President Komorowski gives thanks to Warsaw Rising insurgents

President Komorowski with veteran Helena Wołłowicz; photo - PAP Bartłomiej Zborowski

Bronislaw Komorowski was at the Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw as part of a day of ceremonies and events to mark the uprising, which was eventually crushed by the Nazis.

Later, President Komorowski led a ceremony at the Warsaw Rising monument outside the parliament building in honour of those fallen 67 years ago.

President Komorowski told the dignitaries and veterans that Poland's wartime underground state could be an example for his countrymen today.

Komorowski declared that theclandestine state, which included underground courts, universities, theatres and publishing houses, “was a phenomenon then, and today it can also be a source of pride and an important point of reference for contemporary Poles in thinking about their country.”

Komorowski alluded to the parallels between the wartime generation and his own, in their desire for “the reconstruction of the Polish state".

“So today, here in this place, where the monument to the Polish underground state stands... the Polish president bows his head low, not only before those who created this state, but also before those who fought for this country, and to those who are able to respect the Polish state,” the head of state said. (pg/nh)