November 11, 1918, was a great holiday, the result of the efforts of many generations. The independence that came then was, on one hand, a source of great joy, and on the other, a tremendous responsibility. Poland had to fight for its borders and withstand the pressure of the Bolsheviks from the East, said President of the Republic of Poland Karol Nawrocki during the ceremony marking the 107th anniversary of Poland’s regaining independence.
Ceremonies marking the 107th anniversary of regaining independence
At noon, the central celebrations of the National Independence Day began in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw, attended by, among others, President Karol Nawrocki and his wife Marta Nawrocka, Marshal of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia, and Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. Among those present were also Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski, Mayor of Warsaw Rafał Trzaskowski, Head of the National Security Bureau (BBN) Sławomir Cenckiewicz, First President of the Supreme Court (SN) Małgorzata Manowska, and President of the Constitutional Tribunal Bogdan Święczkowski.
The ceremony began with the formal changing of the guard. The report to President Karol Nawrocki, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland, was submitted by the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army, General Wiesław Kukuła.
At the beginning of the ceremony, the President addressed the uniformed services with the words: “Greetings, soldiers and officers!”
General nominations for officers of the army, fire service, and police
During the ceremony, President Karol Nawrocki presented general nominations to eleven officers of the Polish Army, one Police officer, one Border Guard officer, and one officer of the State Fire Service (PSP).
Promoted to the rank of Division General of the Polish Army were: Commander of the 8th Home Army Infantry Division Krzysztof Knut, Head of the Armament Agency (AU) Artur Kuptel, Advisor-Coordinator in the Office of the Minister of National Defence Michał Przemysław Sprengel, as well as Commander of the Territorial Defence Forces (WOT) Krzysztof Zdzisław Stańczyk, and Commander of the Air Operations Centre – Air Component Commander Grzegorz Stanisław Ślusarz.
Promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral of the Polish Army was Deputy Operational Commander of the Armed Forces Piotr Nieć.
Promoted to the rank of Brigadier General were: Commander of the 1st Podlasie Territorial Defence Brigade Mieczysław Gurgielewicz, Deputy Head of the Military Engineering Directorate of the General Command of the Armed Forces Mariusz Sebastian Ochalski, Head of the Material Planning Directorate – P8 Jarosław Rybak, Deputy Commander of the Territorial Defence Forces (WOT) Marcin Przemysław Siudziński, and Head of the Helicopter Aviation Directorate – Deputy Inspector of the Air Force of the General Command of the Armed Forces Krzysztof Paweł Zwoliński.
Promoted to the rank of Police Inspector General was the Provincial Police Commander in Kraków, Artur Bednarek. Promoted to the rank of Brigadier General of the Border Guard was the Commander of the Warmian-Masurian Border Guard Unit Daniel Wojtaszkiewicz. Promoted to the rank of Brigadier General of the State Fire Service (PSP) was the Pomeranian Provincial Commander of the State Fire Service Jacek Niewęgłowski.
“It took only one century for the Republic to fall”
During the ceremony, the President delivered a speech.
“Fellow citizens, soldiers, officers, generals, esteemed Marshal, Prime Minister, Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army. Thirty generations built the beautiful, magnificent Republic before it fell under the pressure of three partitioning powers. Thirty generations created the great work called the Republic – from Mieszko I, through the coronation of Bolesław the Brave, through Piast kings and renewers, to the great, powerful, beautiful, but open First Republic, which was a European and global power. It took only one century for the Republic to fall under the strength and pressure of the three invaders. After those thirty generations that built the Republic came more generations – five generations of Poles ready to fight for what mattered most. Five generations of Poles ready for uprisings and insurrections. Five generations of Poles ready to work hard for the common home that was to become the reborn Republic,” he said.
He reminded that “Maurycy Mochnacki wrote that what matters most is the recognition of one’s own being – those generations fighting for independence began with their being, their identity, their national values, and that is why they were able to fight and to work.”
“They knew what the Republic was, what values it carried, and how important Christian values, culture, and national heritage were to it. That gave meaning to the struggle for Polish independence. That independence came because we had the great fathers of independence. Though they were so different – from Piłsudski, Dmowski, Witos, Korfanty, and Daszyński to Paderewski – yes, they were different. They represented various social groups, but they wanted a shared independence and did not disappoint those five generations who worked for our common independence, our shared home. Hence the beauty of November 11, 1918,” he declared.
The President noted that November 11, 1918, was “a great holiday, built by the efforts of so many generations.”
“The independence that came then was, on one hand, a source of great joy, and on the other, a tremendous responsibility. Poland had to fight for its borders and withstand the pressure of the Bolsheviks from the East. It was possible because, in the Polish soldier and Polish peasant, there remained what Maurycy Mochnacki called being – the attachment to national values. The internationalists could not convince the Polish peasant that national identity did not matter. The peasant was ready to die for what was Polish. We managed to defend that independence,” he declared.
National Independence Day
November 11 is celebrated in Poland as National Independence Day to commemorate the transfer of the supreme command of the Polish armed forces by the Regency Council to Józef Piłsudski on that day in 1918. The holiday was established by the Sejm (the Polish Parliament) in 1937. It was abolished in 1945 and was not officially celebrated throughout the communist era. It was reinstated in 1989 by law, and since then, National Independence Day on November 11 has been a public holiday.