“It also speaks volumes that in such solemn moments, he chooses to disappear. Perhaps it’s a guilty conscience? That says a great deal. If, at such a time, the person leading the country, which suffered such crimes and cruelty at the hands of the Germans, is absent, it says a lot,” said Dominik Tarczyński, MEP from the Law and Justice (PiS) party, on Tomasz Sakiewicz’s program Polityczna kawa (Political Coffee). The politician was commenting on Donald Tusk’s absence from the state ceremonies commemorating the anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising.
Tusk Absent from Commemoration of the Warsaw Uprising Outbreak
On August 1, when the whole of Poland came to a standstill at the symbolic “W” hour to honour the Warsaw Uprising fighters, Prime Minister Donald Tusk did not appear either at the Military Cemetery in Powązki or at the Monument to the Polish Underground State.
His absence is particularly significant, especially considering that the ceremonies were attended by, among others, President Andrzej Duda, President-elect Karol Nawrocki, and the Mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski.
The Prime Minister not only did not find time to personally lay flowers but also failed to post any message on his social media channels commemorating the 1944 uprising. Instead, he focused on reporting on current government activities.
Tusk’s stance was commented on by Dominik Tarczyński, PiS MEP, on Polityczna kawa:
“He chose not only not to attend but to remain entirely silent. That, too, speaks volumes, that in such elevated moments, he decides to vanish. Perhaps it’s a guilty conscience? It says a great deal. If, at such a moment, the leader of a country that experienced such atrocities and cruelty at the hands of Germany is absent, it means something. It’s not merely foolish, in my view, it’s deliberate. And who expects such behaviour from him? We can only guess. You don’t need to be a genius to answer that question,”
said the politician.
In his opinion, Tusk “is so dependent on the circles that propelled him to the highest offices in Poland that he cannot allow himself to criticise the Germans, even on historical matters.”
Tarczyński also emphasised that “Germany’s responsibility is unequivocal, they have not paid for their crimes, they have not paid in any way for what they did to the Polish nation.”
“This is the material dimension of responsibility for what they did. Even if it takes 10 or 20 years, we will continue to press for it. Poland should obtain these reparations. I believe the discussion has been narrowed to financial matters, but this is about a clear admission of what they did and what they stole,”
he stated.