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On this special day when cemeteries are visited en masse mostly by the families of these who passed away, we would like to remind you that far from homelands, in Łambinowice, there are war necropolis.

The oldest of these is the Old POW Cemetery, which was established in the second half of the 19th century. It is the only one of the three cemeteries where each deceased has his own grave and is known to us by his name. It is also a place of burial that was coming into existence over a very long period of time. Its history originated with a plot of more than 50 graves of French prisoners-of-war from the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), and came to an end with the Second World War, from which, paradoxically, not many traces have survived. However, the approximately 4.5 hectare cemetery is covered with rows of more than 6,200 graves of prisoners-of-war from the First World War. Visitors to the site should not be surprised by the graves of civilians and the monuments to the dead, which are distinctive in shape and size. It is here that candles are most often placed.

The ashes of World War II prisoners-of-war are located in the Soviet Prisoners-of-War Cemetery. It is easily identified by its monumental Monument to the Martyrdom of Prisoners-of-War, dedicated to all those who were held in the Lamsdorf stalags between 1939 and 1945. Graves with names and surnames, however, are in vain to be found here. The terraced shape of the cemetery effectively masks the fact that - according to estimates - there are mass graves of about 40,000 Red Army soldiers here (including Poles who fought in its ranks).

On the other hand, The Cemetery of the Victims of the Labour Camp commemorates those who died in the Labour Camp in Lambinowice, which existed between 1945 and 1946. The number of its victims, mainly German civilians awaiting resettlement deep into Germany, is estimated at around 1,500 people. The names of most of them are on plaques, as there are no individual graves in this cemetery either.

We would like to thank everyone who lit candles today at the memorial site in Łambinowice.