Powązki Military Cemetery (; ) is an old military cemetery located in the Żoliborz district, western part of Warsaw, Poland. The cemetery is often confused with the older Powązki Cemetery, known colloquially as "Old Powązki". The Old Powązki cemetery is located to the south-east of the military cemetery.

The military cemetery holds the graves of many who have fought and died for their country since the early 19th century, including a large number involved in the 1920 Battle of Warsaw, the September 1939 Campaign, and the 1944 Warsaw Uprising against Nazi Germany.Mass burial in Warsaw for 22 soldiers murdered by the Communists The First News. Retrieved 4 September 2021

History It was founded in 1912 as an annex to the Catholic cemetery, but after Poland regained independence in 1918, it became the state cemetery, where some of the most notable people of the period were buried, regardless of their faith.

A large part of the cemetery is occupied by graves of Polish soldiers who died in the Warsaw Uprising. Most of the graves were exhumed between 1945 and 1953 from the streets of Warsaw. In many cases, the names of the soldiers remain unknown, and the graves are marked only by the Polish Red Cross identification number. Until the early 1950s, brothers-in-arms of many dead soldiers organised exhumations of their colleagues on their own, and there are many quarters where soldiers of specific units are buried. Also in the cemetery are several mass graves of (mostly unknown) civilian victims of the German terror during World War II, especially during the Warsaw Uprising. There are mass graves of political prisoners executed during the Stalinist period, which lie under the graves of Communist figures. It took a change in the law to enable researchers to begin the recovery of these remains. As of August 2015, that work was ongoing.

In 1964, communist authorities renamed the cemetery to "Communal Cemetery". The traditional name was restored in 1998.

Notable burials Those buried at the cemetery include:

Magdalena Abakanowicz (1930–2017), sculptor Henryk Arctowski (1871–1958), geologist and explorer Grażyna Bacewicz (1909–1969), composer Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński (1921–1944), Home Army soldier and poet Władysław Bartoszewski (1922–2015), politician, social activist, journalist, writer and historian Józef Beck (1894–1944), politician Zygmunt Berling (1896–1980), general and politician Bolesław Bierut (1892–1956), Polish President, Prime Minister and communist leader Jan Brzechwa (1898–1966), poet Jan Bytnar (1921–1943), Home Army soldier and anti-Nazi resistance fighter Grzegorz Ciechowski (1957–2001), musician Józef Cyrankiewicz (1911–1989), communist leader Kazimierz Deyna (1947–1989), footballer Xawery Dunikowski (1875–1964), sculptor and painter Adolf Dymsza (1900–1975), actor Wojciech Fangor (1922–2015), painter and graphic artist Emil August Fieldorf (1895–1953), general and WWII hero Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński (1905–1953), poet Bronisław Geremek (1932–2008), politician and social historian Julian Godlewski (1903-1983), businessman and philanthropist Władysław Gomułka (1905–1982), communist leader Kazimierz Górski (1921–2006), football coach Mirosław Hermaszewski (1941–2022), first Polish cosmonaut Leopold Infeld (1898–1968), physicist Stefania Jabłońska (1920–2017), scientist Alina Janowska (1923–2017), actress Wojciech Jaruzelski (1923–2014), communist leader Jan Kapela (1931–1987), politician Ryszard Kapuściński (1932–2007), journalist Joanna Kołaczkowska (1966–2025), cabaret performer Leszek Kołakowski (1927–2009), philosopher Władysław Komar (1940–1998), athlete Tadeusz Konwicki (1926–2015), writer Kazimierz Kuratowski (1896–1980), mathematician Jacek Kuroń (1934–2004), anti-communist activist Stefan Kuryłowicz (1949–2011), architect Oskar Lange (1904–1965), economist Tadeusz Łomnicki (1927–1992), actor Julian Marchlewski (1866-1925), politician and revolutionary activist Stanisław Mazur (1905–1981), mathematician Grzegorz Miecugow (1955–2017), media personality Michalina Mościcka (1871–1932), fourth First Lady of Poland (1926–1932) Zofia Nałkowska (1884–1954), novelist Jan Olszewski (1930–2019), politician Maria Ossowska (1896–1974), sociologist Danuta Przeworska-Rolewicz (1931–2012), mathematician and resistance fighter Marian Rejewski (1905–1980), mathematician and cryptologist Zbigniew Religa (1938–2009), surgeon and politician Michał Rola-Żymierski (1890–1989), communist leader and marshal of Poland Tadeusz Ross (1938–2021), actor and politician Leon Schiller (1887–1954), theatre director Kamila Skolimowska (1982–2009), athlete Walery Sławek (1879–1939), politician Piotr Sobociński (1958–2001), cinematographer Stanisław Sosabowski (1892–1967), WWII general Tomasz Stańko (1942–2018), jazz musician Henryk Stażewski (1894–1988), painter Aleksander Sulkiewicz (1867–1916), politician Jerzy Szacki (1929–2016), sociologist Danuta Szaflarska (1915–2017), actress Irena Szewińska (1946–2018), athlete Władysław Szpilman (1911–2000), pianist and composer Leonid Teliga (1917–1970), sailor Izabela Tomaszewska (1955–2010), archeologist, government protocol director Julian Tuwim (1894–1953), poet Jerzy Urban (1933–2022), journalist, publicist, columnist, writer, spokesman for the Polish People's Republic's government Witold Woyda (1939–2008), fencer Ludwika Wujec (1941–2024), dissident Jan Zumbach (1915–1986), WWII fighter pilot and flying ace

Gallery

See also Powązki Cemetery Rakowicki Cemetery Lychakiv Cemetery

References

External links

Comprehensive information at the Cmentarium website