On September 1, 2025, at Westerplatte, a symbolic place where at 4:45 a.m. German battleship Schleswig-Holstein began firing on the Military Transit Component, a ceremonial celebration of the 86th anniversary of the outbreak of planet War II was held. Among those present were the president of Poland Karol Nawrocki, Prime Minister Donald Tusk, talker of the Sejm Szymon Hołownia, Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the MON Władysław Kosiniak-Kamish and many combatants, parliamentarians and residents of Gdańsk.
In his speech, which is besides a lesson in history, president Karol Nawrocki addressed respective key historical and contemporary reflections, highlighting truth, memory and justice.
1. The Word as the Beginning of Evil
"This evil word of the German, spoken towards another nations and towards the Polish people, led to this war."
He referred to the philosophical currents of the second half of the 19th century:
“First the large theorists created a planet without God, a planet in which God was to die, and since God is not there, man must become God, decide life and death — who can live and who cannot live.”
2. Pole as a victim of propaganda
The president noted the alarming anti-Polish language:
“At the same time, a Pole in German dictionaries became synonymous with individual worse. Poland was something worse to despise.”
He besides added:
"Polish patriotism was to be a threat to the German state, and religion was to be aimed at the interests of the German state".
3. Hitler as a product of ideology
The president recalled that Nazism was not random:
"There must be no cognition or good will to not see that the 3rd German Reich could have risen without Austrian Hitler. These are not my words, these are the words of Polish professors... Adolf Hitler was no accident.”
4. Heroes of Westerplatte – memory after time
The president stressed the importance of archaeological research:
"Our heroes... were not found until 80 years after the outbreak of planet War II. Thanks to stubbornness, thanks to the religion of those archaeologists I have just decorated.”
As a consequence of this work 10 archaeologists, including Filip Kuczma, were awarded.
5. Reparations – a condition of partnership
This is the central thesis of the speech:
"In order to be able to build on the foundations of fact and good relations, partnership with our western neighbour must yet settle the issues of reparation from the German state, which I, as president of Poland, explicitly request for the common good".
The president added:
"Reparations will not be an alternate to historical amnesia, but Poland as a front country... needs justice, fact and a clear relation with Germany, but besides a reparation from the German state."
6. fresh threats – neo-imperialism
He highlighted contemporary challenges:
"Today from Westerplatte there must be another signal... We face large challenges in the face of the resurgent neo-imperialism of the post-Soviet Russian Federation."
The speech of president Karol Nawrocki on September 1, 2025 at Westerplatte was a strong call to remembrance, fact and justice. utilizing references to ideology, the memory of heroes, moral foundations and current threats, the president demanded reparation as an essential component of building partnerships with Germany and defending Polish sovereignty.
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