Powązki Military Cemetery (; ) is an old military cemetery located in the
Żoliborz district, western part of
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
, Poland. The cemetery is often confused with the older
Powązki Cemetery, known colloquially as "Old Powązki". The Old Powązki cemetery is located to the south-east of the military cemetery.
The military cemetery holds the graves of many who have fought and died for their country since the early 19th century, including a large number involved in the
1920 Battle of Warsaw, the
September 1939 Campaign, and the ill-fated 1944
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...
against
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
.
History
It was founded in 1912 as an annex to the Catholic cemetery, but after Poland regained independence in 1918, it became the state cemetery, where some of the most notable people of the period were buried, regardless of their faith.
A large part of the cemetery is occupied by graves of Polish soldiers who died in the
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...
. Most of the graves were exhumed between 1945 and 1953 from the streets of Warsaw. In many cases, the names of the soldiers remain unknown, and the graves are marked only by the Polish Red Cross identification number. Until the early 1950s, brothers-in-arms of many dead soldiers organised exhumations of their colleagues on their own, and there are many quarters where soldiers of specific units are buried. Also in the cemetery are several mass graves of (mostly unknown) civilian victims of the German terror during World War II, especially during the Warsaw Uprising. There are mass graves of political prisoners executed during the
Stalinist period, which lie under the graves of Communist figures. It took a change in the law to enable researchers to begin the recovery of these remains. As of August 2015, that work was ongoing.
In 1964, communist authorities renamed the cemetery to "Communal Cemetery". The traditional name was restored in 1998.
Notable burials
Those buried at the cemetery include:
*
Magdalena Abakanowicz (1930–2017), sculptor
*
Henryk Arctowski (1871–1958), geologist and explorer
*
Grażyna Bacewicz (1909–1969), composer
*
Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński (1921–1944),
Home Army
The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...
soldier and poet
*
Władysław Bartoszewski (1922–2015), politician, social activist, journalist, writer and historian
*
Józef Beck (1894–1944), politician
*
Zygmunt Berling (1896–1980), general and politician
*
Bolesław Bierut
Bolesław Bierut (; 18 April 1892 – 12 March 1956) was a Polish communist activist and politician, leader of History of Poland (1945–1989), communist-ruled Poland from 1947 until 1956. He was President of the State National Council from 1944 ...
(1892–1956), Polish President, Prime Minister and communist leader
*
Jan Brzechwa (1898–1966), poet
*
Jan Bytnar (1921–1943),
Home Army
The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...
soldier and anti-Nazi resistance fighter
*
Grzegorz Ciechowski (1957–2001), musician
*
Józef Cyrankiewicz (1911–1989), communist leader
*
Kazimierz Deyna (1947–1989), footballer
*
Xawery Dunikowski (1875–1964), sculptor and painter
*
Adolf Dymsza (1900–1975), actor
*
Wojciech Fangor
Wojciech Bonawentura Fangor (pronounced: ) (15 November 1922 – 25 October 2015), also known as Voy Fangor, was a Polish Painting, painter, graphic artist, and Sculpture, sculptor. Described as "one of the most distinctive painters to emerge f ...
(1922–2015), painter and graphic artist
*
Emil August Fieldorf (1895–1953), general and WWII hero
*
Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński (1905–1953), poet
*
Bronisław Geremek (1932–2008), politician and social historian
*
Julian Godlewski (1903-1983), businessman and philanthropist
*
Władysław Gomułka
Władysław Gomułka (; 6 February 1905 – 1 September 1982) was a Polish Communist politician. He was the ''de facto'' leader of Polish People's Republic, post-war Poland from 1947 until 1948, and again from 1956 to 1970.
Born in 1905 in ...
(1905–1982), communist leader
*
Kazimierz Górski (1921–2006), football coach
*
Mirosław Hermaszewski (1941–2022), first Polish cosmonaut
*
Leopold Infeld (1898–1968), physicist
*
Stefania Jabłońska (1920–2017), scientist
*
Alina Janowska (1923–2017), actress
*
Wojciech Jaruzelski
Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski ( ; ; 6 July 1923 – 25 May 2014) was a Polish military general, politician and ''de facto'' leader of the Polish People's Republic from 1981 until 1989. He was the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party ...
