Gravestone of General Anders at Polish cementary in Monte Cassino, source: Wikimedia Commons

Anders was buried in the Polish War Cemetery at Monte Cassino, among his soldiers whom he had led out of the Soviet hell. He died in London, on exactly the 26th anniversary of the battle: on 12 May 1970. He was 78 years old at the time. Anders had been deprived of Polish citizenship by the communist authorities at home since 1946 and was considered a traitor.

Meanwhile, for several post-war years, Polish society dreamt that he would “come riding on a white horse” and free them once again from Soviet captivity. In exile, he was a member of the highest state authorities, including the successor to the President of the Republic of Poland in Exile from 1950 to 1954, and later a member of the opposition “shadow cabinet”, the so-called Council of Three. His good name was not restored at home until 1989, after the collapse of communist rule.