The ceremony took place at the Polish Army Soldiers’ Cemetery in the northern city of Gdańsk, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
The nine Westerplatte defenders, whose remains were discovered by archaeologists in 2019, were laid to rest alongside their commander, Maj. Henryk Sucharski.
Polish President Andrzej Duda led the tributes to the war heroes, telling those gathered that Poland's 1939 defence of Westerplatte "is a symbol of people fighting to defend goodness" and "a symbol of great heroism.”
The president said that for the loved ones of the fallen soldiers, the state burial was “the first real, tangible farewell” to their sons, fathers and husbands, who had been for decades considered missing in action.
‘A symbol of Polish struggle for freedom, sovereignty and independence’
Duda described the Battle of Westerplatte as “a symbol of our history, of the Polish struggle for freedom, sovereignty and independence.”
He added: “This place, where World War II began 83 years ago, is a symbol for the entire world.”
The president also said that the defence of Westerplatte “is a symbol of a just act, of a fair fight.” He quoted the late Pope John Paul II, who said that “everyone … has some kind of Westerplatte in their life, some tasks that must be accomplished, must be defended.”
Duda thanked government agencies, including the Institute for National Remembrance (IPN) as well as experts, archeologists and doctors who identified the remains of the soldiers, for making the state funeral possible.
He told those at the ceremony: “Poland looks for its fallen soldiers until it finds them. It pays homage to them. It returns the soldiers, sons, fathers and brothers to their loved ones, and it does so tirelessly.”
He concluded: "We pay tribute to the Westerplatte Defenders. Glory to the Heroes,”
The Westerplatte peninsula in the northern port city of Gdańsk is where the first shots of World War II were fired on September 1, 1939. The Battle of Westerplatte is commemorated annually as the first clash between Polish soldiers and invading German forces.
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Source: IAR, PAP, prezydent.pl