Speech by His Majesty the King at the banquet on the occasion of the State visit to Poland, Warsaw
24 June 2014
Mr President, Mrs Komorowska,
Thank you for your kind words and your warm welcome. It means a great deal to my wife and me to be here in Poland, 25 years after democracy was restored in this proud and courageous country.
Today, at various sites, we have had cause to reflect on your history. A history whose tide has repeatedly washed over this country and its people with brutal force. But it is a history that also testifies to a great desire for freedom and a spirit of determination that lived on through years of oppression.
Warsaw, this fine city, symbolises that spirit and desire.
We realise how closely our stories are intertwined.
A few months ago I opened an exhibition in the Netherlands entitled 'The Second World War in 100 objects'. It displayed the marbles that Anne Frank played with before going into hiding in 1942. This exhibition also included the uniform jacket of Władek Otoka, a Polish soldier who fought under General Maczek in 1944 to liberate the south of the Netherlands. After the war soldier Otoka built a new life for himself in our country. He found employment at Philips, fell in love with a Dutch girl and married her. The couple had a son and a daughter. A new beginning after years of fear and violence.
Today I was able to meet a number of Otoka's brothers-in-arms, including Marian Słowiński. Dutch freedom is founded in part on Polish heroism. That is something we will never forget.
The great sacrifice made by Poles is etched in our memory and is part of our history. As is the sorrow we feel for our compatriots - of whom many were Jews - murdered at Nazi concentration camps on Polish soil.
'There can be no just Europe without the independence of Poland marked on its map.' These words were spoken in Warsaw 35 years ago by Pope John Paul the Second, the most important forefather of renewed Polish independence.
Ten years later partially free elections were held in Poland, in which Solidarity enjoyed a resounding victory. A historical turnaround that was received by people of my generation and older in the Netherlands with excitement and joy.
Freedom of thought. Freedom to make your own choices. That freedom has brought Poland and the Netherlands even closer together.
Poland has shown itself to be a strong NATO ally in safeguarding our security and our fundamental European values. Recent times have demonstrated again how essential this is.
Your country is also making a crucial contribution to the European Union and the internal market. Poland is an important partner capable of combining stability with economic growth.
We realise that we also face challenges in our European partnership. Free movement of workers is a great achievement. But in practice its consequences can have a far-reaching impact on people's lives, both in Poland and in the Netherlands. I am convinced that, through dialogue in a spirit of mutual respect, we can move forward together.
Mr President, anyone who gets to know Poland is struck by its incredible vitality. The spirit of its people has not been broken by destruction and oppression. Quite the opposite. Modern Poland has become a strong, flourishing nation that is helping to revitalize Europe. This is something that we can be grateful for together. The Netherlands is keen to keep working with Poland in realising our common dreams and ambitions.
It therefore gives me great pleasure to ask you to join me in drinking a toast.
Mr President, Mrs Komorowska, to your health.
To the vitality of your country, a beacon of stability in the heart of Europe.
And to the close cooperation between Poland and the Netherlands.