The Red Poppies on Monte Cassino - Revision history

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	On 18 May 1944, the day following the song's composition, the Poles stormed and captured the precincts of the Monte Cassino [[monastery]]. Later that day, the song was first performed at General Anders' headquarters to celebrate the Polish victory.<ref name="wolnaeuropa"/> ''The Red Poppies on Monte Cassino'' won popularity with the troops and was soon published by a Polish-American newspaper in [[New York (state)\|New York]]. It was later published in Poland.<ref name="szczecin"/> It was banned, however, during the [[Stalinist]] period in the [[People's Republic of Poland]], when the government sought to minimize memory of the wartime [[Polish Armed Forces in the West]].<ref name="google"/>		On 18 May 1944, the day following the song's composition, the Poles stormed and captured the precincts of the Monte Cassino [[monastery]]. Later that day, the song was first performed at General Anders' headquarters to celebrate the Polish victory.<ref name="wolnaeuropa"/> ''The Red Poppies on Monte Cassino'' won popularity with the troops and was soon published by a Polish-American newspaper in [[New York (state)\|New York]]. It was later published in Poland.<ref name="szczecin"/> It was banned, however, during the [[Stalinist]] period in the [[People's Republic of Poland]], when the government sought to minimize memory of the wartime [[Polish Armed Forces in the West]].<ref name="google"/>
	It is featured, however, in [[Andrzej Wajda]]'s film ''[[Ashes and Diamonds]]'', made in 1958, after the death of [[Joseph Stalin\|Stalin]].		It is featured, however, in [[Andrzej Wajda]]'s film ''[[Ashes and Diamonds (film)\|Ashes and Diamonds]]'', made in 1958, after the death of [[Joseph Stalin\|Stalin]].

	==Copyright==		==Copyright==
	Schütz moved to [[Munich]] in 1961 and died there in 1999. After death of his wife, as they had no heir, under German law the state of [[Bavaria]] acquired copyright, and [[Royalty payment\|royalties]] for commercial use of the "Red Poppies" melody were paid to it through [[GEMA (German organization)\|GEMA]], the German organization of collective management of [[copyright]].<ref name=royal/>		Schütz moved to [[Munich]] in 1961 and died there in 1999. After the death of his wife, as they had no heir, under German law the state of [[Bavaria]] acquired copyright, and [[Royalty payment\|royalties]] for commercial use of the "Red Poppies" melody were paid to it through [[GEMA (German organization)\|GEMA]], the German organization of collective management of [[copyright]].<ref name=royal/>
	In 2014 the Polish Song Library together with Polish lawyer Bogusław Wieczorek took action to retrieve the copyright and received a formal reply from Bavarian authorities of willingness to pass the copyright to the Polish state. In 2015 a further attempt was made by the Polish Consulate General in Munich and on 15 September 2015 Bavaria renounced all rights to the song and melody, which were transferred to Poland.<ref name="copyright"/>		In 2014 the Polish Song Library together with Polish lawyer Bogusław Wieczorek took action to retrieve the copyright and received a formal reply from Bavarian authorities of willingness to pass the copyright to the Polish state. In 2015 a further attempt was made by the Polish Consulate General in Munich and on 15 September 2015 Bavaria renounced all rights to the song and melody, which were transferred to Poland.<ref name="copyright"/>

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	==References==		==References==
	{{refbegin}}		{{refbegin}}
	~~{{reflist\|refs=~~		<references>

	<ref name="bd">{{cite book\|author=Brian Murdoch\|title=Fighting Songs and Warring Words: Popular Lyrics of Two World Wars\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VBEefbYlKmIC&pg=PA195\|accessdate=20 May 2012\|date=24 May 1990\|publisher=Psychology Press\|isbn=978-0-415-03184-4\|page=195}}</ref>		<ref name="bd">{{cite book\|author=Brian Murdoch\|title=Fighting Songs and Warring Words: Popular Lyrics of Two World Wars\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VBEefbYlKmIC&pg=PA195\|accessdate=20 May 2012\|date=24 May 1990\|publisher=Psychology Press\|isbn=978-0-415-03184-4\|page=195}}</ref>
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	<ref name="copyright">Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Poland, [http://www.msz.gov.pl/en/news/copyright_on__the_red_poppies_on_monte_cassino__transferred_to_poland Copyright on ''The Red Poppies on Monte Cassino'' transferred to Poland], [2015-09-14].</ref>		<ref name="copyright">Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Poland, [http://www.msz.gov.pl/en/news/copyright_on__the_red_poppies_on_monte_cassino__transferred_to_poland Copyright on ''The Red Poppies on Monte Cassino'' transferred to Poland], [2015-09-14].</ref>
	}}
			</references>
	{{refend}}		{{refend}}

