“Maurycy Mochnacki was a man of visions, he did not seek honours, he did not strive for titles, and he did not fight for power,” wrote President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda in a letter to the participants of the funeral ceremony of the co-founder of “Gazeta Polska” Maurycy Mochnacki. He stressed that his message that our greatest weapon is unity must not be forgotten.
Maurycy Mochnacki (1803-1834) is considered to be one of the most prolific political publicists of the partition period. He was known for his radicalism and his uncompromising diagnosis of the causes of Poland’s political defeats. He studied at the University of Warsaw, from where he was expelled in 1823 by order of Prince Konstanty for belonging to the Union of Free Poles. He took part in Piotr Wysocki’s conspiracy. He took part in the November Uprising. He was seriously wounded in the Battle of Ostrołęka on 26 May 1831. He was a co-founder of “Gazeta Polska”. He then emigrated to France and died on 20 December 1834 in Auxerre and was buried in the local cemetery.
The coffin with Mochnacki’s remains was brought by a CASA military plane from France. On the apron of the Military Airport Warsaw – Okęcie a ceremony was held to receive the remains with honours accompanied by the military.
Afterwards, a funeral mass for Maurycy Mochnacki was held at the Field Cathedral of the Polish Army in Warsaw.
“Maurycy Mochnacki was a man of visions, he did not seek honours, titles or power,” President Duda said in a letter to the participants of the Warsaw ceremony, which was read out on Saturday by the Head of the President’s Office, Paweł Szrot.
As Duda pointed out in his letter, everything Mochnacki had done, had been subordinated to one goal – “the rebirth of the independent Republic of Poland”.
“He was searching earnestly for answers to the most important questions – how to revive Poland’s independent existence” – he pointed out.