"Not just a Polish patriot, but a patriot of the whole of Europe".

The President of the European Parliament today named the European Conservatives and Reformists’ meeting room in Brussels after Witold Pilecki, a Polish World War II resistance leader who fought against Nazism and Communism. The ceremony was also attended by the co-chairmen of the ECR Group, Ryszard Legutko and Nicola Procaccini, as well as Marek Ostrowski, the nephew of Witold Pilecki.

President Metsola paid tribute to Pilecki, who not only smuggled himself into Auschwitz concentration camp to report on Nazi atrocities but also went on to fight against Communist oppression following the Second World War. “That we are standing here almost 75 years to the day since his death is testimony to the lasting impact of his life and what he meant to Poland and to the foundations of Europe”, she said. The European Parliament has done its bit “in order to honour the man who stood up against all odds. Who gave his life so that the rest of us would have a better chance at a better, freer one.”

It is up to the European Parliament to follow Pilecki’s example and “educate and inform people why freedom is important, why Europe must stand up as the antithesis to totalitarianism, why we insist on the principles of liberty, equality and freedom,” Metsola added.

ECR Co-President Prof Ryszard Legutko thanked his group colleague Anna Fotyga, who launched the initiative to commemorate Pilecki, and the EPP group for supporting the cause. Legutko said: “Pilecki’s heroism goes beyond our imagination. What also exceeds the imagination is the evil he faced. The Communists who murdered him believed that with his death, the memory about him would be wiped out forever. Pilecki’s story, which the Communists tried to erase, must be told to future generations”.

ECR Co-President Nicola Procaccini said: “Witold Pilecki was a courageous man who lived in one of the darkest periods of human history, marked by the domination of totalitarian ideologies. A time when men lost themselves, forgot about God and respect for the sacredness of life. Witold Pilecki is no longer only a Polish patriot, but a patriot of the whole of Europe”.

Mr Marek Ostrowski concluded the ceremony saying: “I am glad that I have lived to see the moment when we can openly talk about him and praise his achievements, and that the memory of Witold Pilecki is perpetuated by creating museums, giving his name to schools, buildings or halls – just like today. He was a giant, who, despite such difficult times, has done so much”.