News

It is time to summarise the memorial event that we had the honour to held together with the Community of Łambinowice yesterday, on 17 March 2025, at the Site of National Remembrance in Łambinowice. The mark of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Stalag 344 Lamsdorf we gathered – together with veterans, families of former prisoners-of-war, representatives of diplomatic missions and local authorities, the clergy, the army and other uniformed services, delegates of cultural institutions and associations, the local community and young people – in front of the Monument to the Martyrdom of Prisoners-of-War.

Due to the fact that it was already the 80th anniversary of the event, the commemoration attracted a lot of interest from various groups of people. Prior to the ceremony itself, there was time for journalists to conduct short interviews with the Museum director and descendants of former prisoners-of-war. The most important part of the ceremony began with the Polish national anthem played by a military orchestra and a speech made by Dr. Violetta Rezler-Wasielewska, Museum Director. The floor was then taken by Zbigniew Kubalańca, Deputy Marshall of the Opole Province, after which representatives of the families of former Lamsdorf prisoners-of-war, represented by: Gabriela Kuchna (reminiscence about her uncle, Jan Kuchna) of Poland, Elisabeth Sweeny (reminiscence about her father, Thomas Hutchinson) from Scotland and Mira Pestalić of Serbian (reminiscence about her father, Joco Radišić), who, before the ceremony, had a meeting with young people from the town of Nysa at the Museum.

The other part of the event was filled with symbolic gestures: a prayer said by the Orthodox Archbishop of Wrocław and Szczecin, Jerzy, Bishop of the Opole Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church, Andrzej Czaja, Lt. Col. Sławomir Fonfara from the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession Parish in Brzeg, as well as Marek Marossanyi representing the Jewish Community in Wrocław and Dr. Marek Moroń from the Muslim Religious Association in Poland, followed by the roll call of remembrance and a gun salute. An important form of the commemoration of the prisoners of Stalag 344 Lamsdorf was the concluding moment of laying wreaths and lighting candles at the Monument. The final chord was singing the song ‘Śpij kolego’.

Yesterday, in Łambinowice we hosted, among others: veterans, including Helena Kamerska, a participant to the Warsaw Uprising, who was with us regardless the fact that she turned a hundred years old this year, Deputy Governor of the Opole Province, Sławomir Grądzik, Director of the Department of Culture and Regional Development of the Marshal's Office of Opole Province, Agnieszka Kamińska, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage - Dr. Marcin Komosa, Deputy Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage at the Ministry of Culture and Cultural Heritage , and Katarzyna Leciejewska from the Office for War Veterans and Victims of Oppression. The importance of this anniversary commemoration was strongly highlighted by the presence of diplomats, alongside representatives of the military, of: Canada, Germany, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, Italy and Ukraine.

We would like to thank you for attending this anniversary commemoration on that important day!