The remains of World War II Polish soldiers, who fell in September 1939 defending Lviv, received a dignified burial on 14 November in the town of Mostyska (Ukraine). After 86 years, the remains of the defenders of our country, exhumed during search works, were laid to rest in the Polish military section of the local Roman Catholic cemetery. The funeral ceremony, organized by the Institute of National Remembrance, was attended by the IPN Deputy Presidents, Prof. Karol Polejowski and Prof. Krzysztof Szwagrzyk.
The ceremony began with a Mass celebrated in military style at the Church of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist in Mostyska. The liturgy was conducted by Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki, Metropolitan of Lviv of the Roman Catholic Church, President of the Roman Catholic Episcopal Conference of Ukraine, and President of the Commission for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The celebration at the Roman Catholic cemetery began with the singing of the Polish national anthem. Minister Jan Józef Kasprzyk then read out a letter by Polish President Karol Nawrocki addressed to those attending the ceremony.
- Four years ago, as President of the Institute of National Remembrance, I visited the graves of September 1939 soldiers in Zboiska and Hołosko Małe. At that time, I expressed my hope that the ashes of the defenders of Lviv would be found and given a dignified burial. Today's ceremony is the fulfillment of that hope and proof that Poland continues to fight for the memory of its defenders and always strives to restore their rightful place in national history.
I pay tribute to the defenders of Lviv in 1939, brave soldiers faithful to their oath, who spared no blood, even sacrificing their own lives, to resist the invaders. May the patriotic legacy left to us by these fallen heroes continue to be a moving inspiration for us in our service to independent Poland. They have departed to stand eternal guard, but they are still with us—in our memory, in the heart of the Republic of Poland, the President remarked.
In his speech, Deputy President of the Institute of National Remembrance Prof. Karol Polejowski emphasized the importance of loyalty, sacrifice, and the duty to remember the soldiers of September 1939. As he noted:
- Those whom we bid farewell to today and whom we bury in consecrated ground defended Lviv. A city that was “semper fidelis”, always faithful. It was a symbolic city. Those soldiers who fell near Lviv were also always faithful. Faithful to the oath they took, an oath to God and their country.
It is our duty to remember them. It is our duty to return for our own compatriots. To find their remains, exhume them, and lay them to rest in consecrated ground – as we are doing today with the unknown soldiers of the Polish Army.
After the speeches, the coffins containing the remains of soldiers exhumed in August this year in Lviv-Zboiska were laid to rest in the Polish military section of the cemetery, and then the participants laid wreaths. Two burials of Polish soldiers who died in 1939 have already taken place in the town of Mostyska. In 2015, 111 soldiers were buried there, and in 2016 – 27.
Polish Army soldiers fought against the Wehrmacht on the northern outskirts of Lviv on 16-17 September, 1939. Among those who took part were the soldiers of the 10th Cavalry Brigade of Stanisław Maczek, then a certified colonel. Soldiers from other Polish Army units may also have been buried in Zboiska, including those from the relief troops commanded by General Kazimierz Sosnkowski.