Communal Cemetery for All Polish Soldiers in Belgium
The cemetery was established at the initiative of the British authorities, who wanted to create a communal cemetery for all Polish soldiers who lost their lives in Belgium. The remains were transferred from various cities and municipalities, including Ypres, Ghent, Stekene, Tielt, Roeselare, and Merksplas.
The tall natural-stone crosses have short arms and bear metal plaques inscribed with the deceased’s details. For Jewish soldiers, there are grave markers featuring a round arch and the Star of David. Two rows of graves with metal plaques bearing the names of the fallen stretch along a path. At the rear stands a memorial wall.
Memorial Wall
At the rear of the cemetery stands a memorial wall covered with white and gray natural stone tiles and crowned with a metal cross. On and around this memorial wall hang or stand commemorative plaques bearing, among other things, the names of the cities and towns liberated by Polish soldiers, the motto “For Your and Our Freedom” (also in Polish and French), the insignia of the 1st Polish Armored Division—a cavalry helmet and a stylized wing—and an insignia for the Polish squadrons of the RAF.
A Lasting Remembrance
The sculpture in the cemetery—which depicts a female figure wearing a laurel wreath—was created by Marion Wnuk of Warsaw in 1959. Wnuk was a respected sculptor who was active in the underground resistance during World War II and was deported. After the war, he served, among other roles, as rector of the State Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk and the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. He won several awards and created a number of prestigious monuments, remaining loyal to the Soviet regime.
Annual commemoration
Once a year, Poles living in Belgium—on the initiative of the Polish Union and with representatives from various governments—gather to commemorate their dead.
