IV 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 715 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 31, 2009 Ms. Kaptur submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Recognizing the 70th anniversary of the Soviet and Nazi invasion of Poland and the pivotal role Poland has assumed at freedom’s edge since gaining independence.

Whereas 2009 marks the 70th anniversary of the Soviet and Nazi invasion of Poland; Whereas Poland lost more lives as a percentage of its population than any other nation during World War II; Whereas the martyrology of Poles totaled nearly 6,000,000 innocent victims, of which 3,000,000 were Jewish Poles and more than 2,000,000 were non-Jewish Poles; Whereas Poland’s freedom-loving people continued to endure political suppression and selective annihilation from 1939 to 1989; Whereas the Polish dedication to freedom and willingness to sacrifice for their country is embodied in the Warszawianka, which proclaims that, Who will survive, free will be, who dies, free already; Whereas the first and last battles of World War II were fought in Poland; Whereas some Polish citizens who fought bravely for Poland during these fierce battles emigrated and made a new home in the United States, and became United States citizens; and Whereas Poland’s valiant struggle for freedom from fascism and communism continued for many decades after the end of World War II until 1989: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1)recognizes the 70th anniversary of the Soviet and Nazi Invasion of Poland; (2)commends the valiant people of Poland for their historic struggle against fascism and communism; (3)commemorates the extraordinary sacrifices made by the Polish people, including those who have since become American citizens; (4)calls for strengthening our partnership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), European Union alliances, and continued friendship with our Polish allies in the furtherance of freedom’s cause; and (5)honors the historic ties between Poland and the United States dating back to the American Revolution and the exceptional participation of Revolutionary war patriots, now American citizens, Thaddeus Kosciusko, who was named head engineer in the Continental Army, and General Casimir Pulaski, the cavalry leader who saved the life of George Washington and who died from wounds suffered in the Battle of Savannah.