This is one of many monuments built at the communist times to commemorate the Soviet soldiers charging west and fighting with Germans in the Central Europe by the end of World War II.
During the communist times the entering of Soviet forces in 1945 was universally called "the liberation". But in fact, Russians made the countries which they had entered (like Poland) their satelite states and the Russian (Soviet) soldiers had been stationed there for almost 50 years. People were forced the communist system and pressed to praise it and their "liberators". One of its signs were just erecting such "monuments of gratitude".
So after 1989, when the communism was overthrown, many of these monuments started to be destroyed as symbols of the bygone age. But although they were indeed such symbols, sometimes there was also some doubt. It's just true, that in a certain sense Russians were invaders, because after entering the Central Europe they made its states dependent of them and built there an area of their influence. But nobody can also deny, that the Soviet army played a major role in defeating the Nazi Germany towards the end of World War II. It's assessed that about 20 milion Soviet soldiers lost his life, also in the Polish lands, fighting with the Nazi enemy. They certainly deserve commemorating.
That's why such communist monuments disappeared from prominent places of Polish cities, but some of them were left and exist to this day.
The monument in Gołonóg commemorates 144 Red Army soldiers fallen here on the 26th and 27th January 1945.
View More »