Business As Usual

After the shock of the airplane crash on Saturday, the city of Gdansk shut down. I assume that the same is true for the rest of Poland but I only know for sure about here. Stores were all closed for the weekend. Polish flags with black ribbons appeared everywhere. Banners and photos of those who died in the crash were posted all over the place. Masses for the dead were going on in all the churches.

On Tuesday we went to Old Town to see what memorials had been set up. We stopped by the shipyard memorial. One of the people on the plane was 80 year old Anna Walentynowicz. She was very involved in the Solidarity Movement in the 70s and 80s. She was well known for her brazen defiance by handing out illegal newspapers directly to the bosses at the shipyards. She was fired days before she was to retire which angered the other workers and sparked further Solidarity events. There is a picture of her and Mr. and Mrs. Kaczynski on the gate of the shipyard.


There were probably around 30 people milling around at the shipyard memorial while we were there. There were hundreds (if not more) lanterns that had been lit and placed in front of the memorial.

There are boxes of matches sitting in front of all the lanterns for people to use to light their lanterns. There was a solemn feeling as people stood quietly and reflected on what has happened.

We've been to the shipyard memorial several times. Today we saw a part of it that we had not seen before. There is a concrete square that has the imprint of John Paul II's shoes where he stood when he visited this spot. Funny how each time we visit a place we see something that we have not seen before.


We walked down the main street with restaurants and shops. Everything was open and there were many people out walking. There is a large display in the middle of the street of facts regarding the horror of Katyn.

This is the 70th anniversary of this mass murder of Polish soldiers, so I imagine this particular display was planned beforehand. It is its own event and has nothing to do with the crash. Sadly though, the crash adds to the tragedy that is Katyn. Or as people are saying here- the second tragedy of Katyn.

We stepped into the Church of Saint Mary. The ceiling in the church is very high. I hesitate to venture a guess because I am not good at that sort of space judgment--maybe 30 feet? 40 feet? It's seriously high! There is a red and white banner from the ceiling nearly to the floor. There is a large framed photograph of the President and First Lady displayed on the altar steps with red and white roses in front of it.

The funeral of President and Mrs. Kaczynski has been set for Sunday in Warsaw and then they will be buried in the crypt of Wawel Cathedral in Krakow. We were there back in October. That was where John Paul II was Cardinal before he was elected Pope in 1978. I was reading this morning that the decision to bury the president there is very controversial among Poles. This president was a polarizing figure. While the nation is united in mourning for the president, political ideals have not changed. So some do not think that he deserves to have the honor of being buried with Poles who are considered true national heroes and kings.

I was happy to learn that Obama will make the trip to Krakow. Regardless of my political view, the fact of the matter is that he represents all of the US people to the world. So I put my politics aside and am very glad that the American President is making the effort to show Poland that we are sorry for their loss.

One thing I will comment on is that the smooth and quick transition of power to Komorowski on the day of the tragedy, the dissention of some Poles over the location of the burial and the "back to normalness" are very telling. Poland is a stable country with the ability to withstand a very catastrophic blow. They had a plan and immediately put it into action. This country has been free for only 20 years. And what strides they have made! They are strong and continuing to move forward. They are a country still in mourning, but fully capable nonetheless. Every person on that plane was significant in forming the Poland that exists today. While I'm sure they did not expect to be involved in such a dramatic and sad accident, this capable and forward moving Poland is what they all worked for many years to achieve.

On his own, Trey drew a Polish flag, signed it "Love, Trey," folded it up, put it in an envelope and asked me for a stamp. He wants it to go to the family of the president so he simply addressed it to "Polska." I'm sure that's good enough!