The organizers of the international project “Memory Without Borders” are preparing a ceremonial opening of the Alley of Memory dedicated to Polish soldiers, which will take place on April 30, 2026, in the Krasninsky District of the Smolensk Region. The event is timed to coincide with the 81st anniversary of the raising of the Victory Banner over the Reichstag.
It was from this land, near the border with Belarus, that in 1943 the joint combat path of Soviet soldiers and warriors of the 1st Polish Infantry Division named after Tadeusz Kościuszko began. Several dozen kilometers from here, in Lenino, lie mass graves of more than 500 Polish fighters and 1,700 Soviet soldiers who fell in their first joint battles.
During the ceremony, a memorial sign honoring the Kościuszko soldiers will be unveiled at the site where Hero of the Soviet Union Aniela Krzywoń was killed. A birch alley will also be planted, and commemorative plaques with QR codes linking to pages of the project’s website will be installed.
Polish Houses, public organizations, historical associations, descendants of the Kościuszko Division soldiers, and everyone who values the memory of the joint struggle against Nazism are invited to participate. Participants will have the opportunity to plant a commemorative tree on behalf of their organization and publish memorial messages about heroes on the project’s website.
More detailed information about the event schedule and directions will be published additionally on the project’s website.
To participate, applicants must submit a request to the organizers. Contact information is available on the project website.