On August 1, on the 81st anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising, SGMK Rector Prof. Dr. Hab. Gertruda Uścińska will honor the memory of the fallen insurgents and civilian victims of the capital. 

63 Days of Heroic Struggle 

On August 1, 1944, by order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Home Army, General Tadeusz “Bór” Komorowski, the uprising broke out in Warsaw. It was planned to last a few days, but fell on October 3 after 63 days of fighting. During the struggle in Warsaw, about 18,000 insurgents were killed and 25,000 wounded. Civilian losses were enormous, amounting to approximately 180,000 killed. The remaining residents of Warsaw, around 500,000, were expelled from the city, which after the uprising was almost completely burned and destroyed. 

The Association of Warsaw Insurgents is a veterans’ organization whose purpose is to provide assistance and care for Warsaw Uprising participants and their families, popularize the history of the Uprising and its soldiers, represent the interests of its members before authorities and society, commemorate historic sites of battles, care for the graves of fallen soldiers, and promote knowledge and the ethos of the Uprising – especially among the younger generation. 

The Nicolaus Copernicus Superior School collaborates with the Association of Warsaw Insurgents as part of its commitment to preserving the memory of the heroes and supporting educational and patriotic initiatives. Last year, Prof. Gertruda Uścińska was awarded a commemorative distinction on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising. 

The Rector of the Nicolaus Copernicus Superior School was presented the distinction by Mr. Janusz Maksymowicz, Vice President of the Main Board of the Association of Warsaw Insurgents, Member of the Council of the Warsaw Uprising Museum, and Colonel Pilot Bogdan Bartnikowski, Treasurer of the Main Board of the Association of Warsaw Insurgents. 

As part of the cooperation with the Association of Warsaw Insurgents, meetings with witnesses to history, lectures, and commemorative activities are organized. By engaging in these initiatives, the school pays tribute to participants in the fight for freedom and inspires the younger generation to actively participate in shaping historical awareness. The meetings organized by the Nicolaus Copernicus Superior School aim to deepen intergenerational dialogue and build bridges between the past and the present. 

An intergenerational meeting of veterans, members of the Polish diaspora from Belgium and Ukraine, youth, students, scouts, and the SGMK academic community was organized on November 15, 2024, by the Nicolaus Copernicus Superior School and the Foundation for the Memory of Nations. The meeting took place as part of the project “Following the Footsteps of Heroes – Meeting of Generations,” funded via the Polish Community Association by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the “Polonia and Poles Abroad 2024 – Regranting” program.