21. Monument to the officers of the Polish Legions detained in the internment camps in Białobrzegi
The monument near the barracks in
Białobrzegi (formerly Beniaminów), commemorating
the internment of the Polish
Legions officers, was unveiled on June 5,
2004, thanks to the efforts of the community
of Nieporet. It is an exact replica of the prewar
monument, unveiled June 26, 1931, by
the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs Ignacy
Boerner. The monument was created on
the initiative of the soldiers of the 2nd Radiotelegraphy
Battalion stationed in nearby
barracks, with the support of local residents.
It was damaged in 1944 and dismantled
in 1948.
The village of Beniaminów became famous after the Oath Crisis, when the members of the Polish Legions who had refused to swear an oath of loyalty to the German Kaiser were interned there in July 1917 (the first prisoners came on July 22, 1917). Following the refusal to swear an oath of loyalty to the emperors of Germany and Austria- Hungary, by mid-August 1917, the total of 147 Polish Legion officers were interned in the barracks of Beniaminów. Later, in the interwar period and in exile, the formerly interned individuals became leading figures in political, social and military life. We shall name them here: last Prime Minister of the Second Polish Republic – Felicjan Slawoj Składkowski, heroic mayor of Warsaw – Stefan Starzyński, Minister of Post and Telegraphs – Ignacy Boerner, governor of Polesie – Wacław Kostka Biernacki, managing director of Polish Radio – Roman Starzyński, President of the Polish Bank – Adam Koc, commander of the Army “Pomerania” in the 1939 September Campaign – General Władysław Bortnowski, head of the Polish Military Mission in France – General Stanislaw Burhardt-Bukacki or commander of the Home Army – General Stefan Rowecki. The legend of the village of Beniaminów became a component inextricably linked to several biographies of generals and politicians of the Second Polish Republic.
The village of Beniaminów became famous after the Oath Crisis, when the members of the Polish Legions who had refused to swear an oath of loyalty to the German Kaiser were interned there in July 1917 (the first prisoners came on July 22, 1917). Following the refusal to swear an oath of loyalty to the emperors of Germany and Austria- Hungary, by mid-August 1917, the total of 147 Polish Legion officers were interned in the barracks of Beniaminów. Later, in the interwar period and in exile, the formerly interned individuals became leading figures in political, social and military life. We shall name them here: last Prime Minister of the Second Polish Republic – Felicjan Slawoj Składkowski, heroic mayor of Warsaw – Stefan Starzyński, Minister of Post and Telegraphs – Ignacy Boerner, governor of Polesie – Wacław Kostka Biernacki, managing director of Polish Radio – Roman Starzyński, President of the Polish Bank – Adam Koc, commander of the Army “Pomerania” in the 1939 September Campaign – General Władysław Bortnowski, head of the Polish Military Mission in France – General Stanislaw Burhardt-Bukacki or commander of the Home Army – General Stefan Rowecki. The legend of the village of Beniaminów became a component inextricably linked to several biographies of generals and politicians of the Second Polish Republic.