Poland marks 82nd anniversary of World War II outbreak

Wednesday, September 1, 2021, marked the 82nd anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War. At 4.30 a.m., commemorations attended by President Andrzej Duda commenced in Wieluń.

Wieluń was one of the first cities bombed on September 1, 1939. In ten hours, 380 bombs weighing a total of 46 tons were dropped on the town. According to various sources, 1,200 to 2,000 people died as a result. 75 percent of buildings were destroyed. According to historians, the city was bombed in order to test military equipment and threaten local residents.

In his speech, president Duda said Wieluń was a symbol of war terror, cruelty and violation of principles. "For Poles, Wieluń is a symbol of that war. Six millions of us died, and less than 250,000 were soldiers," he said. "The rest were civilians. People, most of whom were brutally murdered, bombed, tortured and killed".

Ceremony at Gdańsk Westerplatte peninsula were attended by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and other high state officials.

During his speech, the prime minister stressed that "each year there are less people who remember those days, that September".

"82 years after that horrifying war follows a process of repressing from memory and consciousness of who was the actual perpetrator, who was responsible for those crimes, destruction and death," he said.

German Ambassador to Poland Arndt Freytag von Loringhoven sain in a tweet: "With sorrow and shame, facing millions of victims of German crimes, all German representative offices in Poland have lowered flags at half mast".

"It is our duty to preserve memory of the victims and heroes of this ruthless war. We will never forget," U.S. Embassy in Poland's chargé d’affaires Bix Aliu said in a tweet.