US paratroopers be a part of tenth version of “cursed troopers” run in Poland

Tens of 1000’s of runners took half in races round Poland over the weekend to commemorate the “cursed troopers” (żołnierze wyklęci), underground fighters who resisted the introduction of communism in Poland after World Battle Two.

Among the many individuals within the tenth version of the so-called “Wolf’s Path” occasions had been US troopers stationed in Poland, whereas runners additionally collected cash to assist folks affected by the struggle in Ukraine.

Some 200 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division, who’ve been coaching alongside their Polish allies and serving to to arrange help for refugees from Ukraine, had been among the many 354 runners on the race in Mielec in south-eastern Poland, reviews Hej.Mielec, a neighborhood information service.

Organisers of the Wolf’s Path races estimate that over a thousand occasions befell in Poland and around the globe this 12 months. The earlier report numbers got here in 2020, when 75,000 runners participated at 370 places, though they had been nearly equalled in digital runs finally 12 months’s pandemic-hit version.

Whereas particular person occasions supply varied distances, every of them incorporates a run of 1,963 metres, a reference to the 12 months of the dying of the final cursed soldier, Józef Franczak, nom de guerre Lalek. After being betrayed to the communist secret police, he was killed in 1963 in a shootout with paramilitary police forces.

The preliminary Wolf’s Path race was a survival run at a reservoir north of Warsaw attended by round 50 folks. Since 2015 it has been a nationwide occasion that has attracted the patronage of the general public TV, President Andrzej Duda, and a few of Poland’s greatest state-owned firms.

“An infinite worth of this initiative is its grassroots character,” stated Michał Dworczyk, the pinnacle of the prime minister’s chancellery and a participant in yesterday’s run in Warsaw, at a gala to rejoice the anniversary. “NGOs and volunteers become involved in it.”

Yesterday’s occasions had been held beneath the slogan “We’re working to assist, Ukraine” and volunteers held collections to lift cash for victims of the struggle.

One of many goals of the Freedom and Democracy Basis, which organises the occasions, is supporting ethnic Poles dwelling in Ukraine, particularly in Donbas. In accordance with the Wolf’s Path web site, the cash raised will assist “our compatriots fleeing their properties”.

The races adopted the Nationwide Day of Remembrance of the Cursed Troopers, which takes place yearly on 1 March.

Jan Dziedziczak, the federal government plenipotentiary for the Polish diaspora, informed Polskie Radio that the Wolf’s Path initiative is a vital instructional challenge. “It pays homage to those that fought for Poland, typically in a hopeless scenario,” whereas on the identical time “we are able to elevate the following, younger generations”.

The present authorities has lent important help to remembrance of the cursed troopers. The partisans, who had been brutally suppressed by the communist safety providers, embody many extensively admired figures.

One was Witold Pilecki, who in the course of the struggle intentionally had himself imprisoned at Auschwitz to collect intelligence and organise resistance within the camp. Later, he opposed the imposition of communism, leading to his execution in 1948.

However commemoration of the cursed troopers additionally causes controversy, as a few of them are accused of involvement in struggle crimes in opposition to civilian populations, together with Poland’s ethnic minorities.

Most important picture credit score: Pawel Malecki / Agencja Wyborcza.pl