Statue of General Stanislaw Maczek

That the Parliament welcomes the bronze statue of General Stanislaw Maczek, which is to be unveiled on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh on 3 November 2018; understands that General Maczek served as a battalion commander of the Austro-Hungarian Army during the First World War and a major in the Polish army in the interwar years; notes that, during the invasion of Poland in 1939, his 10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade fought for five days, slowing the blitzkrieg to 10 kilometres-a-day and becoming the only Polish unit not to have lost a battle that year; understands that he was subsequently made a brigadier-general in the Polish Army in France, where he continued to fight the German forces before escaping to the UK; notes that he succeeded in having a Polish armoured regiment created that was tasked with defending Scotland’s east coast; recognises the contribution that he made while leading his regiment during the invasion of Normandy; notes that he was granted honorary Dutch citizenship in recognition of his actions to minimise civilian casualties; deplores both the stripping of his Polish citizenship by the communist government and the reported refusal of a pension to him by the UK Government; acknowledges that General Maczek, who was originally a language and literature student, eventually worked as a bartender in Edinburgh until the 1960s, and believes that the statue, which has been created by the accomplished Polish sculptor, Bronislaw Krzysztof, will help to highlight this hugely interesting man's links to Scotland and his pivotal role in fighting the Nazis.