22.08.2017, Poland.
The Polish Slavic Committee opposes taking down memorials to Soviet soldiers in Poland. TASS reported about a Committee’s open letter on August 22.
“Out of regard to the soldiers who fought against Nazi Germany, we oppose the de-communization law which demands that memorials to Soviet soldiers must be dismantled,” the letter says.
Also, the Polish Committee urges to remember that it was Soviet soldiers who liberated Poland from German occupation and stopped the genocide against the Polish people. In addition, the Committee reminds that “over 600 thousand Soviet soldiers died during the liberation of Poland, and about 700 thousand Soviet POWs were killed”. The document notes that the overall share of victims on the prt of the USSR counted “75% vs 25% for all the other states”.
The Polish Slavic Committee believes that it is unacceptable to insult the memory of Soviet soldiers “who have so much merit to Poland and the whole world”. It is natural that such an attitude to their memory insults modern Russia. “Therefore, the dismantling of the memorials to Soviet soldiers who defended their Motherland and who came to defend Poland is a shameful act which flies in the face of the principles of patriotism and honor, and which is both anti-Russian and anti-Polish,” the President of the Committee Boleslav Teykovsky said.
In July 2017, Polish authorities passed a law which demands that memorials to Soviet soldiers must be removed as symbols of “Soviet totalitarian regime”. Exception was made for memorials located in cemeteries, mass graves, and a number of other sites. All the other memorials must be removed within 12 months after the law was passed.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
