The victims of December 1970 are eighteen young Poles, the oldest of whom was 34 years old, and six of them are teenage students. Looking at the immensity and cruelty of this crime, we ask ourselves how it could have been allowed to happen. How could the army be allowed to shoot at unprotected citizens, wrote President Andrzej Duda in a letter to the participants of the Friday morning celebrations in Gdynia on the 51st anniversary of December 1970.
“We must never forget those who died and were subjected to repressions because they stood up for dignity, freedom and justice,” wrote President Andrzej Duda in a letter to the participants of the Friday morning celebrations in Gdynia on the 51st anniversary of December ’70.
The letter during the ceremony at the Monument to the Victims of December ’70 in Gdynia was read by Paweł Szrot, the head of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland.
“Today we are standing in a place where a tragedy took place 51 years ago. On that day in December 1970 at 6:00 am the sound of gunshots pierced the air. In retaliation for the protests of shipyard workers and Tricity residents, the military opened fire on workers who responded to the authorities’ call to return to work. Innocent people were killed who tragically were targeted by the communist regime,” wrote the President.
He stressed that “today we are looking at their names and surnames engraved on the black plate of the Monument to the Victims of December 1970”.