Together with all the members of the Association “Eredità e Memoria”, today, on April 21, 2020, we join everyone to commemorate and remember the Liberation of Bologna on its 75th anniversary. This particular time we are living has amplified our commitment to remember the heroism and sacrifice of those who preceded us, as their example teaches us a valuable lesson on how to resist and overcome the current and future difficulties. It also shows us the importance of rebuilding our society based on universal values of freedom, peace and justice they fought for and conquered for all of us. This is why, especially this year, it is even more meaningful for us Italians to remember our national Liberation Day on April 25th. Along with the commemorations of Bologna, we would like to remember General W. Anders, Commander of the 2nd Polish Corps, who was welcomed with enthusiasm by the city of Bologna, received the honorary citizenship and, together with his soldiers, fought for our freedom and that of his beloved Poland. As year 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Gen. Anders’s passing, here in Imola we had been working on a project and an event that tomorrow, 22 April, would have seen the inauguration of a life-size statue dedicated to him, by prof. Luigi Enzo Mattei, the artist (Bolognese). The event will be held in 2021, along with all other official events, but already this year, as soon as it becomes possible, the statue will be positioned in the same area, where the original Monument to the 2 Polish Corps and the Wojtek statue stand proudly, so we hope that the General’s attentive eye will guide us in our efforts to make the educational public garden planned there to live up to its expectations. Just a few words about us: we are an Italian association based in Imola, dedicated to remembrance and recovery of forgotten historical memory, aimed at passing it onto to future generations as a legacy, because a nation without memory is a nation without history. Our interests address in particular the painful page of the Second World War and the contribution of the 2 Polish Army Corps which fought from Montecassino to Ancona, along the Adriatic coast, all the way to Bologna, helping to gradually bring the freedom to the land, towns and cities, including Imola on 14 April, Castel S. Pietro on 17 Aprile, and finally Bologna on 21. For this reason, we feel to the city of Bologna, both in terms of the common land we belong to, as well as the common experience. Since 2005, the 60th anniversary of Liberation, we have been active in our endeavor and aims addressed at recovering this forgotten memory, 15 years of hard yet exciting work, which has involved schools and promoted cultural events locally for the citizens of Imola and its surroundings, as well as internationally, work absolutely essential to follow Goethe’s: “What you inherit from your fathers, must first be earned before it’s yours.”
Oggi 21 aprile, avremmo voluto essere presenti, come ogni anno, alla commemorazione della Liberazione di Bologna. Le circostanze attuali non ce l'hanno permesso; ecco allora il nostro pensiero, il nostro abbraccio in questo video-messaggio composto a più cuori, anche se espresso con una sola voce.English version here:Greetings to everyone, Together with all the members of the Association “Eredità e Memoria”, today, on April 21, 2020, we join all of you to commemorate and remember the Liberation of Bologna on its 75th anniversary.This particular time we are living has amplified our commitment to remember the heroism and sacrifice of those who preceded us, as their example teaches us a valuable lesson on how to resist and overcome the current and future difficulties. It also shows us the importance of rebuilding our society based on universal values of freedom, peace and justice they fought for and conquered for all of us. This is why, especially this year, it is even more meaningful for us Italians to remember our national Liberation Day on April 25th.Along with the commemorations of Bologna, we would like to remember General W. Anders, Commander of the 2nd Polish Corps, who was welcomed with enthusiasm by the city of Bologna, received the honorary citizenship and, together with his soldiers, fought for our freedom and that of his beloved Poland. As year 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Gen. Anders’s passing, here in Imola we had been working on a project and an event that tomorrow, 22 April, would have seen the inauguration of a life-size statue dedicated to him, by prof. Luigi Enzo Mattei, the artist (Bolognese). The event will be held in 2021, along with all other official events, but already this year, as soon as it becomes possible, the statue will be positioned in the same area, where the original Monument to the 2 Polish Corps and the Wojtek statue stand proudly, so we hope that the General's attentive eye will guide us in our efforts to make the educational public garden planned there to live up to its expectations. Just a few words about us: we are an Italian association based in Imola, dedicated to remembrance and recovery of forgotten historical memory, aimed at passing it onto to future generations as a legacy, because a nation without memory is a nation without history.Our interests address in particular the painful page of the Second World War and the contribution of the 2 Polish Army Corps which fought from Montecassino to Ancona, along the Adriatic coast, all the way to Bologna, helping to gradually bring the freedom to the land, towns and cities, including Imola on 14 April, Castel S. Pietro on 17 Aprile, and finally Bologna on 21. For this reason, we feel to the city of Bologna, both in terms of the common land we belong to, as well as the common experience.Since 2005, the 60th anniversary of Liberation, we have been active in our endeavor and aims addressed at recovering this forgotten memory, 15 years of hard yet exciting work, which has involved schools and promoted cultural events locally for the citizens of Imola and its surroundings, as well as internationally, work absolutely essential to follow Goethe's: "What you inherit from your fathers, must first be earned before it’s yours.”
