This content was automatically translated. View the original text.
Memorial Museum of the 2nd Polish Corps at Montecassino: a little-known story
The 2nd Polish CorpsMemorial Museum is located close to Montecassino Abbey, at the entrance to the Polish military cemetery of Cassino. It tells a story that most visitors don't know: how over 50,000 Polish soldiers, deported to the Siberian gulags, made it all the way here to fight for the liberation of Italy.
From Siberia to Montecassino
In 1939, Poland was invaded by both Germany and the Soviet Union. Over one and a half million Poles ended up in Siberian prison camps. General Władysław Anders — himself detained for 20 months in the Lubyanka prison in Moscow — rebuilt an army in Iraq after his release in 1941. Those soldiers crossed the Middle East and arrived in Italy as part of the British Eighth Army.
What's inside
The pavilion is a rotunda built in local stone, designed by architect Pietro Rogacien — the son of a former 2nd Corps fighter who took part in the Battle of Montecassino. Inside, 10 panels with over 120 archival photographs look back over the various stages of the 2nd Corps: deportation, formation, battles, and postwar exile. A 2-metre cast-iron medallion maps out the entire war route, and a children's station tells the story of Wojtek the bear, the army's mascot.
How to visit the museum
The museum is located along the road to the abbey. Inaugurated on 17 May 2014, it is run by the MM2C Foundation.
