On March 1st a ceremony was held at the Presidential Palace to commemorate the National Day of Remembrance for the Aged Soldiers, which was attended, among others, by President Andrzej Duda, Marshal of the Sejm Marek Kuchciński, Marshal of the Senate Stanisław Karczewski and the head of the Ministry of National Defence Antoni Macierewicz.

The President awarded three general nominations, including that of Jan Podhorski, a.k.a. Zygzak. He also decorated and promoted over a dozen soldiers of the anti-communist underground.

- The Unbroken Soldiers, the Excluded Soldiers were soldiers of the Polish state. And let the fact that today the President of the Republic of Poland is also handing over general nominations to the soldiers of the Polish Army in active service prove that this is one Polish army - the one which fought for the true freedom and independence of the Republic of Poland and the one today - Andrzej Duda said.

During the main ceremonies of the day, which took place in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the President emphasized: - Proud, independent and sovereign Poland will never forget its most faithful sons. The Communists may have killed many of them, but they did not manage to murder what was most important. They took their lives, but they did not take their spirit, because their spirit is the spirit of the homeland.

National Remembrance Day was an initiative of President Lech Kaczynski. The Sejm established it in 2011 by a resolution in honor of the members of the anti-communist underground who, in defense of an independent Polish State, resisted Soviet aggression and the communist regime.

During the ceremony, a red-and-white flag was raised on Pilsudski Square, which will remain there permanently.

Photos: Andrzej Hrechorowicz/President's Office