Embassy Events 2007

Mrs. Ashe Honors Heroes of Poland’s Home Army

2 February 2007

Mrs. Joan Ashe places a wreath at the memorial of Home Army personnel executed for the action against SS General/Police Leader of Nazi-Occupied Warsaw (more photos)

On February 1, Mrs. Joan Ashe represented U.S. Ambassador to Poland Victor Ashe at the 63rd anniversary memorial celebration of a Home Army action aimed against the notorious Franz Kutschera, SS General and Police Leader of Nazi-occupied Warsaw, who was responsible for the murders of hundreds of Polish resistance members and civilians. Mrs. Ashe, accompanying the legendary Mrs. Maria “Kama” Stypułkowska-Chojecka, winner of Poland’s highest order – the “Virtuti Militari” – laid wreaths at the location of the Home Army action and at a nearby spot where hundreds of Warsaw residents were executed by the SS. As a young girl during World War II, “Kama” played an integral role in the action by serving as a lookout and warning her colleagues in the resistance about the approach of Kutschera and his SS entourage. Mrs. Ashe commented on the Home Army’s “brilliant and daring attack” which “delivered a huge blow to Hitler and to the enemies of freedom.”


Mrs. Joan Ashe, wife of U.S. Ambassador to Poland Victor Ashe
Remarks at the Memorial Service of the 63rd Anniversary of Poland’s Home Army Action Against SS General February 1, 2007

It is a special honor for me to represent the people of America while my husband, Ambassador Ashe, is in the United States on a Polish-American trade delegation. It is a wonderful privilege for me to stand-in for him today.

I met “Kama” and her two sons only a week ago during the “Jan Karski” Award Ceremony for President Lech Walesa. I could tell from the very beginning, that Kama was a very special woman. I later learned that indeed, Kama is unique. Poland has honored her with its highest military honor -- the Order of “Virtuti Militari.”. She is a heroine; and many of those standing here with her are heroes.

When Kama invited me to join this special ceremony, I knew I had to attend.

The courageous actions taken in February 1944 by the Home Army were part of a greater effort to lift the terrible shadow which had fallen over Europe. Here in Warsaw, the Gestapo chief was executing almost 100 Poles per day. Kama -- along with her brave brothers and sisters from the Special Operations Unit “Parasol” -- orchestrated a brilliant and daring attack to eliminate this Nazi monster. For Warsaw and Poland, years of bitter fighting lay ahead, but we remember that on February 1, 1944 the heroic Polish Home Army delivered a huge blow to Hitler and to the enemies of freedom.

I thank you, Kama, for inviting me to participate today. We will never forget your bravery. May God give special blessings to our honored veterans, those living and those who have left us; and may God continue to bless Poland and the United States of America!