The intention of the Katyn crime was to murder the Polish elite, undercut the roots of our nation, its foundation, and to eliminate any authorities. In order to disperse a nation, like an army that falls apart and scatters once the commander is killed and the banner is lost, said President Andrzej Duda during the opening ceremony of the Katyn Museum in Warsaw.
Thank you on behalf of Poland for this museum, for this great work of preserving the memory, but also a great education center for the future, for the next generations of Poles, said Andrzej Duda, directing his thanks to all those attending the ceremony, among them representatives of the State and the Church. In particular, the president turned to the families of the murdered in the East, in Katyn, Miednoje, Kharkov, Bykownia, Twer, and many other places, often unknown to this day.
I said at the beginning of this ceremony “the venerable families of the murdered victims.” Yes, venerable, because it were the families which despite the terror during the most difficult years, despite the pain, suffering, and persecution, for almost two generations preserved the memory of the victims when the state pretended that the Katyn massacre was nonexistent. When they denied the historical truth, when lies were imposed on us. Katyn became the foundation for the communist power in Poland, stressed the President.
I think, and that this is not only my belief, that the Katyn victims were murdered for one very important reason. These people, as evidenced by their lives, by their letters and other evidence, were Polish elite, they represented what was the foundation of the Nation, emphasized the President.
The intention of the Katyn crime was the murder of the Polish elite, decapitation of our nation, its foundations, its, roots, the destruction of our authorities. In order to disperse our nation, like an army when the commander is killed. That’s why they were killed. Hence this crime aimed at destroying the Polish nation, must be called genocide. I want to be clear about that today, the President clearly and loudly stated.
Therefore, thank you for this museum, which is located next to the Museum of the Warsaw Uprising, which – I believe – will become a place of national pilgrimage, he added.
Therefore, I greatly thank you for this effort, but also for preserving the artefacts, letters, any objects of historical value, and preserving these collections accumulated over time. I hope this museum will be further developed so that full historical truth about this horrific experience of the Polish people will be revealed, said Andrzej Duda, hoping that we will soon be able to discover the next unknown locations of the victims of the Katyn execution order.
I believe we can discover the new locations of mass death pits where great Poles were secretly buried. Those, who built the Second Republic, those who in 1920 successfully defeated the Soviets, but they did not withstand the great betrayal of 1939, the fourth partition of Poland agreed upon on August 23, 1939 in a secret protocol to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, he said.
They paid for their service to the country the highest price – the price of life. Their families also paid a huge price, he stressed.
Thank you for a place where we can show our true history. These are sad cards, but they also are extremely important because they show that the Poles were able to be proud that they were patriots that served the country, that they are the model to follow. Let them be a model for future generations of Poles, let them be a model for us all – concluded the President.
Source: http://wpolityce.pl/historia/
Photo: niezalezna.pl
