Monument to Brotherhood in Arms

Monument to commemorate the joint struggle of Polish and Soviet soldiers against Nazi Germany

The Monument to Brotherhood in Arms (Polish: Pomnik Braterstwa Broni) was erected in Vilnius Square [pl] in Warsaw's Praga district, in 1945, to commemorate the joint fight of Polish and Soviet soldiers against Nazi Germany.^[1] In 2011, it was temporarily taken down during the construction of an underground railway station and sent to restorers. However, when it was about to be reinstalled, a minority of Praga's residents objected, as they perceived the monument as a remnant of the Communist era. In surveys carried out by the city council and Gazeta Wyborcza in 2012 and 2013 respectively, the majority of Warsaw's residents said they would like the monument to be returned to its original place or placed somewhere nearby.^[2]^[3] In 2015, the Warsaw City Council overturned its earlier decision to return the monument and made the removal permanent.^[4]

The monument was colloquially known as "the four sleepers or "the four mourners" (pomnik „czterech śpiących”, „czterech smutnych”), in reference to the figures of two Polish and two Soviet soldiers with bowed heads at the four corners of the monument.^[1]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pomnik Braterstwa Broni.

^ ^a ^b "Soviet Army Monument Banned From Returning to Warsaw Square". The New York Times. 27 February 2015. Archived from the original on 20 April 2015.
^ Iwona Szpala (27 November 2013). "Zostawić czy usunąć pomnik Śpiących? Wyniki nowego sondażu". Warszawa.wyborcza.pl. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
^ "Barometr Warszawski" (PDF). um.warszawa.pl. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
^ "Pomnik "czterech śpiących" nie wróci na pl. Wileński". Wiadomosci.wp.pl. 26 February 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2017.