	==External links==		==External links==
	* [http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~antora/WIERSZE/CASSINO/MAKI-NUTY.htm Text (Polish) and music]		* [https://archive.today/20030416024809/http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~antora/WIERSZE/CASSINO/MAKI-NUTY.htm Text (Polish) and music]
	*[~~http~~://prokonsul.blogspot.com/2012/05/red-poppies-on-monte-cassino.html Lyrics (Polish and English)]		*[https://prokonsul.blogspot.com/2012/05/red-poppies-on-monte-cassino.html Lyrics (Polish and English)]
	* {{YouTube\|eAfizXfIXWo\|Film}} showing the [[Polish 2nd Corps]] at Monte Cassino, with ''Czerwone maki na Monte Cassino'' played in the background.		* {{YouTube\|eAfizXfIXWo\|Film}} showing the [[Polish 2nd Corps]] at Monte Cassino, with ''Czerwone maki na Monte Cassino'' played in the background.

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{{short description|Polish military song of WWII}}
[[File:Red Poppies of Monte performed in Italy 1944.jpg|thumb|300px|Men of the Third Carpathian Rifle Division hear ''The Red Poppies'' performed by [[:pl:Alfred Schütz (kompozytor)|Alfred Schütz]]'s orchestra, May 1944.]]
'''''Czerwone maki na Monte Cassino''''' ('''The Red Poppies on Monte Cassino''') is one of the best-known [[Poland|Polish]] [[military songs]] of [[World War II]].<ref name="bd"/> It was composed in May 1944 in [[Italy]], during the [[Battle of Monte Cassino]], on the eve of the [[Polish Army]]'s capture of the [[Germany|German]] stronghold.

==History==
In early 1944 a German stronghold, dug in at the ancient [[Benedictine]] [[monastery]] atop [[Monte Cassino]], had blocked the [[Allies in World War II|Allies]]' advance toward [[Rome]]. The forces of several Allied countries had attempted since mid-January [[battle of Monte Cassino|to capture the German fortress]]. For a fourth major assault, which began on 11 May 1944, Polish troops were rotated in.<ref name="Ford2004"/>

The song's melody was composed during the night of 17–18 May 1944 by {{ill|Alfred Schütz (composer)|lt=Alfred Schütz|pl|Alfred Schütz (kompozytor)}}, a composer, actor and member of the Polish Soldiers' Theater garrisoned at [[Campobasso]] in the shadow of Monte Cassino.<ref name="okul"/> Two opening [[stanza]]s were written at that time by [[Feliks Konarski]] ("''Ref-ren''" — "Refrain"), a poet and songwriter and soldier of the [[Polish II Corps]] commanded by Major General [[Władysław Anders]].<ref name=okul/> The third stanza was written a few days later.<ref name=okul/>

The third verse, Konarski wrote several hours later. In his memoirs, he wrote:

"For the first time singing Red poppies on Monte Cassino, we all cried. Soldiers cried with us. [[Papaver rhoeas|Red poppies]], which bloomed over night, became one more symbol of bravery and sacrifice - a tribute of alive ones, whom for love of freedom died for freedom of people."

The fourth and final stanza was written a quarter-century later, in 1969, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the battle.<ref name="four"/> That final stanza is the least known and is sometimes omitted.<ref name=four/>

On 18 May 1944, the day following the song's composition, the Poles stormed and captured the precincts of the Monte Cassino [[monastery]]. Later that day, the song was first performed at General Anders' headquarters to celebrate the Polish victory.<ref name="wolnaeuropa"/> ''The Red Poppies on Monte Cassino'' won popularity with the troops and was soon published by a Polish-American newspaper in [[New York (state)|New York]]. It was later published in Poland.<ref name="szczecin"/> It was banned, however, during the [[Stalinist]] period in the [[People's Republic of Poland]], when the government sought to minimize memory of the wartime [[Polish Armed Forces in the West]].<ref name="google"/>
It is featured, however, in [[Andrzej Wajda]]'s film ''[[Ashes and Diamonds]]'', made in 1958, after the death of [[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]].

