Polish Vets to head UK Victory parade!

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Guys, I don't know if you have seen this?

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/0d441dfa-ec...00e2511c8.html

Have any of our UK members have been watching the BBC1's daily coverage of the "Living Musuem" in St. James' Park in London at dinner time each day this week? It has been quite good. Several of my group "Summer of '44" have been taking part in the events. Not seen them on TV yet, but they are there and getting paid rather well too

Cheers, Ade.

[GregK]

Hi Ade,

High time I say!!!! We were snubbed in '46 and not included in the victory march to appease Stalin and his lot. This makes up for it in my book. Thank you for posting this and brightening up my day!!!!

Cheers,
Greg

[robert60446]

"...Jan Zielonka, lecturer in European politics at Oxford University, says: "Historically, Polish contribution to the war has never been sufficiently acknowledged. Poland provided the fourth largest Allied army in the war yet they were excluded from marching in the celebration because Stalin wanted it so." - wow...Thanks for the link Adrian!

[Gary Jucha]

Good to see but ...

Good to see the Polish Veterans got an invite this time ...
..It's a shame though that the majority have passed on before receiving any recognition ... and died in torment.

Gary J.

[Ciaran Byrne]

Quite right too!!

The Poles contribution to the Allied War Effort is often overlooked. Monte Cassino and the Battle of Britain could not have been won without the help of the Poles.

[Kevan]

Excellent news. The Polish suffered much more than most, both at the hands of the Germans and the Russians. Like Gary says its a pity that it has taken 60 years for them to get the recognition.

[DJT]

About time! It is an absolute disgrace how they were treated especially given their outstanding efforts and achievements during WW2.

[Billy B]

60 years too late I don't think it matters now.

[GregK]

Hello all,


I beg to differ that after 60 years it doesn't matter anymore. True that 60 years is late by anyone's calendar but it's never too late. True that many of the brave souls that were "snubbed" in '46 didn't live to see the day but think of the few that are left. Instead of looking at it in a negative light I try to put a positive spin on it. I look at it as the fact that even after 60 years and 2 generations people are still remembering and making an effort to acknowledge the effort and sacrifice put out by these men. That's a heck of a lot more than I can say about a lot of countries.

Just my 2 cents.

Cheers,
Greg

[Billy B]

Hello all,


I beg to differ that after 60 years it doesn't matter anymore. True that 60 years is late by anyone's calendar but it's never too late. True that many of the brave souls that were "snubbed" in '46 didn't live to see the day but think of the few that are left. Instead of looking at it in a negative light I try to put a positive spin on it. I look at it as the fact that even after 60 years and 2 generations people are still remembering and making an effort to acknowledge the effort and sacrifice put out by these men. That's a heck of a lot more than I can say about a lot of countries.

Just my 2 cents.

Cheers,
Greg

Ok, Why didn't this happen in 1990 when Poland over through communism or even after Stalins death? In my opinion if it happened in 1990 it would have some validity now it looks like a cheap political gimmick.

[Antoni Zawadzki]

Great thread. Thank you Adrian for posting that article.

I’m in agreement with Greg that it is never too late to set the record straight.
Besides the lack of recognition for the very significant contribution of the Poles to the Allied victory, there are still other issues that need to be addressed. Historical myths and untruths range from mythical saber charges against German armour in the September 1939 Campaign, to the recently propagated lie of joint Polish / Nazi annihilation of the Jews in “Polish Concentration Camps”.

There is still much to be done – and the cause is worthwhile.

Best regards,

Tony

[George C.]

Happy to hear the news, even if it is a bit late in the day.

I think though that the seminal events were after the fall of communism.... the return of Sikorski’s remains to Poland ( and the subsequent bad jokes with the Lufthansa crash at Warsaw Airport at the same time ) and the belated “Victory Parade” in Warsaw when the AK, the NSZ, and the Armed Forces in Exile were finally permitted to march through the streets of Warsaw as themselves.

