Monument to Brotherhood in Arms

Monument to Brotherhood in Arms, Warsaw, 2010

The Monument to Brotherhood in Arms (Polish: Pomnik Braterstwa Broni) was erected in Vilnius Square in Warsaw's Praga district, in 1945, to commemorate the joint struggle of Polish and Soviet soldiers against Nazi Germany. In 2011, it was temporarily taken down during the construction of an underground railway station and sent to restorers. However, when it was about to be reinstalled Praga residents objected, as they perceived the monument as a remnant of the Communist era. In a survey carried out by Gazeta Wyborcza in 2012 the majority of residents said they would like the monument to be placed somewhere else. Finally, in 2015, the Warsaw city council overturned its earlier decision and made the removal permanent.

The monument was colloquially known as "the four sleepers or "the four mourners" (pomnik „czterech śpiących”, „czterech smutnych”), in reference to the figures of two Polish and two Soviet soldiers with bowed heads at the four corners of the monument.