Czarzasty on war anniversary: No one attacked a united Europe

Włodzimierz Czarzasty used the anniversary of the outbreak of World War II to draw a line between historical memory and present-day choices. Speaking in Wieluń, he recalled how German bombers broke the city’s silence 87 years ago, hitting homes, streets and a hospital. The victims, he said, were ordinary people with their own plans for the future.

Czarzasty argued that war takes away a person’s safe future. He said remembrance should not feed hatred, but should prevent people from confusing the aggressor with the victim, force with law, or populism with truth.

The Sejm marshal also pointed to the changed relationship between Poland and Germany. The two countries are now allies, and Germany is Poland’s largest trading partner, he said. That cooperation does not mean the events of 1939 have been forgotten. Historical truth, Czarzasty added, should be treated as a foundation rather than an insult.

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No one attacked a united Europe, no part of it.

He presented a united Europe as strong because it brings different nations together without stripping them of their identities and because its members keep a promise of peace. “No one attacked a united Europe, no part of it,” he said, referring to the countries in the European community. Looking toward Ukraine, he contrasted that situation with Poland’s position in 1939, when the country was left practically alone.

Czarzasty criticized suggestions that Ukraine should be left on its own and that its difficult position should be exploited to force concessions. He said history would judge that approach. Poland, he added, would continue helping its neighbor while protecting itself. He described the lesson from Wieluń as remembering without hatred, forgiving without forgetting, and defending truth without despising the weak.

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The best monument we can raise to the victims of war is a Poland that is safe, strong, wise and without hatred.