Duda marks WWII anniversary with call to prevent future wars
Polish President Andrzej Duda has marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II by calling for global peace and warning against the resurgence of tyranny.
"The world needs peace today. Russian aggression against Ukraine, the conflict in the Middle East, and clashes between India and Pakistan, we are once again living in dangerous times," Duda wrote on the X platform on Thursday. "We Poles, more than most nations, know the immense tragedy that war brings. Poland was the first victim of the Second World War."
He recalled that nearly six million Polish citizens lost their lives during the war, which began with the invasions by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. "Polish soldiers fought on all fronts, from Narvik to Tobruk, from the Battle of Britain to Monte Cassino," he said, also paying tribute to the Home Army and Warsaw Insurgents.
Duda added that the end of World War II did not grant Poland freedom; instead, it ushered in decades of communist domination behind the Iron Curtain. Today, he affirmed, Poland remains committed to ensuring its security through both national defence and international alliances.
"We are a proven member of NATO. We have a strategic partnership with the United States. These are not just diplomatic gestures, these are specific actions to deter, not to give in," he wrote. "To safeguard the security of our own and future generations."
He called upon the world to draw lessons from the suffering and heroism of the war, advocating for the establishment of an international order based on the rule of law rather than force. "Glory and honour to the Heroes! Eternal remembrance for the Fallen and Murdered!" he concluded.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk addressed the anniversary during the Victory Day ceremony at the 1st Warsaw Armoured Brigade.
"The best cure for the national trauma of World War Two today is the Polish army... the largest in the EU, increasingly well organised and equipped," he said, declaring that in a few years it will become "the strongest army in Europe."
May 8 marks the anniversary of the signing of Germany's unconditional surrender in 1945, which effectively concluded the war in Europe but left Central and Eastern Europe under Soviet control for decades. (PAP)
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