(1923–2014), communist leader
*
Jan Kapela (1931–1987), politician
*
Ryszard Kapuściński (1932–2007), journalist
*
Leszek Kołakowski (1927–2009), philosopher
*
Władysław Komar (1940–1998), athlete
*
Tadeusz Konwicki (1926–2015), writer
* Stanisław Kulon (1930-2022), sculptor
*
Kazimierz Kuratowski (1896–1980), mathematician
*
Jacek Kuroń (1934–2004), anti-communist activist
*
Stefan Kuryłowicz (1949–2011), architect
*
Oskar Lange (1904–1965), economist
*
Tadeusz Łomnicki (1927–1992), actor
*
Julian Marchlewski (1866-1925), politician and revolutionary activist
*
Stanisław Mazur (1905–1981), mathematician
*
Grzegorz Miecugow (1955–2017), media personality
*
Michalina Mościcka (1871–1932), fourth First Lady of Poland (1926–1932)
*
Zofia Nałkowska (1884–1954), novelist
*
Jan Olszewski (1930–2019), politician
*
Maria Ossowska (1896–1974), sociologist
*
Danuta Przeworska-Rolewicz (1931–2012), mathematician and resistance fighter
*
Marian Rejewski (1905–1980), mathematician and cryptologist
*
Zbigniew Religa (1938–2009), surgeon and politician
*
Michał Rola-Żymierski (1890–1989), communist leader and marshal of Poland
*
Tadeusz Ross (1938–2021), actor and politician
*
Leon Schiller (1887–1954), theatre director
*
Kamila Skolimowska (1982–2009), athlete
*
Walery Sławek
Walery Jan Sławek (; 2 November 1879 – 3 April 1939) was a Polish politician, freemason, military officer and activist, who in the early 1930s served three times as Prime Minister of Poland. He was one of the closest aides of Polish lead ...
(1879–1939), politician
*
Piotr Sobociński (1958–2001), cinematographer
*
Stanisław Sosabowski (1892–1967), WWII general
*
Tomasz Stańko (1942–2018), jazz musician
*
Henryk Stażewski (1894–1988), painter
*
Aleksander Sulkiewicz (1867–1916), politician
*
Jerzy Szacki (1929–2016), sociologist
*
Danuta Szaflarska
Danuta Szaflarska (; 6 February 1915 – 19 February 2017) was a Polish film and stage actress. In 2008 she was awarded the Złota Kaczka for the best Polish actress of the century. Szaflarska participated in the Warsaw Uprising as a liaison. Sz ...
(1915–2017), actress
*
Irena Szewińska (1946–2018), athlete
*
Władysław Szpilman (1911–2000), pianist and composer
*
Leonid Teliga (1917–1970), sailor
*
Izabela Tomaszewska (1955–2010), archeologist, government protocol director
*
Julian Tuwim (1894–1953), poet
*
Jerzy Urban (1933–2022), journalist, publicist, columnist, writer, spokesman for the
Polish People's Republic's government
*
Witold Woyda (1939–2008), fencer
*
Ludwika Wujec (1941–2024), dissident
*
Jan Zumbach (1915–1986), WWII fighter pilot and flying ace
Gallery
File:Powazki powstanie 1.JPG, Graves of Polish soldiers who died in the 1944 Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...
File:Powazki wojskowe groby 1920.JPG, Graves from the Polish-Soviet War
File:Kwatera Batalionu Zośka Cmentarz Wojskowy na Powązkach 010.JPG, Graves of Gray Ranks members
File:Powazki wrzesien 3.JPG, World War II graves
File:Sosabowski grave.JPG, Stanisław Sosabowski's grave
File:Groby załogi lotu LO5055.jpg, Graves of the victims of the LOT Polish Airlines Flight 5055
File:Funeral military ceremony in Poland.jpg, Funeral ceremony at the cemetery
File:Juliusz Rómmel grób.JPG, Juliusz Rómmel's grave
File:Ryszard Kuklinski - grave.jpg, Ryszard Kukliński's grave
File:Wojciech Jaruzelski (grób) 03.JPG, Wojciech Jaruzelski
Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski ( ; ; 6 July 1923 – 25 May 2014) was a Polish military general, politician and ''de facto'' leader of the Polish People's Republic from 1981 until 1989. He was the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party ...
's grave
File:Zygmunt Berling - gravestone.jpg, Zygmunt Berling's grave
File:Henryk Stażewski grób.jpg, Henryk Stażewski's grave
File:Powazki Beck.JPG, Józef Beck's and Jan Jankowski's graves
See also
*
Powązki Cemetery
*
Rakowicki Cemetery
*
Lychakiv Cemetery
References
External links
*
Comprehensive information at the Cmentarium website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Powazki Military Cemetery
*
Cemeteries in Warsaw
Military cemeteries in Poland
Żoliborz
1912 establishments in Poland
Cemeteries established in the 1910s
Military of Warsaw