Speech delivered by Karol Nawrocki, President of the Republic of Poland,
on September 1, 2026, during the commemoration at Westerplatte
marking the 87th anniversary of the German invasion of Poland on Sept. 1, 1939
Dear Nation, Dear Poles,
Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. Secretary (of Defense), Dear President of the City of Gdansk, Dear Generals, headed by the Chief of Staff, Soldiers, Dear Guests,
The memory of September 1, 1939 demands from us Truth and Responsibility.
And truth has its symbols, its facts, its signs. With all certainty, one of the most powerful symbols of WWII truth for Poland is Westerplatte. Westerplatte – where heroic Polish soldiers, this handful, barely over 200 soldiers, fought against the overwhelming force of the enemy. They fought on land and defended themselves against attacks from the air and the water.
It was here, at Westerplatte, that the archetype of Polish attitudes was forged, spanning the entire period of World War II and all latitudes. The Polish soldier fought for the freedom of other nations, but he always died only for Poland.
The symbol of Westerplatte is the Cemetery of the Heroes of Westerplatte. A cemetery that was reconstructed with pain. For decades, the remains of soldiers lay covered with mud and brush – Poland did not reach out for them. And when we searched for them through the Museum of WWII together with archaeologists, many criticized us.
Truth also has its price in our 21st century.
And that price is always worth paying because today, together with the Prime Minister, we had the honor of showing respect and saluting our soldiers.
Just as Westerplatte is a symbol of combat, Wieluń is a symbol of undeserved suffering, a town bombed by the Germans as its inhabitants were peacefully asleep. This symbol of struggle and suffering speaks volumes about World War II.
Most importantly, however, we must remember that on September 1, 1939, the gates to pandemonium were opened, unleashing a hekatomb upon the Polish nation by the Germans and the Soviets.
Six million Polish citizens were murdered. 17% of the Second Polish Republic! Every 6th Pole! Mostly civilians. Look at yourselves – every 6th person perished, every 6th person! Among them, 90 percent were civilians. Please look at the people around you. One in six Poles perished during World War II.
That is why we can’t forget here at Westerplatte, and we can’t forget it every day, as we make our decisions.
Many of you will say that these facts about WWII are widely known, but truth and responsibility demand, on one hand, reiterating these points; but on the other hand also demand that those in power today be aware that there exists a truth about World War II,
- A truth that is barely heard among our western neighbors—our allies in Berlin, in Germany;
- A truth that Europe either does not know or does not want to know—a truth it is unwilling to confront and discover;
- A truth that still fails to reach America;
- A truth that those in positions of power, unfortunately, continue to struggle to confront even today.
Yet, we all have to realize, despite the pain, we must realize—painful though it may be, but it is necessary to realize that
Germany did not need Adolf Hitler to loathe Poland, Polish people, and Polishness.
Evidence is abundant. As early as the 19th century, Prussian liberal writers and politicians—great names in liberal Prussian literature—wrote with disdain about Poland, about Polish people and Polishness, describing us as nothing more than “Iroquois of the East.”
The Weimar Republic—by then a democracy—continued this anti-Polish hysteria and anti-Polish sentiment. In the Weimar Republic anti-Polish sentiment was central to political culture. Anti-Polish sentiment was what united the Left and the Right—along with German liberals—in the democratic Weimar Republic.
There are many examples of this attitude. In 1920, when the Poles were defending themselves against the Bolsheviks, defending Europe against the Bolsheviks, and defending the Weimar Republic from the Bolsheviks, Reichswehr chief Hans von Seeckt wrote point-blank about Poland:
“If the devil wants to take Poland, we should give him a hand”.
These same words slammed Poland from the mouths of German diplomats and Nobel laureates. German Chancellor J. Wirt, with an in-your-face aggression towards Poles, stated that Germany must again become Russia’s neighbor, and Poland must be crushed.
In fact, Russia during the interwar period, Bolshevik Russia, ripening into its terrifying totalitarianism, was the main partner of the Weimar Republic long before Hitler – before the Ribbentrop/Molotov pact was signed.
In 1931, the Weimar Republic was the No.1 trading partner with the Soviet Union. This cooperation was for good. We are reminded of these trade relations when, in our 21st century – just before the catastrophe that we are witnessing and co-participating in today- history repeated itself.
When the late Polish President Lech Kaczyński and Polish politicians warned against financial and mercantile ties with the Russian Federation, the Germans, Europe didn’t listen. Instead, they continued to invest billions in the Russian Federation, which launched a new war.
This Prussian and Weimar Republic hysteria and contempt against Poland caused WWII.
