The Cemetery of the Defenders of Westerplatte

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The Cemetery of the Defenders of Westerplatte

  • Cemetery
  • Majora Henryka Sucharskiego 70, 80-601 Gdańsk, Pologne

After the Second World War the former deputy commander of the Military Transit Depot, captain Dąbrowski, initiated the building of a cemetery for the fallen during the German attack. At this cemetery the urn with the ashes of Major Sucharski was reburied in 1971.

The deputy commander of the depot, Captain Franciszek Dąbrowski, served after the war in Gdańsk-New Port as a Navy cadre commander in the rank of 2nd lieutenant. He had the idea of creating a cemetery for the fallen of Westerplatte. The cemetery was situated amid the ruins of Guardhouse nr. 5, where most of the defenders had died. Engineer Stefan Jelnicki designed the original cemetery, and Aleksander Kisielewicz took care of the construction. They placed a plaque with an incomplete list of the fallen and a reinforced concrete cross on its grounds. Small pillars connected by chains marked the perimeter. The opening ceremony took place on 29 July 1946, attended by high military officials.

In 1957 the initial plaque was replaced by a new one, with a complete list of names of the defenders. In 1962 the authorities removed the cross and added a Soviet T-34 tank. The veterans moved the cross to the cemetery in the New Port. In 1971 an urn with Major Henryk Sucharski’s ashes was brought here. The original cross was returned to its original location on 30 August 1981 by the ‘Solidarity’ movement. In 1989 the tank was transferred to a location near the fort outpost, and smaller crosses were placed in the cemetery, symbolising the fallen defenders of Westerplatte.

The Cemetery of the Defenders of Westerplatte

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Kapitan Franciszek Dąbrowski

Captain Franciszek Dąbrowski was major Sucharski right-hand man during the defence of the Military Depot at Westerplatte. After the war Dabrowski made a great effort commemorating the fallen of Westerplatte. He also wrote two books about the events at Westerplatte peninsula in September 1939.

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