![]() ![]() If the Germans wanted more people to visit the monument, they would have moved it closer to the highway between Wielbark (Willenburg) and Nidzica (Neidenberg) which is not very far from the monument. An argument can be made that any location this remote had to be near the actual suicide spot. There are good arguments both for and against the location. Specifically, whether the monument stood in the same place where Samsonov shot himself. The question that will always be in my mind, is one that will never be completely resolved. The lack of a rational configuration was perplexing.ĭigging down – One of the depressions close to the Samsonov Monument Oddly, each of the three depressions was widely separated from another. We surmised that it might have been a place of burial. The last time earth had been excavated from it was a long time ago. One of the depressions had a tree growing out of it. We noticed three large depressions where the earth had been excavated long ago. ![]() After a few minutes studying the monument, me and my travel companion began to look in the area around it. The monument was not known as a place for pilgrimages. To think that a monument marking the most memorable event of what some scholars consider the only truly decisive battle of World War I has few visitors and very little controversy is surprising. The monument would not have been out of place in a forest reserve, perhaps marking an important event such as a boundary survey. I found it disconcerting just how normal everything seemed. The lone photo of Samsonov at the location came courtesy of a signboard. The pyramid shaped structure made of natural stone looked like it belonged here. The monument’s relative remoteness must have discouraged acts of vandalism or use as a hang out for youths imbibing alcohol. There was nothing ominous about the monument or the immediate area, no trash or debris to be found. Tree branches and their blooming leaves filtered the light. Nature was apparent everywhere except for the road which fronted the monument. The forest was fragrant with the smell of spring. Keeper of the Flame – Tablet in Polish at the Samsonov Monument One might think that any place associated with a suicide would be creepy or sinister, perhaps both. Now the question suddenly became, “What next?” After scrutinizing the monument, noting its condition, the cemetery candles sitting at its base, and the shiny plaque affixed to the front, it was time to soak in the atmosphere surrounding the monument. ![]() A long-awaited goal had finally been achieved. This had more to do with the experience, rather than the place. Arriving at the Samsonov Monument felt anti-climactic. ![]()
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