Page 33 - The Cormorant Issue 14

RSE 1 Poland
By Lt Col P A Carter RAMC
As an Englishman abroad it is easy to forget the impact of his- tory. For the Polish, their past is fundamental. This country, now a modern, confident and active European nation, has been cruelly and repeatedly betrayed throughout its history. It is not surprising, therefore, that sovereignty and cultural identity feature strongly in their strategic calculations. Alongside this national perspective, however, is a strong belief in both NATO and the EU as guarantors of their security.
Our first morning was spent at the National Defence University. Here we were able to question key speakers from the Ministries of Defence and Foreign Affairs about Poland’s Armed Forces, their ongoing Defence Review and their view of the relationship between Poland, NATO and the EU. EU membership has made Poland stronger, accounting for two-thirds of Poland’s trade and providing approximately €16 billion of EU financial assistance; but Poland feels it has a strong contribution to make to the EU as a source of advice for relationships with its eastern neigh- bours. This is also reflected in Poland’s membership of NATO, where it forms a crucial gateway in dealing with states such as Russia. Poland is also an important troop-contributing nation in Afghanistan, ranking seventh out of the forty-eight nations that send troops to support the ISAF campaign. Overall, Poland’s goal is to be a serious country and an enviable partner on the world stage, an aim that is well within its grasp.
Following some excellent presentations and having been ably hosted, and fed, we got our first taste of Poland’s troubled past.
The Warsaw Uprising Museum marks a prominent moment in the Second World War. It attests to the utter destruction that was wrought against Warsaw by the Nazi occupiers, it humbles those who have never had to fight to regain their freedom and it reminds everyone that strategic decisions often have their greatest impact upon individual men, women and children. This beautiful city, which rightly expected Allied support in their bid to free themselves from Hitler’s oppression, got almost no help at all. As a result, the city was utterly devastated. German orders were for every building to be destroyed and, therefore, very lit- tle of 1930’s Warsaw remains. The Poles remember with pride the bravery and professionalism of their airborne forces at Arn- hem, but still question why, in 1944, the 1st (Polish) Independ- ent Parachute Brigade, under British Command, dropped on the Low Countries in September instead of helping their countrymen fighting in Warsaw in August.
Tactical visits to units directly descended from those that served with British airborne and Soviet armoured forces in World War II, brought
The surviving Gas Chamber at Auschwitz
ACSC 14 with staff from the Polish National Defence University
us back to the twenty-first century. Like Britain, Poland is seeking to transform its forces at a time of financial stringency. Unlike Britain, Poland has only recently ceased its policy of conscription and this change in culture is an important driver of modernisation.
Having travelled from Warsaw to Krakow, our final visit took us to Auschwitz-Birkenau. The name alone conjures up a sense of horror and the camps now exist as cemetery, memorial and warning. From the railway platform at Birkenau we headed right across the tracks and right again. Following in the footsteps of the victims, selected on the basis of sex, age or physique, we found ourselves after only a very short walk outside the infa- mous gas chambers; now ruined. To stand on that ground and contemplate the systematic murder of over a million people was harrowing. Most poignant were the suitcases, each carefully labelled with its owner’s name, and now discarded. The parallels with the conflicts of our generation in Bosnia and Rwanda were not lost on the group and we forget the lesson of Auschwitz at Humanity’s peril.
Those of us who went to Poland left having been educated about Poland’s aspirations, our common European history and the reason why freedom is so precious. Special thanks must go to Maj Gen Ratajczek and the National Defence University, His Excellency Ambassador Ric Todd, Gp Capt Phillips and the staff of the British Embassy in Warsaw, the excellent guides at Auschwitz-Birkenau and to the Polish officers, soldiers and civil- ians who hosted us with such generosity.
Photographs by Maj C Howard-Higgins AAC and the National Defence University of Poland
Capt Gierczak briefs ACSC 14 on the history of the 1st Polish Armoured Brigade
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