==Copyright==
Schütz moved to [[Munich]] in 1961 and died there in 1999. After death of his wife, as they had no heir, under German law the state of [[Bavaria]] acquired copyright, and [[Royalty payment|royalties]] for commercial use of the "Red Poppies" melody were paid to it through [[GEMA (German organization)|GEMA]], the German organization of collective management of [[copyright]].<ref name=royal/>
In 2014 the Polish Song Library together with Polish lawyer Bogusław Wieczorek took action to retrieve the copyright and received a formal reply from Bavarian authorities of willingness to pass the copyright to the Polish state. In 2015 a further attempt was made by the Polish Consulate General in Munich and on 15 September 2015 Bavaria renounced all rights to the song and melody, which were transferred to Poland.<ref name="copyright"/>

==See also==
* [[Monte Cassino Commemorative Cross]]
* [[Polish cemetery at Monte Cassino|Polish Military Cemetery at Monte Cassino]]
* [[Polish Cemetery at Casamassima|Polish Military Cemetery at Casamassima]]
* "[[In Flanders Fields]]"
* ''[[Papaver rhoeas]]''
* [[Remembrance poppy]]

==References==
{{refbegin}}
{{reflist|refs=

<ref name="bd">{{cite book|author=Brian Murdoch|title=Fighting Songs and Warring Words: Popular Lyrics of Two World Wars|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VBEefbYlKmIC&pg=PA195|accessdate=20 May 2012|date=24 May 1990|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-415-03184-4|page=195}}</ref>

<ref name="Ford2004">{{cite book|author=Ken Ford|title=Cassino 1944: Breaking the Gustav Line|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MymRm_dfqgkC&pg=PA84|accessdate=18 May 2012|date=27 April 2004|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1-84176-623-2|page=84}}</ref>

<ref name="four">{{in lang|pl}} Jerzy Trzesicki, [http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~antora/WIERSZE/CASSINO/TEXT_JT.HTM Cassino-tekst]</ref>

<ref name="google">{{cite book|author=Jeffrey C. Goldfarb|title=Beyond Glasnost: The Post-Totalitarian Mind|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7aHEDQ0HbyIC&pg=PA63|accessdate=20 May 2012|date=15 April 1992|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-30098-6|page=63}}</ref>

<ref name="okul">{{in lang|pl}} Bogdan Okulski, description of the song in the ''Wojenko, wojenko'' album, 1995.</ref>

<ref name="szczecin">{{in lang|pl}} [http://www.lo9.szczecin.pl/szkola/o_szkole/hymn.html Monografia "Czerwonych maków" - hymnu IX LO w Szczecinie] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021026152951/http://www.lo9.szczecin.pl/szkola/o_szkole/hymn.html |date=2002-10-26 }}</ref>

<ref name="wolnaeuropa">{{in lang|pl}} Bogdan Żurek, [http://www.wolnaeuropa.pl/archiwum_21.html Czerwone maki], Radio Wolna Europa.</ref>

<ref name="royal">Bogusław Wieczorek, [http://www.boguslawwieczorek.pl/2014/12/royalties-for-playing-unofficial-national-anthem-of-poland-go-to-germany/ Royalties for playing unofficial national anthem of Poland go to Germany], Własność intelektualna w praktyce [2020-11-18].</ref>

<ref name="copyright">Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Poland, [http://www.msz.gov.pl/en/news/copyright_on__the_red_poppies_on_monte_cassino__transferred_to_poland Copyright on ''The Red Poppies on Monte Cassino'' transferred to Poland], [2015-09-14].</ref>
}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~antora/WIERSZE/CASSINO/MAKI-NUTY.htm Text (Polish) and music]
*[http://prokonsul.blogspot.com/2012/05/red-poppies-on-monte-cassino.html Lyrics (Polish and English)]
* {{YouTube|eAfizXfIXWo|Film}} showing the [[Polish 2nd Corps]] at Monte Cassino, with ''Czerwone maki na Monte Cassino'' played in the background.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Red Poppies On Monte Cassino}}
[[Category:1944 songs]]
[[Category:Polish patriotic songs]]
[[Category:Songs of World War II]]
[[Category:Songs about Italy]]
[[Category:Battle of Monte Cassino]]
[[Category:Poppies]]