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The importance of Memory in the history of Monte Cassino Abbey
“We must keep the memory of Monte Cassino battle for future generations” said Mariusz Blaszczak, Minister of National Defence on 28th May 2019 during the cerimony at Montecassino Cemetery in front of 5.000 people and the last few Polish Veterans. 75 years ago, after 3 months of fighting and four battles and after Monte Cassino bombing ,the troops coming from all over the world, opened the way for Allied forces to Rome.
The importance of Memory of the four Battles of Cassino
It thas the most strategic but even brutal period of the Second World War in Italy , with about 55.000 Allied deaths and around 20.000 German casualties, but even the total denstruction of the town of Cassino and the Monte Cassino Abbey. For all those who died here, 3 cemeteries had been built: the, Commonwealth, the Polish and the German war memorials.But after 75 years the feeling of everyone must be very different from the past.
Cassino is a symbol of peace
I was told that when the Poles reached the centre of the ruins of the bombed Abbey, some wounded German soldiers were there. They were so happy to see the Poles coming, to be captured, to see that the war was for them over. They were tired to fight, to died, to kill other young soldiers, so between them and the Poles grew a special feeling of friendship.
The importance of Memory for the new generations
They kept the contacts, they wrote letters back and forth, and they met once a year in Cassino. I remember them embrassing each others.We must remember what happened here, because war, fighting death and so on, can not happen again.No more war ! Follow one of my Second World War Tours to learn something new about the 4 Battles of Monte Cassino , and all what I learned from the Veterans I met in the last 15 years.We offer several Monte Cassino Battlefield tours…write us!