"Courage and Freedom": Address at Warsaw University

US Department of Defense Speeches, Oct 5, 2004 by Paul Wolfowitz

Thank you, Mr. Rector. Actually, on a personal note, my father was born in Warsaw and he was a mathematician. He would say that the saddest part of that introduction is that I went from mathematics--which is a real science--to political science.

I'm going to--if you indulge me--make one try at a little bit of Polish, but I promise you I won't extend it: Polska--to kraj, dla ktorego mam duzy szacunek i wielka sympatie. [Poland is a country for which I have high respect and much affinity.] [Applause]

And indeed as I was thinking, if I had to give a title to these remarks, I think there is a theme and it just kind of emerges from the subject matter. The theme is: courage and freedom. And for me, most recently, it starts up at West Point, where the U.S. Military Academy is located.

I think for many of you, you know that one Polish hero has really become a legend in America, that's Tadeusz Kosciuszko. You may or may not know that he organized the defense of West Point, which George Washington said was "the key to the revolution." He wasn't the only Pole who was there in our revolution. Americans also remember General Casimir Pulaski who died from wounds he suffered in the Battle of Savannah in 1779. Two years before his death, Pulaski told Benjamin Franklin: "We Poles have a hatred for all forms of tyranny, especially foreign tyranny. So no matter where in this world someone is fighting for freedom, we feel it is a personal matter to us as well." That was a Polish general more than two hundred years ago.

But that tradition of courage in defense of freedom distinguished Poland in the 20th century as well. We remember the important role that Polish pilots played in the Battle of Britain and the daring of Polish soldiers who captured the seemingly impregnable fortress of Monte Cassino in Italy.

We remember the heroes of the Polish resistance, people like Jan Nowak, who risked his life to travel from Warsaw to Stockholm and London to try to enlist support to save Poland from Stalin's postwar designs. His 1982 memoir entitled "Courier from Warsaw" closes by recalling his friends who gave their lives in the Second World War. He concludes with a fervent expression of hope for the future of Poland; he writes: "One day the sun will shine on crowds of singing and dancing people drunk with joy in the streets of Warsaw. The free soul of Poland will survive until that day." And I might add, on a personal note, we had a chance to see the heart of Warsaw on a beautiful, sunny day. And, indeed, his prediction has come true.

We Americans fondly remember Lech Walesa and Solidarity, who proved to the world 20 years ago that the free soul of Poland still survived. Their courage helped to bring about the extraordinarily peaceful collapse of the Soviet Empire.

And even non-Catholics in my country have the deepest respect for the Polish spiritual leader and peacemaker, Pope John Paul II. "Freedom is given to man by God," the Pope has said, "as a measure of his dignity." And, "as children of God we cannot be slaves." This year, as you all know, marks the 60th anniversary of one of the 20th century's most courageous stands against the slavery of Nazi occupation. And today, we had a chance to lay a wreath at the monument to the Warsaw Uprising. We remember how Warsaw was burned and torn apart once again, brick by brick, because her people wanted to be free.

And even when Poland was overcome by the evil of Soviet totalitarianism, the cherished dream of freedom still burned in the hearts of the Polish people. Winston Churchill once said of Poland that, despite its long bondage over more than a century, occupying powers had been "unable," as he said, "to quench the spirit of the Polish nation. The heroic defense of Warsaw shows that the soul of Poland is indestructible and that she will rise again like a rock which may, for a time, be submerged by a tidal wave but which remains a rock."

Poles were rock-like in their conviction that freedom and justice would be theirs again one day. Today, Poles are free. And now, just as in the early days of my country, brave Americans and Poles are once again working and fighting side by side to bring freedom to nations where liberty has long been held captive.

Three years ago, President Bush came to this university and he spoke of the iron will of the Polish people. "Here you have proven," he said, "that communism need not be followed by chaos, that great oppression can end in true reconciliation, and that the promise of freedom is stronger than the habit of fear."

Indeed, Poland stands as a new leader of Europe. Poland's leadership is marked by courage and belief in freedom, and strengthened by painful lessons of history.

Poles understand, perhaps better than anyone, the consequences of making toothless warnings to brutal tyrants and terrorist regimes. And yes, I do include Saddam Hussein.

For Poland, September 1, 1939 is a date that lives in infamy. But, as you know, there was much that preceded Hitler's tanks into Poland's frontier.