What does the Ministry of Culture and Heritage have to say about all this?
In April this year, Prof. Piotr Glinski, Minister of Culture and National Heritage, visited the Redoubt of Ordon. It was clear that he was fed up with the stagnation and announced two important decisions to be taken. The Redoubt of Ordon is finally to be archaeologically studied, that is, the remains of the soldiers, which are now accessible, are to be taken out of the ground. This is the first announcement of Deputy Prime Minister Glinski. It seems obvious, but considering that the Mazovian Regional Monuments Inspector has been issuing a resolution to the State Archaeological Museum since September 2022 to complete the 2013 research and after more than half a year has still not issued such a simple resolution and is still hiding behind some administrative problems, I'm not surprised that Minister Gliński finally stomped his foot a little.
What is the goal of the activists, what should the place look like?
There is a fine line between a proud Pole and a loudmouth with a Polish flag. I participated in the research of Ordon's Redoubt from 2010 to 2013. My friends and I spent hundreds of hours there. I was involved in the creation of Ordon's Redoubt Defence Committee. I have been in the media covering the research from the beginning. I used to believe that the land would be returned in its entirety. Now I only believe that someone across party and state lines will sit down at the table and make a good move. It is well known that after the pandemic period and the war in Ukraine, funds are scarce, especially when it comes to culture. This is understandable, but for a decade we have not been able to build a public-private partnership in Warsaw. I recently read a speech by the Association of Friends of the Ordon Redoubt. They call for the first step to be the completion of archaeological research and joint meetings between the government, local authorities, Tremon and conservation services to create a plan for the Ordon Redoubt and finally, across political boundaries, break the period of shame. But is that possible? Perhaps the time leading up to the elections will provide additional motivation here. Time will tell. In any case, a step on the part of the ministry is important. If its officials follow the path of wise remembrance rather than plans for a large cemetery, i.e., more years of procedures, a light of hope will shine..br>
Is not the simplest solution, for example, war quarters and a memorial chamber?
And here we come to the key question. If by war quarters we mean an ossuary, that is, a tomb containing mortal remains that is also a memorial, then that is a perfect idea and easy to implement. However, if we consider the war quarter de jure as such, then we have a new problem. The bones, which are mostly mixed anyway and where it is often impossible to distinguish a Pole from a Russian, have a relatively small volume for about a hundred exhumed people. If they are treated as a cemetery, they will have to go through a series of procedures like any other cemetery, conflict with the local land use plan, and finally comply with sanitary regulations. Add in the cooperation required here between the central government and the city, now political opponents, and you can say right away that this proposal means several years of paperwork and even more trash in the redoubt. However, if Minister Glinski had in mind a memorial chamber with a special place for the ossuary, his announcement raises high hopes that the soldiers' remains will finally be taken out of the cardboard boxes of the warehouses where they have lain for more than a decade..
– interviewed by Cezary Korycki
TVP WEEKLY. Editorial team and jornalists
Robert Wyrostkiewicz is an archaeologist, former Polish Radio journalist and a member of the program board of Radio for You.