Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz participated in the celebrations of the 104th anniversary of Poland’s Wedding to the Sea. The main part of the ceremony, attended by representatives of state and local authorities, soldiers of the Polish Army and people linked to the sea, took place at the place where General Józef Haller performed the symbolic ceremony of Poland’s union with the sea on 10 February 1920.

“Today we well understand the challenges that lie ahead. The Wedding to the Baltic is a story that is behind us, but we are learning from it for the future. The sea is an extremely important trade and transport route and is important for the protection of critical infrastructure and for the security of the Polish Republic in such a complicated reality, in such dangerous times”, said the head of the defence ministry in Puck.

Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz highlighted the need to increase the capabilities of the Navy in response to contemporary calls and security threats.

“There is no security without a strong Navy. We are not only proud of it today, as we can see how beautifully it looks like, but the Navy that has its operational capabilities. This is the commitment of our government, of all of us, to raise the capacity of the Navy because it should be done, because the current challenge is to protect the coast, to defend it, if necessary, to defend critical infrastructure and communication routes. This is the primary task for the Navy, which it will perform”, said the Deputy Prime Minister.

The Second Polish Republic regained access to the Baltic Sea, lost because of the Partitions, only under the Treaty of Versailles. Poland’s Wedding to the Sea was a symbolic act of our country’s return to the Baltic. During the ceremony in 1920, General Haller said: “Now free worlds and free countries are ahead of us. Today the Polish sailor will be able to go everywhere under the sign of the White Eagle, the whole world is open to him”.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński