Press Releases
Athens, 30 March 2021
Polish stamp for 200th anniversary of Greek Revolution presented to President of Parliament
The anniversary stamp issued by the Polish Postal Service on the occasion of the bicentenary of the Greek Revolution was presented today to the President of the Hellenic Parliament, Constantine Tassoulas, by the Chairperson of the Poland-Greece Parliamentary Friendship Group, Daniel Milewski.
The stamp depicts the figure of Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz, a heroic saboteur who collaborated with the Greek Resistance in WWII and was executed by the Nazis in 1943 at the Shooting Range (“Skopeutirio”) of Kaisariani.
The Chairman of the Parliamentary Friendship Group of the Polish Parliament visited the President of the Hellenic Parliament, accompanied by the Ambassador of Poland in Athens, Artur Lompart, and the Chairman of the “Agia Marina” Foundation which promotes Greek culture, the Greek language and Orthodoxy, Patryk Panasiuk.
Mr. Tassoulas, welcoming them to his office, in the presence of the Chairwoman of the Greece-Poland Parliamentary Friendship Group, MP Olga Kefalogianni (A’ Athens Constituency) and of MP Christoforos-Emmanouil Boutsikakis (A’ Piraeus Constituency), observed that the Friendship Groups of the two parliaments have strengthened the relationship between the two countries against even the odds created by the demon of the pandemic. “They are among the Friendship Groups that have found ways to overcome the hurdles of the pandemic and continue in a systematic way to stay in touch and cooperate creatively”, emphasised Mr. Tassoulas.
The President of the Parliament stated that “the Parliament of Poland, following a proposal by its relevant Friendship group issued, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Greek Revolution, an anniversary stamp, and overall the Parliament of Poland, as well as the President of Poland, have issued announcements that honour the 200 years of Greek liberty, acts for which we are grateful.”
Mr. Tassoulas pointed out that recently on 21 March, “a great Polish poet and friend of Greece, Adam Zagajewski, died. He was also a scholar of Greek poetry, he admired Seferis and Cavafy in particular and had written that “all of poetry is between Athens and Jerusalem”. Seeing the initiatives our Polish friends have taken to honour a Greek-Polish saboteur war hero, to honour the Greek Revolution, to strengthen the Greek-Polish friendship, and because all of this can be viewed through the lens of poetry, as it contains elements that stem from the noble chords of the human soul, I could rightfully correct the great Polish poet and say that “a great deal of poetry is also between Athens and Warsaw.”
Mr. Tassoulas thanked the “Polish friends”, as he characteristically said and congratulated them on their exemplary acts in promoting friendship and cooperation between the two peoples.
The Chairman of the Poland-Greece Parliamentary Friendship Group, Daniel Milewski, for his part, stated inter alia: “To be in the Hellenic Parliament is a great honour for us. Last year we had the pleasure of meeting here with the Friendship Group. The building of the Hellenic Parliament is a special and unique place, taking into account of course that every parliament is the house of Democracy in any country. However, the building of the Hellenic Parliament is not just the house of Democracy of Greece, but of all nations. As Polish democrats we feel as if we were visiting our own home. So we humbly bow to the foundations your country has laid for Democracy. The stories of our states could be said to have many similarities. Our country, a few months ago celebrated 100 years of liberation. We would like to thank you once again for the fact that Greece was one of the first states to recognise Poland.
For us, as members of the Poland-Greece Friendship Group, it was perfectly clear that with the bicentenary of the liberation of Greece coming up, we should participate actively. One point we focused on was the Sejm’s resolution on the anniversary of Greek Independence. The second initiative we took to honour this anniversary was to issue an anniversary stamp through the Polish Postal Service on the occasion of the 200 years since the liberation. On the one hand, we wanted to honour the celebrations of Greek Independence, on the other hand, of course, we are highlighting a very important hero for both nations, a hero of Polish descent, who has however been recorded in Greek history as well.
We are faithful to the European family, we are as European nations very close to each other, but I deeply believe that the road to strengthening relations and contacts between two states does not just go through Brussels, but it passes mainly through our bilateral contacts. Shortly before his execution Szajnowicz shouted:”Long live Greece! Long live Poland!” I wish to repeat that along with my best wishes for the celebrations of the Greek nation.”
The President of the Parliament, Constantine Tassoulas, observed: ”Indeed, the hero whom we honour with the stamp and who was executed by the National Socialist occupation troops in Kaisariani in 1943, shouted “Long live Greece! Long live Poland!” right before his execution. Saying it today is much easier, less painful, but very emotional. So to use an old-fashioned expression: “Long live Greece and Poland”.
