[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Page 21485]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        POLAND'S 70 YEAR JOURNEY

  Mr. KERRY. Madam President, this month we commemorate an important 
anniversary: 70 years ago the Second World War began in Europe with a 
ruthless Nazi assault on Poland. Outnumbered and outgunned, Poland's 
defenders fought bravely, forced to surrender only through the 
overwhelming force of their enemies. Every American should remember the 
sacrifice made by the heroes of Poland, whose bravery was tragically 
often rewarded with a concentration camp or a bullet in the head in a 
dark forest. They were the first of many innocent victims, almost too 
many to count.
  On an occasion like this it is important to honor the past, remind 
the present of the sacrifice of those who came before, and warn the 
future that the world should never allow the initiation of such 
catastrophic events again.
  In September 1939, authoritarian paranoia and violence won out over 
trust and humanity, and in the end the world burned. Seventy years 
later, Poland and its democratic neighbors work together in Brussels to 
build a better Europe. We remember the importance of that hard-won 
cooperation on this 70th anniversary.
  As Americans, let us appreciate this achievement, help extend the 
cooperation, and continue to assist in the preservation of democratic 
ideals.

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