12th anniversary of the Smolensk disaster

On 10 April 2010, a plane crash in Smolensk took the lives of all members of the state delegation and crew heading to the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre. Ninety-six people were killed – including President Lech Kaczyński, his wife Maria and the last President of Poland-in-exile Ryszard Kaczorowski.

“There are moments in history that can turn back its course. The Smolensk disaster was one of them,” wrote Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Facebook. “The Smolensk disaster cannot be solidified in monuments and the memory of it cannot become an empty ritual. This is our great obligation. Obligation to remembrance, to truth and to action,” emphasised the Head of Government in his post.

The Prime Minister has commemorated the victims of the Smolensk tragedy

Representatives of the Polish government, including Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, have commemorated the victims of the tragedy of 10 April 2010. The Head of Government has attended the Holy Mass at the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and of St. Joseph in Warsaw. Then, on the Piłsudski square in Warsaw, he has laid flowers at the monument of the late President Lech Kaczyński and at the monument to the Victims of the Smolensk Tragedy. The monument was unveiled on the 8th anniversary of the disaster and its shape references a plane gangway. On its front wall, there are engraved the names of all 96 victims of the Smolensk tragedy.

At the Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw, the Prime Minister has laid flowers and lit a candle at the Monument to the Victims of the Smolensk Disaster. The Head of Government has paid his respects at the graves of the dead – in addition to the Powązki Cemetery, the Prime Minister has also visted the Bródno Cemetery, the Parish Cemetery in Grabów, the Cemetery in Pyry and the Temple of Divine Providence. He has visited the graves of, inter alia, Paweł Wypych, Katarzyna Doraczyńska, President Ryszard Kaczorowski, Zdzisław Król, Tomasz Merta and Fr Ryszard Rumianek.

Remembrance of the great patriot – President Lech Kaczyński

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and government representatives have laid flowers at the monument to President Lech Kaczyński in Warsaw.

The monument was unveiled on the eve of the National Independence Day – 10 November 2018 on the Piłsudski square. The sculpture depicts the silhouette of the President – it was designed by Stanisław Szwechowicz and Jan Raniszewski.

The late President Lech Kaczyński was born on 18 June 1949 in Warsaw. He was taught patriotism and love for the homeland in his family home. His father was a soldier of the Home Army and a participant of the Warsaw Uprising. The mother of the late President was a medic in the Grey Ranks during the war. In the 70s, President Lech Kaczyński joined the democratic opposition. He actively worked for "Solidarity". He served as a senator and a MP, and also as the President of the Capital City of Warsaw. His priority was to restore the rightful place in Polish history of the Warsaw Uprising and the forgotten heroes who fought for freedom and independence of the Republic of Poland.