back...National Polish Children of War Day celebrations in Łódź

On 10 September, we celebrate the National Polish Children of War Day, in connection with which the Museum of Polish Children – Victims of Totalitarianism organised a commemoration at the Monument to the Martyrdom of Children (Monument of the Broken Heart) in Łódź. The event was preceded by a Mass in the Archcathedral Basilica of St Stanislaus Kostka for the intention of Polish children – victims of totalitarian regimes.

In July 2023, the Polish Parliament established 10 September as the National Day of the Polish Children of War. The new public holiday commemorates the youngest and most vulnerable victims of warfare.

"In tribute to the Polish Children of War, who, despite the trauma - which they experienced due to the hecatomb of World War II, the criminal actions of the German and Soviet occupiers - were able to lift our common Homeland from the ruins, and in token of respect and gratitude for their efforts (...),"reads the law of 13 July 2023 concerning the National Polish Children of War Day adopted by the Polish Parliament.

The date of the holiday refers to the arrests of Polish children from Mosina by the German gendarmerie and Gestapo on 10 September 1943. This was the apogee of the arrests of Mosina residents accused by the German occupiers of collaborating with the Polish independence underground as part of the so-called Sache Moschin ("Mosina affair").

“The arrest of the Mosina children was a consequence of the Third Reich's policy towards the Polish population in the occupied territories, including children, who were displaced, imprisoned in camps, Germanised. It is worth noting that most of them were sent to the German concentration camp for Polish children on Przemysłowa Street, which operated in occupied Łódź from 1 December 1942,” said Dr Ireneusz Piotr Maj, director of the Museum.