81st anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. "Westerplatte is the place where a Polish soldier proved what honour is"

„There is Poland. It is a continuity, also thanks to the heroism of the soldiers who defended Poland, our homeland here”

— said President Andrzej Duda during the celebration of the 81st anniversary of the outbreak of World War II at Westerplatte.

The celebration of the 81st anniversary of the outbreak of World War II began on Tuesday morning at Westerplatte in Gdańsk in the presence of President Andrzej Duda.

81 years ago World War II broke out, on 1 September 1939. It broke out against Poland as a result of the attack by Nazi Germany on our country. It broke out in several places. But two are particularly significant, where it happened practically at the same time. Here, in Westerplatte, where the Polish military depot and Polish soldiers were attacked. And in Wieluń, where German aviators barbarically dropped bombs on a sleeping city, murdering defenceless people. Today, at this moment, we are paying tribute to all those who died

— said the President.

Mariusz Błaszczak, Minister for National Defence, spoke:

We stress that the bravery of the soldiers of the Polish Army is almost legendary; we pay homage to them. We want to show that their attitude is a model to be followed by today’s soldiers of the Polish Army

— he said.

Westerplatte is a redoubt of Polishness, a great lesson of patriotism, of devoting oneself completely to the Homeland

— he stated.

The morning celebrations at Westerplatte began, according to tradition, with the sound of sirens at 4.45 a.m.; at that time, on 1 September 1939, a German attack on the Polish Military Transit Storehouse, located on the Gdańsk peninsula, took place.

Tłum. K.J.