:''You may also be looking for the song

The Red Poppies on Monte Cassino ''Czerwone maki na Monte Cassino'' (The Red Poppies on Monte Cassino) is one of the best-known Polish military songs of World War II. It was composed in May 1944 in Italy, during the Battle of Monte Cassino, on the eve of the Polish Army's captur ...

.'' ''The Red Poppies on Monte Cassino - poems and songs 1939–1945'' ( pl, Czerwone Maki na Monte Cassino. Wiersze i piosenki 1939–1945) is the title of a collection of period works by

Feliks Konarski Feliks Konarski (pseudonym: Ref-Ren) (9 January 1907 – 12 September 1991) was a Polish poet, songwriter, and cabaret performer. Early life Konarski was born in Kiev and attended a Polish school there. In 1921, he was able to get to Pola ...

(

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

: Ref-Ren). The book's title, "Czerwone Maki", is also the name of one of the most famous Polish songs to emerge from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Content

Konarski began to write poems and songs after a two-year break. This book contains the works written after Konarski joined the

Polish Second Corps The Polish II Corps ( pl, Drugi Korpus Wojska Polskiego), 1943–1947, was a major tactical and operational unit of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Władysław Anders and fought wit ...

in December 1941. Konarski wrote on a regular basis, but rarely published his works. The Polish Second Corps, led by General

Władysław Anders ) , birth_name = Władysław Albert Anders , birth_date = , birth_place = Krośniewice-Błonie, Warsaw Governorate, Congress Poland, Russian Empire , death_date = , death_place = London, England, United Kingdom , serviceyears ...

, stormed the strategic Abbey on

Monte Cassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first h ...

. On the eve of this decisive battle, Konarski wrote the book's title work, "

". It has combative, and emotional words. The song became an unofficial national anthem during the communist occupation of Poland, and it was banned in that country during the 1950s. Konarski's works in this book are arranged as a chronicle of the tragic fate and the combat roles taken by the Polish Second Corps. The book's cover shows the image of the

Black Madonna of Częstochowa The Black Madonna of Częstochowa ( pl, Czarna Madonna / Matka Boska Częstochowska; la, Imago thaumaturga Beatae Virginis Mariae Immaculatae Conceptae, in Claro Monte, lit=Miraculous Image of the Immaculate Conception, the Blessed Virgin Mary ...

, a holy icon of the Virgin Mary, that is both Poland's holiest relic and one of the country's national symbols, looking over the remaining ruins of the famous Abbey of Monte Cassino after the battle.

Notes

{{reflist Polish books 2004 books