80 Years On

On 1^st September 2019 people across Europe are remembering the events of 80 years ago today, when war broke out following the German invasion of Poland. Józef’s experience of that day is recorded in the entry he titled, “War… War… War” which can be found here: Waking up to War.

In a subsequent entry covering events which took place just a couple of weeks after the invasion, Józef describes some of the conversations he had with fellow officers with whom he had become close during the early days of the September campaign.

17/09/39

At this point there were almost no moments when we were not discussing or commenting on each new incident. Events were moving forward more and more rapidly and our downfall was getting closer and closer. Every issue was discussed endlessly.

Conversations with our engineer were a particular pleasure and we got into discussions about the war in the greatest and most fundamental details of patriotism, the role of the state and more.

“Those who survive this war must aim to create something new, something that will last longer.”

Undoubtedly each nation has its own goals and aspirations which must be respected by any new entity. Such a body should create the conditions that allow each nation both the freedom to develop and the ability for its citizens to thrive. At the same time it should generate processes which make catastrophes such as war impossible.

“Maybe it’s possible to do this through uniting several nations…”

“It’s less about structure, rather a union or association of countries or states…”

“At any rate if the existing structures aren’t reduced there’ll be a recurrence of wars.”

“Surely if we develop an appropriate structure for this, the possibility of war recedes.”

The entry continues in this manner, speculating extensively on these “fundamental details” as Józef recounts his and his peers’ attempts to form a workable vision of their hopes for the future.