“The insurgents went into battle knowing that death awaited them. They fought with Poland in their hearts, wearing white-and-red armbands on their arms. Proud and brave, they did not question the meaning of this heroic uprising,” reads a post by Karol Nawrocki, the president-elect, marking the 81st anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising.
On August 1, 1944, at 5:00 PM, by order of the Home Army command, the uprising began in Warsaw. For 63 days, a heroic and solitary struggle against the Germans unfolded. The goal was a fully independent Poland, free from both German occupation and Soviet domination. Around 50,000 insurgents took part in the fight, but only a quarter of them were armed.
On the 81st anniversary of the uprising, various commemorative events are being held throughout Poland. Many of them are organised locally by “Gazeta Polska” clubs. Forms of remembrance are being undertaken by club members in cities such as Wejherowo, Kędzierzyn-Koźle, Bydgoszcz, Gdynia, and Wrocław. Of course, the largest ceremonies are taking place in the capital.
The most prominent public event of the day, however, is the Warsaw Uprising March. The commemoration begins at 5:00 PM at Roman Dmowski Roundabout. Images from this location are broadcast around the world every year. This year, however, the authorities have, as usual, made efforts to obstruct the organisers.
Nawrocki: They Knew Death Awaited Them
On the occasion of the 81st anniversary of the Uprising’s outbreak, Karol Nawrocki, head of the Institute of National Remembrance and president-elect, published a post on social media. His message is dedicated to the heroes who rose to fight for a free Poland.
“The Warsaw Uprising was a heroic act by Poles who showed the world that within German- and Soviet-occupied Poland, the Polish Underground State and the Home Army, the legitimate Polish Armed Forces loyal to the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile, were active. Warsaw was meant to be liberated by Poles before the Red Army arrived. It was about agency, sovereignty, the right to decide one’s own fate,”
wrote Karol Nawrocki.
Further in the post, he states: “It was not only a fight against the German occupier. It was also a clear voice of protest against Moscow’s plans, against the imposed change of borders and the subjugation of Poland to the Soviet sphere of influence. The Uprising showed that Poles did not accept such a scenario.”
Responding to the often-raised public question of whether it was worth starting the Uprising, Nawrocki writes: “The insurgents went into battle knowing that death awaited them. They fought with Poland in their hearts, wearing white-and-red armbands on their arms. Proud and brave, they did not question the meaning of this heroic uprising.”
“Today, as we pause in reflection at 5:00 PM on the streets of Polish cities, let us honor our Heroes. Long live free Poland!”
he concluded.