--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I belong to a nation which over the past…" description: "\"I belong to a nation which over the past centuries has experienced many hardships and reverses. The world reacted with silence or with mere sympathy wh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be2/lech-walesa-4311_brutal_i-belong-to-a-nation-which-over-the-past_2220252.png" --- # I belong to a nation which over the past centuries has… ![“I belong to a nation which over the past centuries has experienced many hardships and reverses. The world reacted with silence or with mere sympathy when Polish frontiers were crossed by invading armies and the sovereign state had to succumb to brutal force.” quote by Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be2/lech-walesa-4311_brutal_i-belong-to-a-nation-which-over-the-past_2220252.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be2/lech-walesa-4311_brutal_i-belong-to-a-nation-which-over-the-past_2220252.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be2/lech-walesa-4311_brutal_i-belong-to-a-nation-which-over-the-past_2220252.png) > “I belong to a nation which over the past centuries has experienced many hardships and reverses. The world reacted with silence or with mere sympathy when Polish frontiers were crossed by invading armies and the sovereign state had to succumb to brutal force.” [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poland endured repeated invasions and global indifference, underscoring resilience amid hardship. **In simple terms:** Poland faced many hardships and was often ignored. Key Takeaway Remember and honor resilience in the face of adversity. Themes history resilience national identity Mood somber reflective Type historical political When to use this quote - education - commemoration - policy advocacy - media reporting Key Concepts political science human rights collective memory Questions to Reflect On - How can societies better support oppressed nations? - What lessons does Poland’s history teach today? A Different Perspective Complex history may oversimplify nuanced events. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brutal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brutal/) [Frontiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/frontiers/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) [Sovereign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sovereign/) [Sympathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sympathy/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“She knew she lived in a man’s world, and she reacted accordingly”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-roberts/she-knew-she-lived-in-a-man-s-world-and-she-reacted-accordingly/) [C.J. Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-roberts/) > [I've experienced many hardships, but mentally, I've always been older, and that reflects in my actions, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kailash-kher/i-ve-experienced-many-hardships-but-mentally-i-ve-always-been-older/) [Kailash Kher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kailash-kher/) > [You have never experienced life if you have never experienced hardships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauntavia-brooks/you-have-never-experienced-life-if-you-have-never-experienced/) Shauntavia Brooks > [“I belong to a nation which for the past four years has begun to relive the course of her entire history and which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/i-belong-to-a-nation-which-for-the-past-four-years-has-begun-to/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Nations without a past are contradictions in terms. What makes a nation is the past, what justifies one nation against others is the past,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hobsbawm/nations-without-a-past-are-contradictions-in-terms-what-makes-a/) [Eric Hobsbawm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hobsbawm/) > [Upper classes are a nation's past; the middle class is its future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/upper-classes-are-a-nation-s-past-the-middle-class-is-its-future/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [While there are still imperialist aggressors, the state that has no defense power of its own to protect its sovereignty against the internal and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-il-sung/while-there-are-still-imperialist-aggressors-the-state-that-has-no/) [Kim Il-sung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-il-sung/) > [As a sovereign state, we should have operational command of our forces returned to us at an appropriate time. Korea and the United States…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moon-jae-in/as-a-sovereign-state-we-should-have-operational-command-of-our-forces/) [Moon Jae-in](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moon-jae-in/) > [Armies under the control of ... a sovereign State cannot bring freedom to anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/armies-under-the-control-of-a-sovereign-state-cannot-bring-freedom-to/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [“It began in 1784, when people in the western territories of North Carolina (now eastern Tennessee) became disgusted with Tidewater control. Their solution was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-woodard/it-began-in-1784-when-people-in-the-western-territories-of-north/) [Colin Woodard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-woodard/) > [Either we are a sovereign state, or we are not! As long as we are not, we have no business in a community of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/either-we-are-a-sovereign-state-or-we-are-not-as-long-as-we-are-not/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [The world political system is till based on the concept of the national sovereign state. For the first time therefore, in three hundred years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/the-world-political-system-is-till-based-on-the-concept-of-the/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [The sovereign state has in our times become a lethal danger to human civilization because technical developments enable it to employ an infinite number…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-lous-lange/the-sovereign-state-has-in-our-times-become-a-lethal-danger-to-human/) [Christian Lous Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-lous-lange/) > [It is against this concept of the sovereign state, a state isolated by protectionism and militarism, that internationalism must now engage in decisive battle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-lous-lange/it-is-against-this-concept-of-the-sovereign-state-a-state-isolated-by/) [Christian Lous Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-lous-lange/) > [Historically, international law lent a measure of legality to the colonial system, and allowed the West to set the rules for participation as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-a-falk/historically-international-law-lent-a-measure-of-legality-to-the/) [Richard A. Falk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-a-falk/) ## More by Lech Walesa > [The fall of the Berlin Wall makes for nice pictures. But it all started in the shipyards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/the-fall-of-the-berlin-wall-makes-for-nice-pictures-but-it-all/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [I made the right decisions, I set everything on the right course, the reforms are going in the right direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/i-made-the-right-decisions-i-set-everything-on-the-right-course-the/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [Up to the 20th century, we can say that this whole period was an Earth epoch, 'Earth' meaning the riches of the earth, simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/up-to-the-20th-century-we-can-say-that-this-whole-period-was-an-earth/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [I think if I got a bicycle from my father, I should give a car to my son.