Nawrocki awards Order of the White Eagle to Kęcik and Ząbek on Independence Day

Five awards on Independence Day

On Wednesday, 11 November, Poland's Independence Day, President Karol Nawrocki presented five state decorations at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw. Two people received the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest state decoration: Wiesław Kęcik, a philosopher and activist of the democratic opposition under the People's Republic of Poland, and Mirosław Ząbek, a neurosurgeon and professor at the Medical Centre for Postgraduate Education (CMKP). The Grand Cross of the Order of the Rebirth of Poland went to actress Halina Łabonarska and to historian Krzysztof Szwagrzyk, deputy president of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) and head of its Search and Identification Bureau. Brigadier General Andrzej Kowalski received the Officer's Cross of the same order.

A pause from daily politics

Nawrocki used the ceremony to argue that the national holiday and the two orders offered a rare chance to stop. He said it could be one of the few opportunities for him, the guests and citizens to step back from the news cycle, political battles and the constant exchange of arguments. He urged those present to consider what gives the Republic of Poland its real strength and to focus on the matters that built the continuity of the Polish state. He tied that reflection to the honourees' life stories, which he said showed the country as it is drawn through great achievements, commitment, values and courage.

“Thanks to what you have done for Poland, we can see the picture of an ideal Poland.”

Nawrocki acknowledged that some would call that picture overly idealistic, one rarely seen in practice. He closed by thanking the honourees for giving everyone a moment to pause around the most important matters.

Records of the honourees

Nawrocki said Kęcik had resisted the communist system peacefully and had been imprisoned in the 1970s and 1980s, always returning to public life afterwards. Kęcik was recognised for his role in Poland's political transformation, for promoting freedom and democracy, and for defending human rights under communist rule. At the ceremony he spoke about the honour and the younger generations he sees taking part in the nation's life.

“To be part of the Polish nation and see the new generations here, who step up when they are needed, is something wonderful.”

Ząbek received the award for services to Polish medicine, pioneering neurosurgery and international scientific cooperation. Nawrocki said Ząbek had performed about 3,000 operations on brain aneurysms.

“Professor Mirosław Ząbek is an image of Poland that the world needs.”

Łabonarska graduated from the acting faculty of the State Film, Television and Theatre School in Łódź in 1970. She has worked with Radio Maryja since the 1990s and with TV Trwam since 2003. Her awards include the Irena Solska Award from the Polish section of the International Association of Theatre Critics (2015), the Golden Cross of Merit (2013) and the Gloria Artis Gold Medal (2017). Szwagrzyk, the other Grand Cross recipient, leads the IPN's Search and Identification Bureau.