Commemoration of Polish soldiers in Denmark
12.08.2021
Colonel A. Sypniewski, Defence Attaché of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Copenhagen and P. Petersen from the Danish team of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) on August 10, honoured the memory of Polish soldiers and airmen who died in Denmark during World War II.
After the Third Reich invasion of Denmark in April 1940, the British Royal Air Force conducted observation and offensive operations over Denmark in order to impede the transport of troops and military equipment of the Wehrmacht. Polish squadrons, formed in Great Britain and incorporated into the RAF, participated in these activities. RAF forces flew over Denmark, the so-called Northern Route, which led through the Baltic Sea to strategic goals in the countries occupied by the Third Reich, including the territory of Poland.
During air missions over Denmark, 24 Polish airmen and soldiers were killed. They were buried in the war cemeteries in Aabenraa, Slaglille, Aalestrup, Esbjerg, Frederikshavn and Lemvig.
