– Warsaw is made up of people. You, dear Warsaw insurgents, are a special generation that explains to our generation, the people of Warsaw, that there comes a time in life, once in someone's life, once in a generation, when you touch history where it is being created – said the Speaker of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia, addressing the Warsaw insurgents. He pointed out that the insurgents teach us that “the result is something different than the outcome, that defeat can mean victory”.
Thursday marks 80 years since the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising. In front of the monument to the Polish Underground State and the Home Army on Wiejska Street in Warsaw, a ceremony is taking place with the participation of the Speaker of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia and the Speaker of the Senate Małgorzata Kidawa-Błońska.
The Marshal of the Sejm assessed that when visiting Warsaw “it is impossible not to feel that you are part of a larger story than just what you can see on the map, than just what results from numbers, statistics and data”.
“You can lose, but still be a winner”
– Warsaw is made up of people. You, dear Warsaw insurgents, are a special generation that explains to our generation, the people of Warsaw, that there comes a time in life, once in someone's life, once in a generation, when you touch history where it is being created. You touched this history, and the proof of this is that you participated in the Warsaw Uprising, which redefined all the concepts we use every day to describe reality – said Marshal Hołownia addressing the insurgents.
He pointed out that the insurgents teach us that “the result is something different than the outcome, that defeat can mean victory”. – This is how the defeat, the defeat of the uprising was announced, but today no one has any doubts who won that fight, who is the winner of the Warsaw Uprising – emphasized the marshal.
As he said, “you can lose, but you can also win.” He added that the uprising was a “psychological necessity.” – Politically, you can argue, militarily, you can have disputes, but psychologically, it was impossible not to fight, and many people talk about it – Hołownia noted.
– We have no doubt that today, when we look at you, we are looking at heroes – he said.
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Your service continues, your fight is not over
He assessed that the service of the insurgents has not ended. – The uprising has ended, the direct physical combat has ended, but you today have another stage of your fight. You go to schools, you meet with scouts, cubs, you are in the Warsaw Uprising Museum, you write books, you are being interviewed, you tell the whole world what happened here. Your service continues, your fight has not ended – emphasized Hołownia.
– In the autumn of your lives, the Polish state, subsequent generations, came to you and said: fight on, and you responded to this call with open hearts, with all the strength and health you have, you continue to serve your country, showing everything we need to know and for that we are very grateful to you – he added.
“These are the patterns we will remember all our lives”
– The Underground State is an absolute phenomenon. We often associate our nation with courage and uncompromising attitude. And rightly so, because the Warsaw Uprising was about that. But Poles are rarely talked about as a model of good organization, which gave testimony to the whole of Europe that in the terrible times of occupation it was possible to organize an entire Underground State – emphasized Rafał Trzaskowski, the mayor of Warsaw.
He noted that it was a phenomenon that all political forces joined together and organized their own, independent state structures that regulated virtually every aspect of life in occupied Poland.
He recalled the figure of the last commander of the Home Army, Leopold Okulicki, who maintained his dignity during his trial.
– This tough attitude, straight as a rod, shows us to this day what it means to maintain dignity in the most difficult circumstances. These are role models that we will remember all our lives. These are role models that gave us encouragement and will give us encouragement in the most difficult times – added Trzaskowski.
– The phenomenon of the Underground State is extraordinary. No one has ever tried anything like this on such a scale – he assessed.
Rafał Trzaskowski speaks at the Monument to the Polish Underground State and the Home Army PAP/Paweł Supernak
He recalled the underground education, the underground press, the secret judiciary and the successful assassination attempt on the SS and Police Commander for the Warsaw District of the General Government, Franz Kutschera. – There were even underground football games. In 1942, the Warsaw underground football championship took place, with nearly 50 teams registered – he said.
– This shows how well organized the Underground State was. At that difficult time we were able to create community and we were able to be effective. In the face of danger we are able to find courage, fight to the end, but we are also able to organize ourselves very well when needed – emphasized Trzaskowski.
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The Warsaw Uprising broke out on August 1, 1944 at 5:00 p.m. It was the largest armed action of the underground in German-occupied Europe and the largest independence uprising in occupied Poland. Around 40-50 thousand insurgents joined the fight in the capital. Planned for a few days, it lasted over two months. During the fighting in Warsaw, around 18 thousand insurgents died, 25 thousand were wounded. Losses among the civilian population amounted to around 180 thousand killed. The surviving inhabitants of Warsaw, around 500 thousand people, were expelled from the city.
Main image source: PAP