The act of surrender of Modlin Fortress, captured by Germans during WW II, has been found in a beer bottle buried in Poland almost 70 years ago.

The bottle was buried by 13-year-old Antoni Kilijanka in the southern village of Kurozweki in 1939. The boy received the document, which he placed in the bottle, from one of the defendants of Modlin Fortress.

After almost 70 years, Edward Sputowski, teacher from the central city of Radom, informed the Polish Army Museum about the document. The museum’s employees contacted Antoni Kilijanka and together they managed to find the bottle and pull out a letter.

“The document is in a very bad condition, which is why it impossible for the moment to read it. The bottle in which the document was stored was not closed tightly and moisture damaged it,” said Joanna Wazynska, conservator from the National Library, where the letter will be analyzed.

Modlin Fortress is one of the biggest 19th century fortresses in Poland. It is located near the village of Modlin, about 30 kilometres north of Warsaw.

In September 1939, during the German invasion of Poland, the fortress was the place of the Battle of Modlin, one of the last Polish units to surrender to the Nazis after they invaded on September 1, 70 years ago. (mg)