Lower house speaker at Poland's independence conference in Budapest
The Speaker of the Polish Sejm (lower house), Marek Kuchciński in Budapest on Saturday said he was very glad he could observe the centenary of Poland's independence together with Hungary, and stressed the two countries were linked by friendship.
Kuchciński took part in a conference marking the centenary of Poland's independence.
"I am honoured to participate in an event organised on the initiative of the Speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary, Laszlo Kover, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Poland's independence," he underlined.
The Polish official emphasised that Hungary played an important role in the regaining independence by Poland. The Józef Piłsudski legions were joined by a few hundred Hungarians. Later, Poland was also supported by Hungary," he said, recalling a cable sent to German chancellor Adolf Hitler in July 1939 by the then Hungarian PM Pal Teleki.
"This was an exceptional cable," Kuchciński went on to say, stressing that Poland will always remember PM Teleki who refused to take part in an operation against Poland.
Kuchciński also recalled the assistance offered by the Hungarian state and people during WWII to tens of thousands of Polish refugees. The official added that this was mutual aid as in 1956 Poles spontaneously organised shipments of blood, medicines and food to help Hungarians in their fight for freedom and democracy.
The Polish Sejm speaker also stressed that Poland will never forget numerous signs of support offered to the Polish Solidarity trade union in 1980 and in the years that followed, including such projects as holidays in Hungary for children of imprisoned Solidarity activists during martial law in Poland.
"Our Hungarian brothers were also with us in difficult moments of the 21st century," Kuchciński said, referring to the 2010 Smoleńsk air disaster in which the then Polish President Lech Kaczyński was killed.
He also spoke about Wacław Felczak, a Polish Underground State courier during WWII and a historian specialising in Hungarian history after the war.
During WWII, Felczak was the head of an organisation of secret couriers travelling between occupied Poland and Hungary.(PAP)
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