In early 1944 a German stronghold, dug in at the ancient
Benedictine monastery atop
Monte Cassino, had blocked the
Allies' advance toward
Rome. The forces of several Allied countries had attempted since mid-January
to capture the German fortress. For a fourth major assault, which began on 11 May 1944, Polish troops were rotated in. The song's melody was composed during the night of 17–18 May 1944 by , a composer, actor and member of the Polish Soldiers' Theater garrisoned at
Campobasso in the shadow of Monte Cassino. Two opening
stanzas were written at that time by
Feliks Konarski ("
Ref-ren" — "Refrain"), a poet and songwriter and soldier of the
Polish II Corps commanded by Major General
Władysław Anders. The third stanza was written a few days later. The third verse, Konarski wrote several hours later. In his memoirs, he wrote: "For the first time singing Red poppies on Monte Cassino, we all cried. Soldiers cried with us.
Red poppies, which bloomed over night, became one more symbol of bravery and sacrifice - a tribute of alive ones, whom for love of freedom died for freedom of people." The fourth and final stanza was written a quarter-century later, in 1969, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the battle. That final stanza is the least known and is sometimes omitted. On 18 May 1944, the day following the song's composition, the Poles stormed and captured the precincts of the Monte Cassino
monastery. Later that day, the song was first performed at General Anders' headquarters to celebrate the Polish victory.
The Red Poppies on Monte Cassino won popularity with the troops and was soon published by a Polish-American newspaper in
New York. It was later published in Poland. It was banned, however, during the
Stalinist period in the
People's Republic of Poland, when the government sought to minimize memory of the wartime
Polish Armed Forces in the West. It is featured, however, in
Andrzej Wajda's film
Ashes and Diamonds, made in 1958, after the death of
Stalin. ==Copyright==