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/i-think-if-i-got-a-bicycle-from-my-father-i-should-give-a-car-to-my/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [You should go to the polls, organize yourself. But once lawmakers are chosen, they must be respected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/you-should-go-to-the-polls-organize-yourself-but-once-lawmakers-are/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [If once again Germany destabilizes Europe, then Germany will be not be divided again, but wiped off the map. East and West have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/if-once-again-germany-destabilizes-europe-then-germany-will-be-not-be/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [I risked my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/i-risked-my-life/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [There is something of the warrior in me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/there-is-something-of-the-warrior-in-me/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [Communism is a monopolistic system, economically and politically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/communism-is-a-monopolistic-system-economically-and-politically/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [ \[Without Pope John Paul II\] there would be no end of Communism or at least much later, and the end would have been bloody. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/without-pope-john-paul-ii-there-would-be-no-end-of-communism-or-at/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [You have riches and freedom here but I feel no sense of faith or direction. You have so many computers, why don't you use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/you-have-riches-and-freedom-here-but-i-feel-no-sense-of-faith-or/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [The hope of the nation which throughout the nineteenth century had not for a moment reconciled itself with the loss of independence, and fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/the-hope-of-the-nation-which-throughout-the-nineteenth-century-had/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [We have travelled so far in our technical advancements that we are no longer located in our own countries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/we-have-travelled-so-far-in-our-technical-advancements-that-we-are-no/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [We hold our heads high, despite the price we have paid, because freedom is priceless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/we-hold-our-heads-high-despite-the-price-we-have-paid-because-freedom/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [When he saw injustice, he wanted to do away with it. He saw communism, and he wanted to put an end to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/when-he-saw-injustice-he-wanted-to-do-away-with-it-he-saw-communism/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) [Explore all 113 Lech Walesa quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) ## More Brutal quotes > [In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. Can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/in-2001-we-were-told-that-the-war-in-afghanistan-was-a-feminist/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [The novel is the dream release, the suspension of reality that history needs to escape its own brutal confinements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-novel-is-the-dream-release-the-suspension-of-reality-that-history/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Hitler recruited around him homosexuals to make up his Stormtroopers, they were his enforcers, they were his thugs. And Hitler discovered that he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-fischer/hitler-recruited-around-him-homosexuals-to-make-up-his-stormtroopers/) [Bryan Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-fischer/) > [The Lord expects us to enjoy our lives. He says there will be some brutal times, but we shouldn't get all bent out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-henderson/the-lord-expects-us-to-enjoy-our-lives-he-says-there-will-be-some/) [Paul Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-henderson/) > [We face a brutal enemy who will kill the innocent for one purpose and that is to gain control of the Middle East and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-rove/we-face-a-brutal-enemy-who-will-kill-the-innocent-for-one-purpose-and/) [Karl Rove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-rove/) > [No matter how well-born, how intelligent, how highly educated, how virtuous, how rich, how refined, the women of to-day constitutea political class below that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-corinna-putnam-jacobi/no-matter-how-well-born-how-intelligent-how-highly-educated-how/) [Mary Corinna Putnam Jacobi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-corinna-putnam-jacobi/) > [I find that truly heartbreaking that, like, it's such a common, constant thing in people's lives - a brutal abuse of people by other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-duritz/i-find-that-truly-heartbreaking-that-like-it-s-such-a-common-constant/) [Adam Duritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-duritz/) > [I think brutal honesty is extremely important. Don't be afraid of being up-front about your feelings and your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minka-kelly/i-think-brutal-honesty-is-extremely-important-don-t-be-afraid-of/) [Minka Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minka-kelly/) > [When my friends have been heartbroken, I give them a shoulder to cry on and some brutal advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maura-higgins/when-my-friends-have-been-heartbroken-i-give-them-a-shoulder-to-cry/) [Maura Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maura-higgins/) > [Something that comes to us, some gym shoe that comes to us as a result of child labor from a brutal dictatorship, where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/something-that-comes-to-us-some-gym-shoe-that-comes-to-us-as-a-result/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [In my experience sometimes the darker the material that you're doing, the more necessary it is to have some sort of levity around. I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-stahl/in-my-experience-sometimes-the-darker-the-material-that-you-re-doing/) [Nick Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-stahl/) > [I do have one very brutal writing ritual. If I'm working in the morning, I don't allow myself a cup of tea until I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-lane/i-do-have-one-very-brutal-writing-ritual-if-i-m-working-in-the/) [Anthony Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-lane/) > [The circle of an empty day is brutal and at night it tightens around your neck like a noose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elena-ferrante/the-circle-of-an-empty-day-is-brutal-and-at-night-it-tightens-around/) [Elena Ferrante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elena-ferrante/) > [“I had brutal beginnings. I will not let the darkness in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jennings/i-had-brutal-beginnings-i-will-not-let-the-darkness-in/) [Melissa Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jennings/) > [Usually I avoided college students, whom I considered brutal, wrapped up in themselves, particularly in their youth, in which they found material for drama…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/usually-i-avoided-college-students-whom-i-considered-brutal-wrapped/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 790 Brutal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brutal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I belong to a nation which over the past centuries has experienced many hardships and reverses. The world reacted with silence or with mere sympathy when Polish frontiers were crossed by invading armies and the sovereign state had to succumb to brutal force.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lech Walesa" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/i-belong-to-a-nation-which-over-the-past-centuries-has-experienced/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brutal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/i-belong-to-a-nation-which-over-the-past-centuries-has-experienced/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be2/lech-walesa-4311_brutal_i-belong-to-a-nation-which-over-the-past_2220252.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be2/lech-walesa-4311_brutal_i-belong-to-a-nation-which-over-the-past_2220252.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be2/lech-walesa-4311_brutal_i-belong-to-a-nation-which-over-the-past_2220252.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I belong to a nation which over the past centuries has experienced many hardships and reverses. The world…” — Lech Walesa", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lech Walesa", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I belong to a nation which...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/i-belong-to-a-nation-which-over-the-past-centuries-has-experienced/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/i-belong-to-a-nation-which-over-the-past-centuries-has-experienced/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```