Cezary Tomczyk on 17 August in TVN24 commented on Charles Nawrocki's words of 15 August on "the defenders of Monte Cassino". The president most likely misguised, as Poles gained German positions in 1944. However, the dispute shows something more important: national memory requires precision and a policy of fair measure.
An accident at the celebration of the army
Karol Nawrocki, during the celebration of the Polish Army on August 15, spoke of “the large defenders of Monte Cassino”. The problem is obvious. Polish soldiers of the 2nd Corps of General Władysław Anders did not defend the monastery. They took German positions and opened the way for the Allies to Rome.
This is not a item for date enthusiasts. Monte Cassino is 1 of the most crucial symbols of the Polish military effort in planet War II. IPN looks like, that at night from 11 to 12 May 1944, the 2nd Polish Corps entered the fight, and on 18 May the Polish flag hung over the ruins of the monastery. That is why the language in specified matters must be accurate.
We have already written about the failure on the occasion of the text Nawrocki's words about Monte Cassino defenders. Now there has been a political response, which speaks more about the standards of debate than about the specified slippage.
Tomato weapons and strikes
Deputy Minister of National Defence Cezary Tomczyk in the “Facts After Facts” program stated that he wanted to “stand up for the President” in this case. As the WP and Fact reported, he considered that Nawrocks most likely confused those who defended the monastery with those who wanted it. It's a sober assessment. A man on the platform can lose his plot.
But Tomczyk rapidly moved on to political accounting. He reminded Barbara Nowacka, who spoke about the “Polish Nazis” building camps. At the time, Nawrocki, as a presidential candidate, accused her of replicating German propaganda. Tomczyk referred to that attitude as a violent word for “a woman boxer.” It's a language that's not expected to explain so much as stick a description on it.
In this case, 2 things request to be distinguished. Nawrocki's mistake is real and should be clearly corrected. At the same time, we must not pretend that all historical mistake has the same political burden. The phrase “Polish Nazis” touched 1 of the most dangerous lies that struck the good name of Poland. Monte Cassino's mistake hits the precision of military memory. Both request to be corrected. However, they are not identical.
The right hand must besides require its own
This is where the stakes for a national and conservative camp are. If we request the fact about German work for the camps, the fact about Volyn and the fact about Polish military effort, then we cannot treat our own misconceptions as a trifle of unwarranted correction. National memory is not a baton to beat an opponent. It's a common good.
Nawrocki as historian and president has a peculiar work of care. His strong point has so far been the politics of memory and the language of sovereignty. That's why it hurts more. He does not quit his presidency, which we have written more about in the text about Nawrocki's first year and Poland's own voice, but it shows that the office requires discipline in each sentence.
The opposition should be careful, too. If he truly wants to defend standards, let him start with a quiet correction of facts, not individual labels. The Polish public debate is already poisoned enough.
Monte Cassino is not a prop.
Monte Cassino isn't organization stuff. It is simply a cemetery, blood of Anders soldiers, a road through Siberia, the mediate East and Italy, and then a bitter awareness that military triumph did not give Poland full freedom. Therefore, all word of this conflict should be weighed.
The right has a simple lesson here. Yours must be demanded more, no less. Only then does the defence of Polish past against falsehood sound credible.
Source: WP News, True, IPN, President.pl
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