Monument to the Polish Underground State and the Home Army

Technique: bronze cast, stone

Dimensions: approx. 250 × 330 cm

Object: In 1990, the Gdańsk District Board of the World Association of Home Army Soldiers came up with an initiative to erect a monument. The Construction Committee was composed of Leon Torliński, Przemysław Smolarek, Henryk Bratmański, Wacław Podbereski, Kazimierz Śliwa and Henryk Mejster. The statue was designed by architects Joanna Sidorczuk and Roman Radowski from Studio Projekt in Sopot. The monument commemorates Home Army soldiers and many anonymous Poles active in the clandestine structures of the Polish Underground State during World War II. It has the form of a pink-grey erratic boulder and is placed on a concrete plinth with a sandstone surface. It is situated on a wide, circular base with a paved surface, accessible via 4-step stairs. There is an inscription on the boulder, on four plaques cast in metal, with a convex inscription reading: “Polish Underground State 1939–1945”. There is a metal cast above the inscription showing the emblem of the Polish state, i.e. the eagle. The back of the boulder features the inscription “Home Army” on two plaques, also cast in metal, and a metal cast showing an anchor combined with the letter P – the sign of Fighting Poland (Polska Walcząca). On the walls delimiting the stairs on both sides are cast-iron bowls for candles, while the sides of the walls feature iron casting: a scout lily on the one side and the Pomeranian coat of arms with the Pomeranian Griffin on the other.

Place: In January 1991, the City Council approved the construction in Śródmieście, but did not decide on a precise location. The proposed intersection of 3 Maja Street and Armii Krajowej Avenue, close to Złota Brama, gained the most supporters. Finally, however, the monument was erected in Targ Rakowy, opposite the Voivodeship Public Library, replacing the earlier tank monument (scrapped on 10 September 1991). The unveiling was initially planned for Q1 1992, with the date subsequently moved to September 1992, to mark the end of the Home Army’s 50^th anniversary. Ultimately, the monument was unveiled on 15 October 1994.

Information about the author: Joanna Sidorczuk, Eng. Arch., studied at the Gdańsk University of Technology. Roman Radowski, Eng. Arch., studied at the Gdańsk University of Technology.

Condition of the object –

Owner/guardian: Gdańsk Road and Greenery Authority, Guardian: International Association of Home Army Soldiers – Gdańsk District

Author of the entry: Kora Kowalska