Memorial Room of the Baszta Home Army Regiment and the Home Army in Mokotów’s Participation in the Warsaw Uprising
ul. Świeradowska 43
02-662 Warsaw
Tel. (22) 54 25 480
uczelnia@lazarski.edu.pl
www.lazarski.pl
Free admission
Mondays – Fridays: 10 am – 4 pm
Curator: Sylwia Solawa-Wrzosek MA

In 1997 Ryszard Łazarski (1926–2000), who once fought in the Home Army’s Baszta regiment initiated the establishment of a Memorial Room in the school he had founded – the Private Higher School of Commerce and Law in Warsaw (today’s Łazarski University). The underlying idea was to familiarize students and local residents with the history of the Second World War and to cherish the memories of the heroic deeds of the citizens of Warsaw during the city’s occupation, and above all to preserve the memory of the Warsaw Uprising and the soldiers who fought in the Baszta Regiment of the Home Army. Today there are two places on the campus where you can broaden your knowledge of the events of the Second World War and of the Warsaw Uprising. Display boards, which have been prepared in collaboration with the Warsaw Uprising Museum and the 1944 Warsaw Uprising Remembrance Association, can be viewed between sectors A and B on the first floor of the Memorial Room. Thanks to these boards visitors have an opportunity to learn about the events of 1944 and become acquainted with snippets from the memories of some of the latter-day heroes. One of the boards is dedicated to Ryszard Łazarski – it commemorates his participation in the Uprising and his involvement in the postwar development of education, which resulted in the founding of the higher school in Warsaw. The space in this part of the room is also equipped with a tablet thanks to which it is possible to view photographs and documentary films, while the walls have been painted with a 35 sq. metre mural featuring an insurgent theme. The mural, painted by Ariel Kula, is in shades of white, grey and black, imitating old photographs. Due to constantly enhacing the development of the Memorial Room, in May 2019 yet another mural was painted entitled #TacyJakMy (People like us), dedicated to people closely connected with the Łazarski University: Teresa Suchecka-Nowak, Felicja Nahorska, Eugeniusz Tyrajski, Tadeusz Kostarski and Wojciech Militz. They bring us closer to the
participants of the Uprising who, being students at that time, fought bravely for their homeland. The new mural is painted in the same style as the first one and covers another 20 sq. metres of wall space and its main objective is to emphasize the role played by soldiers, women nurses and children during the Uprising. In Section C of the Memorial Room, on level -1 you can read moving accounts of Warsaw’s insurgents. The history of one of the most courageous units of the Home Army – the Baszta Regiment is also presented on level -1. One of the exhibits is a plaque from a building (known during the war as ‛Pudełko’ – the box) located on Aleja Niepodległości, and which became famous as one of the most important strongholds of resistance of soldiers in the O-3 Company of the Baszta Regiment. The room also has a didactic role, not only for the pupils of nearby schools, who can also view a screening of a film about
the Second World War, but also for all visitors who are interested in seeing the exhibits, such as insurgent armbands, orders, decorations as well as two historical standards of the Baszta Regiment, which are in the care of the university. The room also contains display cases containing literature connected with the Uprising – these include publications such
as Album Pamięci Narodowej – Powstanie Warszawskie (Album of National Remembrance – The Warsaw Uprising) and several volumes of Mokotów Walczy – Biogramy Eugeniusza ‛Kotwy’ Ajewskiego (Mokotów at War – Profiles of Eugeniusz Ajewski – code-named Kotwa). In addition, next to the commemorative plaque in Sector D is a board with a QR code which enables visitors to become acquainted with Ryszard Łazarski’s biography. The World Association of Home Army Soldiers came up with the idea to commemorate its soldiers with the use of QR codes placed near obelisks, statues, and commemorative plaques. The Łazarski University cooperates on an ongoing basis with the Association of the Baszta Home Army Regiment, whose members take places of honour during important academic celebrations, and thanks to which students have a unique opportunity to listen to accounts of life during the Warsaw Uprising from actual participants. On 17 January 2020, an official ceremony took place in the Memory Room at which members of the Home Army awarded Rafał Trzaskowski, Mayor of Warsaw, and Zakład Gospodarowania Nieruchomościami w Dzielnicy Mokotów (Office of Real Estate Management in the Mokotów District) honorary ‛Amicitiae Fidelium’ badges of the Baszta Home Army Regiment.