Anglo Polish Historical Committee Report Launch
Check against delivery
Prime Minister (Marek) Belka, distinguished guests, on this - the
anniversary of the start of World War 2 in Poland - I'm delighted to
honour the contribution of Polish soldiers and civilians to the victory
over Fascism.
Last year, I spoke at the 60th Anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising, the
largest act of mass defiance against Nazi occupation, in which over 200,000
people died in the streets and the sewers of Warsaw.
By the end of the war, over 200,000 Poles were fighting in every theatre of
war,
-
from the Battle of the Atlantic
-
to the Battle of Britain and
-
the deserts of North Africa.
(And this morning I've been privileged to meet and talk to some of the
veterans to whom we owe so much)
Today we honour those people whose efforts were not recorded in the
monuments and the cemeteries.
Hundreds of miles from the theatres of war, Polish intelligence was making
a huge and vitally important contribution.
Nearly half of all the intelligence reports we received came from Poland -
and 85% of these reports were assessed as high quality intelligence.
Polish scientists helped to crack the Enigma code - shortening the war and
saving thousands of Allied lives.
Polish agents even managed to smuggle out parts of the V2 rocket which
Hitler used to bombard London.
And one of the most famous double agents was Polish - his code name was
Brutus - and he helped fox the Nazis about where the D-Day landings would
take place.
British intelligence described his contribution as "almost impossible
to be overestimated". These are just some examples of the amazing
success of Polish intelligence in the Allied victory which had not been
duly recorded.
That's why Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Marek Belka agreed to bring
to light Poland's true contribution during World War 2.
This remarkable book produced by the Anglo-Polish Historical Committee is a
record of courage and achievement which everyone in Poland can be truly
proud of.
Both the British and Polish Foreign Secretaries launched the English
language version of this report recently, and I'm delighted to be here
with Prime Minister Belka to launch the Polish edition in Poland today.
I particularly want to thank the joint chairs of the committee, Tessa
Stirling and Daria Nalecz, and all the people who have worked so hard on
this valuable project.
Our collaboration on this report is a model of post Cold War friendliness -
it reaffirms once again our mutual trust and respect.
For the future must be built on a frank and open
discussion of the past.
Today we are catching up with a past that has been obscured in secrecy for
60 years.
This is a correction of history which is long overdue.
It helps to right an historical wrong, and an injustice to Poland.
More people outside Poland should know how much you
contributed to the fight against Fascism.
And today I want to remember my own, personal debt of honour to a man
called Paul, a Polish refugee who lived with my family during the War.
He fled from the Nazi occupation, and fought with the Allies for the
freedom of Poland and the freedom of Britain.
I hope that today we have finally begun to properly record the contribution
of thousands of people like Paul, who made such a huge impact on the Allied
war effort.
Today, we pay tribute to the remarkable bravery of the citizens of Poland
whose spirit was never broken.
And in a unified and peaceful Europe - we renew our pledge to freedom and
friendship for all the years to come.
Speech by the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott 1 September
2005
