Ronald Reagan's memorial unveiled in front of US Embassy in Warsaw

photo - PAP/Andrzej Hrechorowicz

The former Solidarity leader said that “as a participant in these events,” it was “inconceivable” that such changes would have come about without the last American president during the post-1945 cold-war era.

Walesa added that thirty years ago, it seemed that the fall of the communist system would not be possible without a nuclear war.

The bronze statue of Reagan has been installed not far from the American Embassy, on Ujazdowskie Avenue, one of the capital's most picturesque thoroughfares.

A statement from President Barack Obama was read out to the guests attending the ceremony, which said that: “The location of this monument is a fitting reminder of the close ties between the American and Polish people, and a tribute to the strong support the United States gave Poland during its long struggle to free itself from communist rule”.

The three-metre high monument, designed by sculptor Wlaydyslaw Dudek, depicts Reagen nicknamed ‘the Gipper’ making his famed 1987 speech at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.

During the Berlin address Reagan called on his Russian counterpart, President Gorbachev, to “tear down this wall.”

A letter was also read from Nancy Reagan. “I am touched by today’s ceremony in Warsaw to recognize his accomplishments,” Reagan’s widow writes.

“My husband always felt a strong bond with the people of Poland who longed for freedom. I remember the Christmas in 1981 [after martial law had been declared] when we placed candles in our White House windows, in honour of Solidarity, as [Reagan] was determined that America would do everything it could to advance liberty,” she writes.

Although the statue was created as a result of a private initiative by a group of Polish businessmen, today's ceremony was attended by a number of state dignitaries.

Poland's foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski was joined by US Ambassador to Poland Lee A. Feinstein, as well Mayor of Warsaw Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz.

Three American senators also flew to Poland for the event. (pg/nh)

“tear down this wall.”

***************

In Peggy Noonan’s book “What I saw at the Revolution” (or something) she talks quite a bit about that speech. Reagan added that line in. Then the speech gets passed around to the various Departments (State, etc.) for their revisions, then to the speechwriters, etc. Each time that line was taken out - too controversial, etc.

Interestingly, anything said in a President’s speech is then considered “policy”. Hence all the various departments weighing in on it.

After adding that line back in for 4 or 5 times, Reagan finally accepted the speech without the line in it - much to the relief of the writers and policy makers with all of the ramifications something like that would mean. The final version was given to Reagan at the last minute - IIRC in the limo on the way to the speech.

He penciled in the “tear down this wall” part back in!

Thank God for Ronald Reagan.

I'm a Pole and I live in Poland so far. As to my memories of the 80s, I can say the commies were scared of that man like hell. At least that was the only thing the commies were right. In 1989, trampled into the ground by Solidarity and economically devastated by America, communists gave their power away without a single shot, let alone nuclear shots. All that tremendous power of the Soviet empire of evil crushed by Solidarity from the inside and America from the outside and secured by John Paul II’s prayers. This will never be forgotten, both by us who love the USA, and by commies who were so much humiliated by The Gipper and hate America till the present day.

America saved and liberated hundreds of millions of people from the Marxist nightmare and you should be always proud of it. O’bambo is merely like a tempest - dark, fearful with rumbles of thunders and tears of uncertainty while it is happening. However, after that there's always a new day dawning, night is over, sunlight appears and the life is reborn, while the tempest is just history. This is more less how a novel “Quo Vadis” ends to sum up the rules of Nero, so cheer up!

“So how do you interpret that right arm?”

Interesting.

Here’s some off the top of my head.

Reagan was grounded on bedrock (truth, faith, etc.)

Reagan was a rock (unshakable).

Reagan’s work is not finished, or

Poland was using Obama’s stimulus money to create this, until Obama found out what it was being used for.

Perhaps, you don't know that Reagan was ready to help Poland even in times he wasn't sworn in. According to documents revealed not so long ago, as a President-elect he got President Carter to send a joint message to Kremlin in December 1980, when more than two million Warsaw Pact armies surrendered Poland waiting for the command to invade (US services detected them via satellites).

The message was clear, “If you invade, America and NATO will be forced to come to the aid of Poland”.

Whatever, the Russians pulled out without obvious reasons why. They tried again in April next year but abandoned their plans after the assassination attempt of Reagan. After Reagan had eventually warned Moscow against any invasion of Poland just a day before he was shot, the Soviets began to fear for being accused of taking part in it to stop America from coming into the aid of Poland in case of the Warsaw pact invasion. They feared that such an accusation, in such circumstances, would merely provoke America to a reaction of unprecedented tremendous proportions.
That time, Moscow abandoned any plans of military invasion of Poland and told Jaruzelski to do that with his own army.

Strange and perhaps even ironic, but true.

Exactly, Jaruzelski was a traitor, I can’t believe some Poles believe he saved Poland from invasion in 1981 with Martial Law.

He literally begged for the Soviets to come in, and when they refused, he convinced the Polish armed forces that invasion was inevitable, when he knew he was lying through his teeth.

I’ve got a bottle of champagne ready to pop open when that sukinsyn, finally croaks.

Have you seen a Polish movie “The Teutons” by A.Ford, or read the novel by H.Sienkiewicz?

The nightmare that Teutons did to a Polish landlord Yurand, and then Yurand's revenge - he let the perpetrator go free without the physical penalty.
I don't think Jaruzelski will ever hang himself on a gallows as a result of his dirty conscience, because he's got no conscience at all. At least, kneeling in front of God's throne during the Judgment Day, he won't be able to accuse anybody of not giving him the necessary time to convert and repent. That will be worse to him than any of our hypothetical penalty.

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Walesa unveils one more for the 'Gipper'