Commemorations included a “Parade of Respect” through central Warsaw, ending at the Monument to the Polish Underground State and the Home Army, where state ceremonies were held with veterans and top officials in attendance.
Tusk recalled that in the darkest moments of World War II, the Home Army—Europe’s largest underground resistance force—fought for Poland’s freedom and dignity. At its peak, he said, it numbered nearly 380,000 fighters.
“Despite shortages and constant danger, its soldiers waged a consistent, comprehensive struggle against the occupier,” Tusk said, quoting the Home Army’s first commander, Gen. Stefan Rowecki “Grot”: “We are not fighting for ideals detached from life; we are fighting for the human being, for his right to freedom, dignity, truth and his own homeland.”
“These words remain strikingly relevant today,” Tusk added, noting he would repeat the message later to world leaders at the Munich Security Conference. “The fight for dignity, freedom and one’s own homeland never ends.”
He said about 100,000 Home Army soldiers were killed during the war, yet many survivors continued resistance after 1945 against Soviet domination. “The veterans we meet are living testimony to heroism and sacrifice,” Tusk said.
President Karol Nawrocki wrote on X that Home Army soldiers fought “out of love for Poland” for independence and sovereignty. He recalled that on Feb. 14, 1942, Gen. Władysław Sikorski ordered the creation of the Home Army as the armed wing of the Polish Underground State, calling it “a symbol of loyalty to the Republic and an unbreakable struggle for freedom.”
Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said the Home Army’s courage and steadfastness remain a model for today’s armed forces. “Their legacy lives on in the Polish Armed Forces,” he wrote.
An appeal of remembrance and wreath-laying ceremony drew senior officials, including parliamentary leaders, while the president and defense minister were represented by envoys. Janusz Komorowski, head of the World Association of Home Army Soldiers, said the organization gathered “truly principled people” in an existential national crisis and shaped generations of Poles.
The National Day of Remembrance for Home Army Soldiers was established in 2025 and is observed on Feb. 14, the anniversary of the force’s creation. The Home Army was a clandestine military organization under Poland’s government-in-exile, tasked with nationwide resistance and preparation for a general uprising as Nazi Germany weakened.
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Source: PAP