In a post on social media, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki pointed out that 81 years ago, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, which led to the Second World War and the Holocaust
Morawiecki began his post by pointing out that despite the final days of August 1939 being filled with dread concerning a potential conflict, people still enjoyed the warm days of summer. He noted that Aug. 23 is the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism, the anniversary of the signing of the German-Soviet pact.
“On the night of Aug. 23-24, 1939, in Moscow, representatives of the Third Reich and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact whose secret protocol included the decision to partition Poland. Often called the fourth partition of Poland, Germans and Soviets decided to divide Poland and Central-Eastern Europe between each other,” he wrote.
The prime minister stressed that the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact was the starting point for the Second World War, including mass war crimes, the genocide seen in the Holocaust and the destruction of civilian life in Europe.
He pointed out that beneath the seemingly vague sentence “in the case of territorial and political transformations” contained in the pact between Germany and the USSR, the evil plan of joint aggression was hidden.
Morawiecki explained that Stalin, along with Hitler, decided that an independent Poland had no right to exist and that it must be sentenced to die as fast as possible.
“Our homeland was to be the first victim of that alliance. The next victims were to be the nations and states of all of Europe and in time, the whole world,” he stressed.
Morawiecki reminded of another event which took place on that day, which also became symbolic: Polish footballers defeated Hungary, which was the current runner-up for world champion, with a score of four to two. Famed Polish football player Ernest Wilimowski was the star player of the match. After the war broke out, he was forced to change his colors and join the German team.
Morawiecki stressed that the story of Wilimowski is also one of the consequences of the pact signed on August 23.
“Everyone in Europe and the world must never forget this pact,” he wrote.
