By placing the memorial plaque in Rijeka and issuing the booklet titled „ Polish Navy Officers – Senior Undergraduates at the Imperial and Royal Naval Academy in Rijeka“, tribute was paid to Polish officers, co-founders of the Second Polish Republic Navy who graduated from the Naval Academy in Rijeka in the period between 1866 and 1918.
As pointed out by the ambassador of the Republic of Poland to the Republic of Croatia, His Excellency Wiesiaw Tarka on the occasion of unveiling the memorial plaque, until the end of World War I, in addition to Pula, Rijeka had been the most important centre of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. In the famous Military and Naval Academy established as far back as in 1786, together with participants of other nationalities included in the Monarchy, about forty Poles attended the academy as well.
The role that Rijeka played in the education of naval profiles of the Second Republic was exceptionally important since these profiles included about ten commodores, a warship captain and an admiral. One of them was Bogumil Nowotny, the first commander of the Second Republic Navy. Though relatively small, this was actually a significant group of officers of the Polish Navy in the period between the two wars and during World War II, which started its service before the First World War in the Austro-Hungarian Navy, while after the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in 1918, it continued its service within the Polish naval forces. These were Polish officer cadets attending the Naval Academy in Rijeka whose military experience and education contributed to the fast foundation and development of the Second Polish Republic Navy.
Therefore, the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Croatia took an initiative to mark this with a memorial plaque in Rijeka, as well as to issue the booklet written by authors Slawomir Kudela and Walter Pater which will tell the story about the Poles at school in Rijeka in the most complete manner.
Ambassador Tarka expressed his thanks to the dean of the Faculty of Maritime Studies in Rijeka and the city authorities for their understanding and support while searching a place suitable for placing the memorial plaque, emphasising that nowadays when hundreds of thousands of Poles every year visit the Croatian coast, including Kvarner, among other destinations, certainly many of them will show interest in visiting Rijeka to get acquainted with the history that connects the two nations.
The following persons addressed the audience within the plaque unveiling ceremony: professor Serđo Kos, dean of the Faculty of Maritime Studies in Rijeka, professor Pero Lučin, rector of the University of Rijeka, Vojko Obersnel, Rijeka mayor, Ante Urlić, the Croatian Navy Commander and Tomasz Mathea, Rear Admiral and the Commander of Navy of the Republic of Poland.
The mayor of the City of Rijeka Vojko Obersnel emphasised that the small plaque has great significance for the Polish and Croatian history and also for the history of Rijeka because it confirms that Rijeka has always been a centre of excellence. The ties between Croatia and Poland will be additionally deepened as Rijeka should become a starting point that would connect the Adriatic with the Baltic Sea, to be realised by connecting the Polish port of Szczecin and Rijeka corridor.
The memorial plaque was unveiled by the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland together with the Croatian Navy Commander and the Polish Navy Commander, while Rijeka mayor Vojko Obersnel laid down a wreath.
(I.N.)