillas were largely stamped out by 1948, although one fighter, Jozef Franczak, was gunned down as late as 1963.

The various forces remained a highly taboo subject until 1989, and they were branded as 'fascists' by the communist authorities.

In 2011, the Polish parliament established 1 March as the 'Day of Cursed Soldiers.' (nh)

Source: PAP