It's a paradox, but how widely known this legendary man is in Poland, how little is known about him in Ukraine, although his life and even death are closely connected with our country. Who is he, Mariusz Zaruski, a man honored by the Polish people? What connects it with our city? We will definitely tell you now
Kherson played a sad role in the fate of the Polish hero. In March 1940, Zarusky, along with other prisoners, was transferred from Lviv to Kherson. In cattle cars, past Kyiv and Kharkov, they were transported to the south, to the Kherson prison No. 2 of the NKVD, located at the Perekopskaya street.
Ludwig Kondratovich, who was staying at the prison with the general in Lvov and Kherson, later recalled this "journey" that the old man Zarusky, who was over 70, endured all the hardships surprisingly well and was an example for his comrades. On the way in Lvov, and later in Kherson, he talked about the mountains and the "Tatra Voluntary Rescue Service", about the sea, about famous Poles with whom he had a chance to meet in life.
In Kherson, Zarusky fell ill with dysentery. On April 8, 1941, at 9.55 pm, at the age of 74, prisoner Mariusz Zaruski died in the prison hospital. The author of the biography of Zarusky, published in London, claims that the commandant of the Kherson prison rendered the general a "special favor" by allowing his body to be buried in a wooden coffin. So, not far from his beloved Odessa, from where his sea voyages began, Mariusz Zarusky finished his earthly journey. By the decision of the Lviv Regional Prosecutor's Office of June 21, 1989, he was rehabilitated.
In the second half of the 90s, there were two visits to Kherson by the Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Ukraine Andrzej Bagdziun, who were looking for the general's grave. With the help of local ethnographers it was possible to identify the places where the prisoners of the Kherson prison were buried in the old city cemetery. In 1997, an urn with ash from these unmarked graves, the alleged burial place of the general, was brought to Poland. In 2000, at the initiative of the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Odessa and the Kherson regional Polish society "Polonia", a monument to the national hero of Poland, General Mariusz Zaruski was unveiled at the place of his burial in the city cemetery on the Molodyozhnaya street.
In April 2011, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the death of Mariusz Zaruski, a large delegation from Poland arrived in Kherson - about 200 people - consisting of representatives of the authorities, politicians, public figures, clergy, sailors, athletes, students of Polish schools, who are named after General Zarusky. The head of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland Jacek Michalowski presented the city administration on behalf of the President of Poland Bronislaw Komarowski with a challenge cup for the winner of the international regatta, which bears the name of Mariusz Zaruski and is traditionally held on the City Day. Polish yachtsmen are regular participants in the regatta.
General Mariusz Zaruski is an outstanding and at the same time controversial historical figure, a national Polish hero, whose life and death united Ukraine and Poland. May the memory of Mariusz Zarusk continue to serve to strengthen friendly ties between the Ukrainian and Polish peoples.
