A community-funded monument to memorialize Polish war veterans has caught the attention of donors who want to honor all of those displaced by war.

“I’m not Polish, but the monument, for me, is about humanity,” said Helen Molloy, one of the donors.

“It wasn’t just the soldiers… but it was for women too. The women who came over and lost everything. How incredibly scary that boat trip would have been by yourself, because you’re a woman,” she added.

Bron Nurkowski, director of the Polish Canadian Cultural Club (PCCC), said that many displaced people from Poland came to Canada- not because they wanted to, but because they were forced. The club wanted to commemorate all of the hardships that Polish people experienced around war.

“They were hauled out at gunpoint and eventually survived the wars and made it to Canada, and made it so Saskatchewan,” said Nurkowski.

Jeff Lukomski and his family became involved with this fundraising effort to honor their‘Babcia’ Donna Lukomski, a 94-year-old Polish Second World War survivor.

“Russian soldiers came in the middle of the night and literally took her and her family to a concentration camp in Russia. She escaped in the middle of the winter on a train in barefeet,” said Lukomski,

“”She is just the epitome of what family means to us, how nothing is too big to overcome.
She’s just an inspiration to our family, always has been,” he added.

Fundraising for this project began in March of this year with a goal of $16,000 for the basic monument- a black steel column with the Polish White Eagle symbol lazer-engraved along the back.  With a deadline of July, the call was put out for donations through a Gofundme, with donors being able to have their name and the name of a veteran acknowledged on the monument.

Nurkowski choked back emotion when discussing the overwhelming response to the fundraising campaign, raising around $35,000 in just five months. This has allowed for the monument to add a granite bases, a larger concrete pad,  the names of the veterans being commemorated on a separate display board, and provide a legacy bench that faces the monument.

“People do want to keep their parent’s memories alive, and they’re sad that they don’t have all of the information. They have very heartfelt thanks. This project has a lot of meaning to them, as we found out – I was shocked as to how gracious people were,” Nurkowski said.

The monument will be officially unveiled with a ceremony on Nov. 8 at 2:00pm at the Riverside Memorial Cemetery, 815 Assiniboine Ave East, Regina. Public is being asked to arrive at 1:30 as attendance is expected to be in the hundreds.

[Feature Photo: Bron Nurkowski Shares war memorabilia and mock-ups of Polish Veteran Monument]