It was on the Westerplatte peninsula that the opening shots of World War II were fired, with a small detachment of Polish soldiers in what was then the Nazi-occupied Free City of Gdansk/Danzig attempting to withhold a siege from Nazi Germany.
“It must resound loudly from here that Poles were not a nation of perpetrators, but the first to fall victim,” the prime minister stated.
Kopacz noted that during World War II “we lost six million citizens, and every city, town and village flowed with families' blood.
The prime minister argued that Poland was “left alone” in September 1939, “in spite of declarations and signed treaties,” with Great Britain and France.
“Today the situation is different,” she said.
“We are an important part of the European Union and a very important partner in the North Atlantic Treaty.”
Kopacz's speech also included what appeared to be a swipe at Poland's newly elected president.
While in Berlin last week, Duda apparently told his German counterpart President Joachim Gauck that Poland is no longer “a just country” towards many of its citizens.
Kopacz said that “one cannot, in the name of internal political games, insult one's country, and reduce its credibility.”
Commemorations at Gdańsk's Westerplatte monunment. Photo: PAP/Piotr Wittman
Duda: 'No eternal Polish enemies'
Following the prime minister's speech, President Andrzej Duda took the rostrum.
Duda noted that the second invasion on 17 September 1939 by the Soviet Union was also “a tragedy" for other nations in Eastern Europe.
“The victory of May 1945 did not mean an end of the occupation for Poland, only the beginning of [another] one,” he said, referring to the installation of a Moscow-backed communist regime.
“It needs to be acknowledged that Poland has no eternal enemies,” he reflected.
“Look at our relations with Germany, which are friendly relations.
“I believe that we can build this with everybody, especially with our neighbours,” he said.
He then made his most direct allusion to the Ukrainian crisis and Russia's annexation of Crimea and support of separatists in eastern Ukraine.
“Order must, however, be built on a firm stance.
“One cannot allow for borders to be violated, one cannot allow for violations of the sovereignty of states.”
Of the approximately 6 million Polish citizens who perished during World War II, about half were Jewish. Poland lost about 70 percent of its cultural heritage, and much of the country, including the capital of Warsaw was reduced to ruins. (nh/rk)
Source: PAP/TVN