Monday marked 80 years since the Home Army was established by Poland’s London-based government-in-exile, the state PAP news agency reported.
President Andrzej Duda took to Twitter to honour the occasion, writing: “The Home Army means love for Poland. Remembrance, gratitude and glory to the Soldiers of the Home Army!”
The president also posted a video with special messages from himself, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak and a number of other officials.
“Glory to the Home Army Heroes,” Duda said in the clip. “Thank you for the freedom.”
Morawiecki said in his message that "it was Home Army soldiers who carried the torch of freedom and independence when everything seemed lost.”
The Polish prime minister added: “Glory and reverence to the Heroes!”
Błaszczak, the defence minister, addressed Home Army veterans, saying: “Your courage and loyalty to the homeland is a model for us and a message to the future generations.”
Anniversary events
The Polish president on Monday morning paid a tribute to the Home Army during an anniversary ceremony at the Powązki Military Cemetery in Warsaw.
Duda said: “The Home Army and the Polish Underground State represent a great chapter in our history, a chapter that is being learned by cadets at all the military academies in the world.”
He added: “We are grateful to all those who didn’t hesitate, who weren't scared, who joined the fight. We are paying homage to them, especially those who were killed in the line of duty and gave their lives for their country.”
The head of state expressed hope that “never again will Polish people be forced to create an underground state, never again will they have to fight to regain their homeland,” the PAP news agency reported.
Duda and Błaszczak also laid flowers at the graves of Home Army commanders.
In an earlier tribute, Duda said on the eve of the anniversary that Home Army soldiers "helped preserve the identity of the national community and its patriotic spirit during those difficult times when Poland was threatened by two hostile totalitarian empires," Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
'Out of love for Poland'
Meanwhile, a host of other events were due to take place around the country later on Monday to honour the occasion, including church services, exhibitions and contests, news outlets said.
At 5 p.m., the slogan “The Home Army - Out of Love for Poland” was expected to be projected onto the façade of Warsaw’s National Stadium, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
According to many historians, the Home Army was the largest and best organised underground army in German-occupied Europe during WWII, numbering about 380,000 soldiers at its peak in the summer of 1944, Poland's PAP news agency reported.
On August 1, 1944, the Home Army mounted its biggest military operation, the Warsaw Uprising against the Polish capital's German occupiers. The revolt was eventually put down after 63 days of heroic struggle against the much bigger German forces, the IAR news agency reported.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP
Click on the audio player above for a report by Radio Poland's Agnieszka Bielawska.