Memorial Day: November 1
Memorial Day is a public holiday in Poland.
Zadutszki, or Memorial Day, is one of Poland’s most important holidays and falls on the same day as All Saints’ Day, November 1. Besides the remembrance of lost loved ones, Poland remembers all those fellow compatriots who died during World War II.
History of Memorial Day
Poland was invaded by German troops on September 1939, triggering World War II. Landlocked between Germany and the former Soviet Union, Poland found themselves without defense against the bulk of German forces at their borders on September 1, 1939. Stalin had an agreement with Hitler to stand off from the invasion and left the Pole people in the hands of the German. On September 17, Russians armies invaded Poland from the West, and by the end of the September Campaign, the Poles were subject to German and Russian occupation. Between 1939 and 1945, it was the most devastating period in Poland’s history, 6 million people died, most of whom in concentration camps setup by the Germans with the objective to exterminate Jewish Poles. Poland was left in ruins and the people until today bear the invisible scars of the German and Russian occupation in their memory. The most notorious incident remembered by Poles was the 1940 murder of thousands of Polish military officers. 4,000 bodies were discovered in a mass grave in the Katyn forests near Smolensk in 1943. Soviet authorities refused to admit responsibility until the end of the Soviet Union in 1991. Polish opinion regards the Katyn Massacre as the perfect symbol of Soviet cruelty during the occupation.
Memorial Day Traditions, Customs and Activities
Memorial Day blends with All Saints’ Day in Poland. For Memorial Day, celebrations follow the same as per All Saints’ Day celebrations. Poles on this day honor their fallen compatriots during World War II occupation by Germans and Russians, by visiting their graves and taking flowers, candles and votive lights. Even forgotten graven are enlightened by visiting Poles that leave there extra flowers or candles. It is a day of prayer and church services. Polish soldiers and boy scouts wear their uniforms on this day. School children in the days before November 1, gather candles in their schools to send to cemeteries across the border with Ukraine, where Polish graves were left after the country’s borders moved West after World War II and Poles had to leave their homes.
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