All this happened before, BEFORE, the Ribbentrop/Molotov pact was signed, before Hitler, who, yelling to his officers in Obersalzberg, instructed them:
“Be merciless, be brutal – destroying Poland is your main objective.”
Before Westerplatte, before Wieluń and Warsaw and Kępa Oksywska, politicians never took notice. They didn’t react. They lacked the courage and did not face the consequences.
Today, with our western allies, we have the same enemy destabilizing our region, and it murders again, just as it did centuries and decades ago.
We need civil courage, we need responsibility!
We need determination from Polish politicians and German politicians – and I will say more – we need civil courage in the service of the Polish Republic of German associations in Poland. We also need understanding of historians and politicians educated via German foundations.
This responsibility is immense. We must all stand together—ladies and gentlemen—and fully grasp the history of the Second World War and the path leading to September 1, 1939.
We need to implement our good-neighborliness treaty from 35 years ago. We need this if Europe is to be united, if the alliance is to be real, and if good-neighborliness or friendship is to be put into practice – we need, once and for all, – we need actions and not just beautiful and embellished words.
Because we cannot disregard, dear Prime Minister, dear Mr. Secretary, dear ladies and gentlemen, that 35 years after the Pact with our western neighbors,
we still don’t have a monument to the memory of Polish victims of WWII in Berlin. Instead, there is a truck-delivered rock.
I thank all Poles; I thank all Germans involved in working towards the creation of such a monument, because a real alliance, true friendship, does not mean our inability to erect a monument to the Polish victims of WWII in Berlin.
If the Polish minority in Germany does not have the same rights as the German minority in Poland, if the Polish House in Bohum is still not up and running, then we have the right to believe that our western neighbors today – beyond perfect words, lovely gestures and declarations – are treating us like the Weimar Republic did.
Soon, they will start doing business with the Russian Federation, not unlike in the 20th century. This is the challenge for the Polish President, for the Polish government, so well expressed today by our Scouts.
That’s what Poland needs, that’s what Poles need in the symbolic context, but also in the sphere of principles.
Reparations and compensation should be paid out to Poland not only for the sake of the past and historical justice but for the sake of the future!
Mr. Prime Minister, the world has positioned us in a place which demands a tough allied declaration that our Western allies pay us compensation, which Poland will allocate for her armed forces, for the Polish military industry, so we are not forced to accept western credit loans, but we can finally receive what is rightly ours.
For this reason, if our alliance is to become real,
I appeal from here, from Westerplatte, to the Chancellor of Germany, to the German nation:
Let us resolve the issue of reparation and compensation in the name of historical justice, but thinking about the future.
Today, Poland is fortifying the North Atlantic Alliance in the east. Today, these reparations can serve European security. They can be a firm declaration by the German State, our neighbor, that we are thinking of mutual collective security in Europe.
I call from here, from Westerplatte, from the heart, I urge the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, Speaker of the Parliament, all parties in the Polish Parliament. – I urge the Polish nation, let’s be together in this.
We can be together and we can do it together! This appeal resounds from Westerplatte on Sept 1, 2026.
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
A famous article by Józef Maria Bocheński was entitled ” Even without a chance of victory.” He wrote that every nation is obliged to defend itself even when facing a horrifying enemy, that you cannot surrender before sheer force.
That it is a responsibility, a giant obligation to fight till the end. That’s what Westerplatte is about, that’s what Sept .1st is about, that’s what Poland and Polishness is about. That’s who we are, and we know it.
But today, the valor of the Polish soldier, which is eternal and timeless, cannot replace the responsibility of government officials to speak with one Polish voice, build real alliances, procure new investments, and expand Polish armed forces. The heroism of the Polish soldiers can never again be an alternative to the Polish government speaking in a Polish voice in a sovereign and independent Polish Republic.
Our Westerplatte, my Westerplatte—the Westerplatte of contemporary Poland—should be a fortress that never has to defend itself, a fortress so strong that no one would ever dare to attack it.
Honor and Glory to the Heroes of Westerplatte, Honor and Glory to the 1939 Defenders of Poland from the Germans and their partners!
Long live Poland!
Note:
A Polish garrison and Military Transit Depot at Westerplatte and their commander, Major Henryk Sucharski successfully defended their post, the sovereignty of Poland, and Polish territorial integrity from the overwhelming force of the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein, beginning at 4:50 am, on September 1, 1939, for seven long days. This German attack on a Polish garrison at Westerplatte marks the beginning of World War II.
Translated by Beatrix Czerkawski
