Today we celebrate the 86th anniversary of the outbreak of planet War II – the largest cataclysm in the past of Europe and the world. Traditionally, the celebrations began at dawn, at 4:45 p.m., in front of the Coast Defenders Memorial on Westerplatte – precisely where the first shots of war were fired.
The celebration was attended by president Karol Nawrocki, Prime Minister Donald Tusk, talker of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia and Head of the MON Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. There were besides scouts, soldiers of the Polish Army, combatants, clergymen and inhabitants of the Tricity.
According to tradition, the beginning of the ceremony was announced by the alarm sirens. Together, the anthem was sung, and the Generations – lit by the youth relay – symbolically linked the past with the present. The Memorial Appeal was read, 12 cannon volleys were given, and the scouts ZHR and the ZHP read "Westerplatte Message". The full finished laying a wreath from the Nation at the ft of the monument.
At the centre of this year's celebrations was the speech of president Karol Nawrocki, who not only reminded of the tragic realities of war, but courageously outlined the continuity of historical ideas that led to its explosion. His speech was strong, direct and full of facts and details. At first, the words were:
"This evil word of the German spoken towards another nations, towards the Polish people, led to this war. Word spoken and recorded on the pages of subsequent books and philosophical tracts of the second half of the 19th century.”
The president pointed to the intellectual roots of totalitarianism, which developed in German philosophical thought even before planet War I:
“First, these large theorists created a planet without God, a planet in which God was to die, and since there is no God, man must become God, decide who can live and who cannot live.”
This diagnosis, although acute, is both accurate and balanced. It shows that fascism and Nazism did not come out of nowhere, but were the consequence of a thoughtful and lasting ideological evolution.
The president continued:
“In this planet they created for themselves, a planet without God, they created further theories and philosophers. In the late 19th century, an full body of meanings, theoretical mechanisms, was created to build German national socialism. Anti-Polish, anti-Slavic, anti-Semitic theories, chauvinism, contempt, Nazism were born.”
This was not only an analysis of the past, but a clear indication that ideology of hatred has its sources in contempt and an intellectual justification for violence.
The president besides recalled the way Germany perceived Poland and Poles at the end of the 19th century:
"Poland in German dictionaries has become something worse that can be despised. According to the Germans, Poles did not deserve to be treated as civilized peoples. In the late 19th century, Polish patriotism was to be a threat to the German state, and religion was to be aimed at the interests of the German state."
This reminder not only restores historical truth, but besides strengthens national identity based on facts, not myths.
One of the strongest passages of the speech was the uncompromising assessment of Adolf Hitler's function in German history:
"There must be no cognition or good will to not see that the 3rd German Reich could have risen without Austrian Hitler. These are not my words, these are the words of Polish professors, including 1 who was surely not happy to become president of Poland. But this fact, ladies and gentlemen, that Adolf Hitler was not an accident, was not an accident, it was a consequence of the word repeated by the Germans towards Poles and another nations.”
A strong message in which the president does not avoid controversy, but does so in the name of historical integrity.
The president then recalled the brutal beginning of the war:
“Then came on 1 September 1939 and the attack from water, from land, from the air to the Polish enclave in the German-dominated Free City of Gdańsk, to the Military Transit Composition, here on Westerplatte.”
He described the heroism of Polish soldiers, especially the first victim – Konstanty Jezierski:
"Westerplatte defended over 200 Polish soldiers who resisted 4,000 German soldiers. Among the 15 dead in defence of their homeland was Konstanty Jezierski – the first Polish soldier to lose his life on the front of planet War II.”
The president besides commended those who contributed to the discovery of the graves of heroes:
"Our heroes, whom we officially mentioned here all year, were not found until 80 years after the outbreak of planet War II. Thanks to stubbornness, thanks to the religion of these archaeologists I have just decorated.”
It's earned praise for the work of scientists and proof that the memory of Westerplatte's defenders is not an empty ritual.
An crucial part of the speech was a reflection on the present and future:
"We face large challenges in the face of the resurgent neo-imperialism of the post-Soviet Russian Federation. We have the task of building the European Union and NATO. We carry out these tasks together with our trade partner and neighbour – Germany, the perpetrators of planet War II, who led to her explosion.”
The president clearly shows that past has its effects today, and honesty in global relations must not ignore responsibility.
The culmination of the speech was a firm appeal for historical justice:
"In order to be able to build on the foundations of fact and good relations, a partnership with our western neighbour must yet settle the issue of reparation from the German state, which I, as president, explicitly request for the common good. For our future. Reparations will not be an alternate to historical amnesia, but Poland as a front-end state, the most crucial state of the east flank of NATO, needs justice, fact and a clear relation with Germany, but besides needs a reparation from the German state."
The speech besides referred to the words of Pope John Paul II in 1987, which were said on Westerplatte:
“We request to find people who know the communicative well adequate and realize it that they can fight for it.”
It is simply a quote that closes the speech with a buckle of hope and responsibility. Charles Nawrocki's words sounded strong and dignified. They were an expression of not only respect for history, but besides civilian courage and determination to prosecute the truth. At a time erstwhile memory is relativized, specified voices are needed more than ever.
