The 82nd anniversary of the Red Army entering the Polish territory began with a Holy Mass at the Wawel Cathedral celebrated by bishop Janusz Mastalski. The guests gathered at the Wawel Cathedral prayed for the victims of Soviet and German totalitarian regimes and for all those who died during fight for the freedom of their homeland. At 9:30 a.m. flowers were laid at the plaque commemorating those deported to Siberia, the victims of the NKVD "Polish operation" and at the Cross of National Remembrance.
17 September 1939 is a symbol of the friendship between Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler – this is particularly important in the context of geopolitics and the false narrative Vladimir Putin is attempting to present, said the President of the Institute of National Remembrance.
The Roll Call of the Fallen was read out and a gun salute was fired to commemorate the victims of totalitarian regimes. During his speech, the President of the Institute of National Remembrance, Karol Nawrocki, recalled that:
The memory of 17 September 1939 is still very painful for the Polish nation. It marked the beginning of a long trail of suffering during World War II – 4 deportations, hundreds of thousands of Poles sent to the far reaches of the USSR, 22,000 murdered Polish officers.
Finishing his speech, President Nawrocki referred to the words of the Commander-in-Chief of the Polish Army:
In 1939, Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły said "The Germans will take over our bodies and the Soviets will take over our souls." He was mistaken. Nobody can take over Poland because Poles have a deeply enrooted understanding of the significance of freedom. Long live Poland!
The organizers of the anniversary celebrations were: the Institute of National Remembrance, the Voivode of Lesser Poland, the Siberian Deportees Association, Cracow Branch, the Committee for the Care of Communist Crime Sites and the Board of Education in Cracow.