Referring to this year’s commemoration slogan, “Share the memory lest it fades away,” Ołdakowski urges collective remembrance as a safeguard against historical amnesia.
In an interview with Daniel Wydrych from Polish Radio, Ołdakowski spoke about the heroic struggle of the insurgents, who resisted the German occupiers for 63 days during World War II.
According to him, the generation that faced the harsh realities of those times was extraordinary - not self-focused, but devoted to serving their country, placing the protection of their loved ones and friends above all else.
'Radical evil must be resisted'
Ołdakowski also shared a personal story about his grandmother, a participant in the Warsaw Uprising, for whom confronting the Nazis was a moral choice. “She believed that radical evil, when manifested socially, must be resisted,” he noted.
He recalled legendary figures such as Wanda Traczyk-Stawska, a Warsaw Uprising fighter and liaison officer, as well as historian, former foreign minister, and Auschwitz survivor Władysław Bartoszewski, among other heroes.
Addressing whether the uprising made sense, Ołdakowski said the issue was complex but maintained that the uprising was a fight for people’s right to be at home and to keep their humanity intact.
Tribute to the heroes - even Japan remembers the Warsaw Uprising
As every year, at precisely 5 pm - the moment known as “W” hour, marking the start of the uprising on 1 August 1944 - Warsaw residents and people across Poland will pay tribute to the insurgents.
Tribute to the Polish heroes was already paid in Osaka, Japan, at the Poland Pavilion at Expo 2025, where both Japanese visitors and the international audience paused for a moment of reflection to honour the heroes of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising.
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Source: Polskie Radio/X/@ExpoPL/@WarsawRising44