And then.... The Canadian born commentator for ABC News at the 50th anniversary of D-Day who made several comments, among which was .... “What is Lech Walesa doing here? The Poles had nothing to do with D-Day”

This hurt me badly, because4 of the fact that Poland before was a reluctant “Soviet Allie,” and this being the first time that Poland was officially allowed to participate.

It was not all bad..... some of our Australian, Canadian, British and American neighbors knew who and what my parents generation was, and what they had done.....

And the Late Queen Mother always had a special place in our hearts, as we had in hers.... during Remembrance Day and similar events, she would see Polish veterans, and say, “There are MY Poles”, and go running over to them.....

And thank you Anthony.... it would be nice to go a year without hearing about Polish cavalry charging tanks, and a week without hearing about “Polish Concentration Camps” - but, as we all know, BAD TASTE IS TIMELESS......

[GregK]

Billy,

Why didn't they do something in 1990? Beats me....I was a punk in high school and not sitting in British parliament. In fact last time I checked I still wasn't a British MP so their decisions are made without my input. If it were up to me then things would have changed radically many years ago. Why didn't it happen after Stalin's death? As you mentioned Poland was a communist state until 1990 so it would have been out of the question. Is it a "political gimmick"? Perhaps but highly unlikely as no one in British parliament has anything to gain from it. The elections are two months past so if that's the case then they missed the boat on that one.

By your logic that would mean that the WWII memorial built by the Americans was 59 years too late and is meaningless. They should have built it back in '45 according to you. I mean...the Vietnam vets had one built years ago. Don't they know the order? WWII came first! . Why did the Battle of Britain memorial take 50 years? I have no explanation for that but it got built and everyone was grateful that it was. How about Mynarski's memorial in England? They're building it as we speak. Am I, as a direct relative, offended that it took so long? Not a chance. I'm happy that they've done anything at all. In Winnipeg we have many memorials (4 by last count) to Mynarski. Does that make us better than the Brits? Nope....not by a long shot. They made the effort and that's what counts!!!

Instead of making a negative comment you could have said something positive or not said anything at all. If it really bothers you as much as that then just don't pay any attention to it. Turn a blind eye. Everyone else here has commented positively on the gesture except for you. It is a tragedy that it took as long as it did for them to get their acts together but they got it together in the end and to me (and I'm sure many, many others) that's the important thing.

That's it for me......

Cheers,
Greg

[vicjoy1945]

Hey guys !!

I think its great that the Polish contributions to the war effort are finally being "officially" recognized. I'm sure that the fellow Allied WWII veterans who fought side-by-side with Polish soldiers appreciated their valor and bravery. I agree, it is sad that it took so long for the Polish soldiers to receive their due, but, what counts is that this recognition has finally arrived. I only wish my father were here to march in that parade. Yet, I like to think that, in many ways, he WILL be there in the spirit of those Poles who are still with us that will head up that parade...and...also in the hearts and minds of all fellow Poles who are so proud of the Polish contributions in WWII.

Na Zdrowie !!

Vic

[DJT]

Did anyone see the recent series made by the BBC called "Gladiators of WW2". Its fairly recently made and I saw it not on BBC but actually shown on the History channel. They did an episode on the SAS, SOE, Chindits, Commando & Paras + the Free Poles (+ some others). I just watched the Free Polish episode (downloaded it off the net actually ) and they do roll out that old chestnut of the Polish cavalry bravely charging German tanks (they even had some dodgy footage showing what appeared to be exactly that although who knows if it was genuine footage?. All in all it was a pretty decent program but I did notice a glaring error where they were talking about Polish Paras but actually showing footage of Polish amoured troops wearing armoured helmets (I have seen this mistake made in a book too. Apparently the people making these things cant tell the difference between a para helmet and a tanker helmet not to mention other details). Sorry slightly veering off the subject but some comments made in the thread reminded me of the program. They dealt with Sikorski and his re-burial after the fall of communism plus they also showed the BOB monument in England as well as some others.