The Polish victory preserved the Polish independence and thwarted the Soviet plans to spread communism to Western Europe. The entire Polish society joined the defence, giving an outstanding testimony of solidarity. Thousands of men and women volunteered to join the ranks, donated money to the army or gave their ultimate sacrifice fighting for freedom. People representing all political fractions and all walks of life gave an outstanding support to the authorities.
The Battle of Warsaw in 1920 was not only a culminating moment of the Polish-Bolshevik war but also one of the decisive events in the history of Europe and the world.
The British diplomat Lord Edgar Vincent D’Abernon, an eyewitness to those events, claimed in his book The Eighteenth Decisive Battle of the World that the Poles had saved the Western civilization from the fanatical tyranny of the Soviet. Unfortunately, the European nations are not aware of this historical fact.
The day when the Poles changed the course of the 1920 war and the 20th century history, is remembered in Poland as the Polish Armed Forces Day. It was celebrated with a military parade in the heart of Warsaw. The IPN was represented by the President Karol Nawrocki Ph.D. In Warsaw Powązki cemetery, the Polish soldiers and volunteers fallen in the 1920 war against the Bolsheviks were remembered and honored, with IPN Deputy President Prof. Karol Polejowski representing the Institute.
We invite you to read an article by the IPN scholar Mirosław Szumiło D.Sc., on the Battle of Warsaw, 1920.
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