At a time of aggression against Ukraine, the memory of World War 2 is more important now than anytime before and should be preserved to avoid the same mistakes made, writes Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki in a special supplement to the "Chicago Tribune", one of the five largest dailies in the USA.
He also says that now it was very difficult not to make historical comparisons: "If we were to rewrite the origin of World War II to the present conditions, the climax would involve Russian invasion in Ukraine. The fact that it happened means that many countries did not do their homework or forgot the lessons from the 20th century. We are facing a reviving empire with totalitarian ambitions. 83 years ago, Poland was the first to refuse submission. It chose being faithful to freedom, faithful to the founding values of the western civilization. And it was betrayed by its allies. If we recall this history it is not just to remember it but not to make the same mistakes again."
In the same issue, Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Culture Minister Piotr Gliński writes that Poland will never stop trying to recover cultural goods lost in World War 2. He emphasizes the enormity of Polish losses - almost half a million works of art - and describes the efforts to bring them back.
He writes: “The broad-range, deliberate robbery of Polish works of art by German and Soviet occupants left a thorough sensation of loss in the Polish culture. The loss which, despite over 80 years from the outbreak of World War II, is still sensed as painful. (...) Although more than 80 years have passed since the outbreak of World War II, the losses it causes in Polish heritage are still acutely felt. This historical harm does not expire and it is still not too late to try to repair it”.
"Chicago Tribune's" special Sunday supplement dedicated to Polish history is a project prepared by the authors of the portal Wszystko Co Najważniejsze, together with the Institute of Public Remembrance and the Poish National Foundation.
Source: PAP, wszystkoconajwazniejsze.pl