81 years ago, Polish soldiers of the II Polish Corps under the command of General Władysław Anders, together with other Allied forces, liberated the city of Forlì, located in the western part of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.
A delegation from the IPN took part in the ceremonies commemorating this event, including the laying of flowers in tribute to members of the Italian resistance movement and Allied soldiers who took control of the city on 9 November 1944.
The presentation of the Institute's "Trails of Hope. The Odyssey of Freedom" exhibition at the San Mercuriale Abbey was possible thanks to the joint efforts of Italian Polish community organizations such as the Associazione Famiglie Combattenti Polacchi in Italia (special thanks to Robert Lyscarz), Associazione "Polonia" Cesena, headed by President Bernadeta Grochowska as well as the Monte Paolo prayer group, led by Pierluigi Consorti and his wife, Monika Consorti Pelczar – in cooperation with the IPN.
The exhibition tells the story of the Polish Armed Forces in the West, including General Anders’ Army, which made a significant contribution to the liberation of Italy from German occupation during World War II. The battles for Forli and the sacrifice of Polish soldiers were commemorated with a plaque placed in the 12th-century church of San Mercuriale. In the first days of November 1944, troops of the British V Corps entered the city. This was made possible by heavy fighting south of the city carried out by the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division, which broke through German defences. Despite difficult terrain and bad weather, the German garrison in Forli was outflanked and forced to retreat. During the 1945 offensive in the direction of Bologna, a hospital centre was organised in the Forli area, consisting of the 3rd and 5th field evacuation hospitals, providing support for the operations of the Polish II Corps
A concert to commemorate the heroes who fought for the city’s freedom was also held in the Forlì Town Hall. During the event the orchestra performed, among other works, Gaude Mater Polonia - a medieval Polish song regarded as the anthem of the Kingdom of Poland. In the afternoon, in the neighboring city of Cesena, members of the Associazione "Polonia" Cesena organized an exhibition at St. Christina’s Church entitled "The Poles Who Liberated Italy." The event, which gathered many representatives of the local Polish community, also featured a lecture devoted to the German cipher machine Enigma, with particular emphasis on the role of Polish cryptologists from the Cipher Bureau, whose work played a crucial role in breaking its code.