- May the memory of those killed and murdered in the East accompany us in our daily work and public service for a safe, sovereign Republic of Poland. Let it inspire action to build lasting, just peace, - wrote President Andrzej Duda in a letter addressed to participants of the celebrations commemorating the 84th anniversary of the Soviet attack on Poland.
The Soviet Union invaded Poland on September 17, 1939, crossing the border along its entire length. This was the implementation of the provisions of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact of August 23. The Soviet attack, when the Germans were pressing on Poland from the west, meant that Poland was forced to fight on two fronts. This was truly the beginning of World War II.
This was the beginning of the bloody Soviet occupation, which ended, de facto, only at the end of the 1980s. The Soviets ruthlessly persecuted and murdered Poles in the conquered areas. It is estimated that up to 1.5 million people were deported to the USSR by 1945. (PN: That is why we take seriously reports of Ukrainians, especially children, being deported into Russia.)
State celebrations commemorating the 84th anniversary of Soviet Russia's aggression against Poland are taking place today. During the ceremony at the Warsaw Monument to the Fallen and Murdered in the East (Eastern Poland, in some
cases former Eastern territories), those gathered paid tribute to Poles who died and were murdered because of Soviet aggression.
"Today's date reminds us, Poles, of one of the most tragic events in our recent history, the attack of Soviet Russia on Poland. Together with you, I would like to pay tribute to all the victims of aggression committed in cooperation with Nazi Germany based on the secret provisions of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact. I bow my head in honor of those whom this monument commemorates: officers of the Polish Army and other victims of the Katyn massacre, compatriots imprisoned in labor camps and deported to distant regions of the USSR," – noted President Andrzej Duda.
"It is our duty, contemporary Poles, to remind the world of those tragic events that started World War II. This is an obligation to all those who, as a result of the implementation of the criminal plan of two totalitarian regimes, lost their independent homeland and were enslaved by the Soviet dictator."
"Today, a new Russian dictator is trying to resurrect this dark empire. He questions the right to self-determination of nations and the independence of states that have chosen their own path to the future. He is trying to seize the territory and subjugate the Ukrainian nation."
"The historical analogies of these contemporary threats now seem particularly clear to us."
Based on articles and reporting by Niezalezna(.)pl and DoRzeczy(.)pl.
