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On Sunday, 29 September, a unique ceremony was held at the Old POWs Cemetery in Łambinowice, attended by His Excellency the Ambassador of the Italian Republic to Poland as the guest of honour.

The ceremony crowned the archaeological and exhumation works carried out at the necropolis as part of the scientific projects co-financed by the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, ‘Science for Society. Society for Science at the Site of National Remembrance in Łambinowice' and “Archaeology of Memory”. A team of several dozen people, led by Dr. Dawid Kobiałka, made up of historians, archaeologists, physical anthropologists, forensic physicians, also supported by volunteers, discovered the places of burial of 60 Italian soldiers who died in captivity at Lamsdorf. Their personalities were also established, owing to, among other things, POW identification tags found in many of the graves. The uncovered human remains, after previous documentation, were collected, examined by specialists and prepared for transfer to the Italian side, i.e. placed in special coffins marked with the numbers of individual graves.

The organisation of the Sunday ceremony was based on an exhumation permit formally signed by the President of the Institute of National Remembrance - issued in accordance with the wishes of the Italian side.

Together with Luca Franchetti Pardo, the Italian Ambassador to Poland, the ceremony was attended by, among others, Brigadier General Fluvio Poli, Deputy Director of the Office for the Protection of Culture and Memory of Defence from the Italian Minister of Defence; Colonel Stefano Cavaliere - Italian Defence Attaché; and Monika Kwiatosz, Honorary Consul of the Italian Republic based in Wrocław. The research team was represented by Dr. Dawid Kobiałka, its head, and Dr. Michał Pawleta, Professor from the Adam Mickiewicz University; the Museum was represented by Dr. Violetta Rezler-Wasielewska, Director of the institution, with a number of employees. Candles were lit, wreaths were laid and prayers were said (also in Italian), after which - a poignant moment of the ceremony - the flag-draped and flower-decorated coffins were handed over to the Polish soldiers for transport. The final stage of their onward journey will be the planned burial at Italian War Cemetery in Bielany, Warsaw, or, if the families of the deceased soldiers request it, they will be brought home.