A very special ceremony took place on Friday, November 26 at the Saint-Amâtre cemetery in Auxerre. A Polish delegation came to exhume the remains of a 19th century Polish hero, Maurycy Mochnacky, to repatriate him and bury him in his country of origin. A central figure in the struggle against Tsarism, that is to say the Russian occupation.
In 1822, the young man was expelled from his university for having slapped a Russian officer. The following year, he spent a year in prison for having belonged to a secret society: “the Union of Free Poles” Upon leaving, he decided to keep a low profile and become a journalist, even starting a career as a writer. But very quickly, he returned to secret clubs, who conspire for the liberation of Poland. In 1830, he was therefore on the front line during the famous uprising against the Tsar of Russia. An uprising very quickly suppressed.
Mornatsky is sentenced to hang even though he does not attend his trial. He fled to France, with one goal: to continue his activities as a writer and came to Auxerre in 1831, where he died of tuberculosis in 1834, at only 31 years old.
“He always dreamed of coming back to Poland”
“Without knowing it, for many decades we hosted a top resistance fighter from Poland, comments the mayor of Auxerre Crescent Marault, present during the ceremony. They are very proud to repatriate him to his country of origin. It is something very important to them. They are keen on it and they are very sensitive to the cooperation that we have been able to implement to enable and facilitate this transfer of bodies. “
A lot of pride indeed for the members of the Polish delegation: “We honor the memory of one of our great compatriots who always dreamed of being able to return to Poland and I am proud of the fact that we can celebrate this with the French, because these commemorations take place with the Polish authorities, but also with the French. It helps build links between our countries. “
The remains of Maurycy Mochnacky must be repatriated this Saturday morning in Poland. A plane must take off from Le Bourget airport. The resistant will then be buried in Warsaw.