The lower house of parliament has passed a bill today creating a new national holiday – the National Day of Memory for the Warsaw Rising.

From next year, the 1 September will be a national holiday, but not a day off of work.

The holiday is meant to pay homage to the heroes of the Warsaw Rising in 1944, claims President Lech Kaczynski: “those who, in defense of the state, fought in arms for the liberation of the capital and sought to restore an independent Polish state, fought the German Nazi occupation and the Soviet rule that would be imposed on the future generations of Poles.”

The proposal was introduced to the Sejm by President Kaczynski and received a vote of 397 in favour and six abstentions. (mmj)