Pomnik Pamięci Leśników

Description

A monument in the form of a stele of black granite was unveiled on the 17th September of 2009 in the woods in front of the Kampinos National Park head office. It is mainly dedicated to the foresters who worked in the area of the Kampinos Forest who died during the Second World War. Just like during the January uprising and the First World War, also during the Second World War the woody areas of the Kampinos forest were an arena of fierce combat – first during the September campaign and in the following years of occupation also guerrilla warfare against German formations. It was mostly the “Kampinos” group of the Home Army that operated here. The foresters participating in the conspiracy or supporting the guerrillas played a specific part. It was them who hid weapons and most importantly, led the units along safe trails through swampy and woody areas that were known only to them. Many of them lost their lives in the process. It is also worth noting that it was also them who first discovered and marked places of mass executions and mass graves, which made it possible to exhume the victims after the war. The inscription located in the upper part of the monument refers to the forest as “the Hut of Patriotism”. The names of the foresters along with information about the dates and circumstances of their deaths are carved in the stone. The commemorated ones include i.a. a forest inspectorate secretary Wojciech Borzęcki (aka “świętoszek”), who – despite atrocious tortures – did not give up any of his brothers in arms, for which he paid with his life.

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