A recent survey shows that just over 11 percent of Poles are prepared to take up arms and engage in combat should war break out, amidst rising concerns over global conflicts.
In polling conducted for the weekly magazine Wprost, Poles were asked how they would react should the country become involved in a future war.
When asked what they would do if war broke out in Poland, 59 percent said they would definitely remain in the country.
In terms of involvement in any conflict, 11.3 percent would be willing to fight on the frontline, 30 percent expressed a willingness to assist in national defense by other means, and 17.7 percent preferred to avoid any form of involvement.
Additionally, 20.2 percent admitted they would leave the country if war were to erupt, while 20.7 percent remained uncertain of their course of action.
The survey also shed light on traditional gender divisions in attitudes towards conflict: Only 3.8 percent of women were willing to engage in armed actions compared to 19.9 percent of men, illustrating a significant disparity in the willingness to take up arms between genders.
In light of growing geopolitical tensions, a statement by Poland’s PM Donald Tusk highlighted the grim reality facing the nation. “I don’t want to scare anyone, but war is no longer a concept of the past. It’s real, in fact, it started over two years ago. What’s most worrying now is that literally every scenario is possible. We haven’t faced such a situation since 1945,” he said in a recent interview.
According to the head of the Polish government, Poland should get accustomed to the advent of a new era: the pre-war era.
He is not the only one expressing such views lately, with experts warning of an impending war emerging all the time. However, emotions have been cooled by, among others, retired General Waldemar Skrzypczak, who stated that the Kremlin fears confrontation with NATO. “A military struggle with NATO would be a disaster for Putin and the end of the era of Russia as a whole,” he emphasized.
