14 June 2017
From 23-24 May 2017, WVF President, Mr. Dan-Viggo Bergtun, visited Warsaw, Poland, to meet with our Polish Member Associations, the Head of the WVF’s Peace and Security Division, Gen. Stanislaw Wozniak, as well as important government and security figures.
First of all, Mr. Bergtun met with Gen. Brig. Jaroslaw Kraszewski, the Director of Armed Forces in the Supervision Department of the National Security Bureau. Their meeting revolved around bringing together veterans from across borders, the importance of cyber soldiers in modern warfare, and the value of investment in NATO, among other things. The meeting was very interesting and fruitful, with both parties leaving satisfied with the contents of discussion.
Mr. Bergtun was then taken for a dinner with several Heads of Polish Veteran Associations, as well as the Head of the Office for War Veterans and Victims of Oppression, Mr. Jan Józef Kasprzyk. Mr. Bergtun applauded Mr. Kasprzyk for his work in the veteran community, saying that it was an example for governments around the world to follow.
The next day, Mr. Bergtun met with the Director of the Department of Education, Culture and Heritage, of the Ministry of Defence, Mr. Sławomir Frątczak. Mr. Frątczak was very excited to show Mr. Bergtun a new uniform that his department had conceived of for veterans who fought in World War II, as well as those who fought against the regime until 1963. The uniform was thought up as a way of promoting veterans’ pride, as well as for wearing to official occasions. Mr. Frątczak went on to talk about how veterans are closely related to the work of his office, noting how national values stem from history, and a veteran is considered a symbol of history. His Department also organises the annual veteran meeting in Warsaw.
Mr. Bergtun was then taken to the excellent Polish Army Museum, and the Warsaw Rising Museum, before being awarded the medal of the Kolobrzeg’s Knights’ Brigade from the Association of Combatants of the Polish Republic & Former Political Prisoners. Mr. Bergtun rounded off his successful trip with a meeting with Gen. Stanislaw Wozniak, Head of the Peace and Security Division, and Chairman of the Standing Committee on European Affairs.