Poland's Wedding To The Sea - 1945 Weddings To The Sea

1945 Weddings To The Sea

In the early spring of 1945, a number of symbolic Weddings to the Sea took place along the Baltic Sea coast. Most well-known such ceremonies were on March 17, 1945, at the town of Mrzeżyno, and on March 18 at Kołobrzeg. This is what Polish historian Hieronim Kroczynski wrote in his book "Polskie Polskie tradycje morskie 967-1945" ("Polish Naval Traditions 967 - 1945"):

"In early 1945, the First Polish Army, formed in the Soviet Union, and subordinated to the Soviet 1st Belorussian Front, reached Pomerania, the ancient land of the Piasts, which was to become Polish again. During the Pomeranian Operation, as our units approached the sea, Polish soldiers remembered the historic 1920 Wedding to the Sea. The 1945 ceremony took place in war situation, as until the end of the war, the 10-kilometer wide strip of coast was officially regarded as frontline. The headquarters of the First Army decided that its units were to organize their own weddings. These ceremonies took place from March 15 to April 6, along the Baltic Sea coast from Dziwnow to Gdynia. In the spirit of the 1920 tradition, rings were thrown into the water, and oaths of allegiance to the sea were sworn by the participants. Furthermore, in several cases flags of military units were dipped in water. On March 17, 1945, First Warsaw Cavalry Brigade had its own ceremony at Mrzeżyno, and on March 18, main ceremony of both First and Second Army took place at Kołobrzeg".

Polish historian Hieronim Kroczynski from Kolobrzeg, who has been investigating Polish weddings to the sea says that the first ceremony of this kind in 1945 took place on March 8, near the village of Grzybow, west of Kolobrzeg. On that day, a patrol of the 16th Infantry Regiment reached the shore. Colonel Wladyslaw Jurak, who had been a schoolteacher before the war, told the soldiers about the 1920 wedding, and the group spontaneously decided to repeat the ceremony.

News of this event reached headquarters of the 6th Infantry Division, to which the 16th Infantry Regiment belonged. Soon, General Michal Rola-Zymierski found out about it, and on March 10, 1945, text of the oath taken during weddings to the sea was printed by a Polish Army newspaper “Zwyciezymy”: “I swear to you, Polish Sea, that I, a soldier of the Homeland, faithful son of the Polish nation, will not abandon you. I swear to you that I will always follow this road, the road which has been paved by the State National Council, the road which has led me to the sea. I will guard you, I will not hesitate to shed my blood for the Fatherland, neither will I hesitate to give my life so that you do not return to Germany. You will remain Polish forever”.

Soon afterwards, a number of weddings took place:

• March 12 at Mrzezyno,
• March 15 at Dziwnowek, by soldiers of the 2nd Warsaw Infantry Division, in which Wojciech Jaruzelski served,
• March 17 again at Mrzezyno, by soldiers of the 1st Warsaw Cavalry Brigade,
• March 17, 18, 19, and 20 at Kolobrzeg, by soldiers of various units, and at different locations within the city,
• April 6 at Gdynia.