On 18 January 2016, Jan Stanisław Ciechanowski, the Head of the Office for War Veterans and Victims of Oppression, participated in a formal meeting inaugurating preparations for events to mark the 75^th anniversary of over 120,000 Poles – both soldiers of the Army of General Anders who were evacuated from the Soviet Union and civilians – being given refuge by Iran. The approaching anniversary will be a continuation of the celebrations which were inaugurated in 2012 in Iran, and were the occasion for Poles to express their thanks to the Iranian nation for the humanitarian help it extended to our compatriots.

We thank you for the exceptionally warm hospitality extended to our Siberian deportees, our heroes, who are visiting Iran to return to the places where they found hospitality – Iranian hospitality - over 70 years ago. We remain mindful of the exceptional Iranian hospitality that Polish refugees had once tasted, and which we were able to experience for ourselves in the course of our current visit to your beautiful country. It is exceptionally important that after so many years following that great humanitarian act which was the help extended by Iranians to Poles, the ties that were formed then, remain as strong as ever. At the same time, we are grateful to our venerable Siberian deportees, because thanks to them, the memory of those events is kept alive. Thanks to you we can build bridges which no one can demolish.” Jan Stanisław Ciechanowski, the Head of the Office for War Veterans and Victims of Oppression said.

Delegates from the Islamic Republic of Iran under the leadership of  Mohammada Mahdi Moravejosharieha – Deputy Governor of the Province of Khorasan, His Excellency Ramin Mehmanparast - the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Poland, and survivors who as children got out of the USSR with the Army of General Anders and found hospitality in Iran, were among the participants of the meeting organised by the Office.

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