Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The idea of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier originated in France. On November 11, 1920, the remains of soldiers who fought in World War I were laid to rest under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. On the same day, a twin ceremony took place in London. Other countries followed this example.

On January 24, 1925, the Council of Ministers of Poland chose the location for the remains of the nameless hero to rest. The colonnade of the Saxon Palace was selected. The square in front of the palace was the site where the most important patriotic ceremonies and military parades took place.

The monument was to be designed by sculptor Stanisław Ostrowski.

Several battlefields were selected from which the body of an anonymous hero was to be exhumed. The final choice, made by drawing lots, fell on the Cemetery of the Lwów Eaglets, where the remains of those who fell in battles with the Ukrainians were transferred. The bodies were exhumed and brought to Warsaw with honors.

A great ceremony took place in Saxon Square. The bells in Warsaw's churches rang for an hour. At the moment the coffin was placed in the tomb and covered with a slab inscribed "HERE LIES A POLISH SOLDIER FALLEN FOR HIS HOMELAND", a solemn cannon salute was fired, after which a minute of silence was observed throughout Poland. The ceremony, which took place on November 2, 1925, was attended by the highest secular and religious authorities.

After the fall of the Warsaw Uprising, on December 28, 1944, just before retreating from the ruined Warsaw, the Germans blew up the Saxon Palace. The colonnade over the grave collapsed entirely, and the vault of the arcades also fell in, burying the tombstone under rubble.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was restored.

The re-unveiling of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier took place on the first anniversary of the end of World War II, May 8, 1946.