Poland in shock after president's death in plane crash - Feature

Dominika Maslikowski

Warsaw - Poles were left in shock and grief Saturday after President Lech Kaczynski's death in a plane crash that killed 96 people, including dozens of high-ranking Polish politicians and officials.

"The modern world has not seen a drama like this," said Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who reportedly began to cry when he first heard of the crash.

Crowds thronged in front of the presidential palace, where the white and red Polish flag was flown at half-mast.

One woman holding a rosary prayed on bended knee as dozens of others in the silent crowd lit candles and placed roses and tulips near the lions that stand at the entrance.

There were candles with the logo of the 1940 Warsaw Uprising against the Nazis, in which Kaczynski's father fought. And there was a flag of the Solidarity labour union, in which Kaczynski fought against the Communist regime that took power when the Nazis were defeated.

Parliament speaker Bronislaw Komorowski - who will take over the presidential office until the elections - declared a week-long period of national mourning as condolences arrived from leaders across Europe and worldwide.

"It was so unreal and impossible," said Paulina Luba, 20, who came to pay tribute to the president with two friends. "For us it's a great tragedy. I was in shock."

"My tears are pouring," Warsaw resident Marian Wlodarczyk, 75, told the German Press Agency dpa. "I don't have any words besides a deep grief. I will remember him for the rest of my life."

Commentators across the political spectrum were teary-eyed as they spoke to media about Kaczynski, a conservative who was known for his traditional values.

"I'm shaken by what has happened, it is a great tragedy for Poland," Adam Michnik, editor-in-chief of the Wyborcza daily, told local media. "I knew him personally for many years, and although I often disagreed with him on politics, I always had the feeling he was a person of great patriotism and kindness towards people."

"Everyone has their different ideas, but he had Poland's interests at heart," said a store clerk in Warsaw, who declined to give her name.

The plane was on its way to ceremonies in Katyn, where Kaczynski was to lead events marking the 70th anniversary of the Soviet massacre of some 22,000 Polish officers in 1940. Commentators said the spot of the atrocity will now take on a new meaning for Poles.

Kaczynski "died as a patriot fulfilling his presidential responsibilities," wrote blogger Andrzej Olechowski, an independent president candidate. "This drama gives a new dimension to the symbolism of that place that is for always connected with Poland."

"It's unbelievable, this tragic, dramatic and cursed Katyn," said Aleksander Kwasniewski on TVN 24. "It's a cursed place, a terrifying symbol."

In Krakow, southern Poland, the historic Zygmund's Bell was rung, which only happens at significant moments in Polish history.

The deaths of dozens of other officials were mourned in the plane crash. Their deaths dealt a heavy blow to Poland's elite.

Other passengers included Aleksander Szczyglo, head of the National Security Office, Franciszek Gagor, head of the army chief of staff, and Slawomir Skrzypek, head of Poland's national bank.

The tragedy was comparable to Katyn, said former Solidarity leader Lech Walesa, which saw the death of some 22,000 Polish officers and lawmakers, physicians and professors.

"This is a second tragedy after Katyn," Walesa told TVN 24. "They tried to cut our head off there, and now, too, our nation's elite is dead. To fill the void will take awhile. It's a great loss."

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/318000,poland-in-shock-after-presidents-death-in-plane-crash--feature.html.