Footsteps of WWII · Italy
Polish War Cemetery, Monte Cassino
Cemetery · 11–18 May 1944
The story
Polish II Corps under General Władysław Anders attacked the heights north-west of the abbey in May 1944, during Operation Diadem. After a week of fighting on Point 593 and the surrounding ridges, a patrol raised the Polish flag over the abbey ruins on 18 May. The cemetery lies on the slopes of Point 445, the Allied cemetery closest to the abbey. It was designed by Wacław Hryniewicz and Jerzy Skolimowski and consecrated on 1 September 1945. Crosses mark Christian graves and Stars of David mark Jewish ones. Anders, who died in London in 1970, chose to be buried among his men. A Memorial Museum on the 2nd Corps opened nearby in 2014.
What to look for
Terraced rows of travertine crosses rise to a large stone memorial, with the abbey directly above. Read the Simonides-style inscription ('Passer-by, go tell Poland...') and find General Anders' grave at the front. The small museum shows uniforms, photographs and film.
Plan your visit
Free. Reached by the abbey road with parking nearby. Opening hours of the cemetery and the Memorial Museum could not be confirmed on an official site; check before you go and allow time if visiting with the abbey.
Things change, so check opening times before you travel.
Nearby sites
- Abbey of Monte Cassino · under 1 km
- Cassino War Cemetery and Memorial (CWGC) · 3 km
- German War Cemetery, Cassino (Caira) · 4 km
All 160 sites in Footsteps of WWII →
Footsteps of WWII: Europe 1939–1945
A free field guide for your phone: the route, the maps and the stories built in, even with no signal. The whole Second World War in Europe, from the first shots at Westerplatte on 1 September 1939 to the German surrender in May 1945: Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, Normandy, Arnhem, Bastogne, Stalingrad, Berlin and the camps, in 15 areas from Britain to Russia.
Open the guide