Arm Cut Off Ronald Reagan Statue In Poland

A statue of Ronald Reagan in Poland was vandalised on Tuesday, after the President’s metallic arm was chopped off and then stolen.

Police officers in Gdansk, Poland, are now hunting for the criminal who damaged the statue, which was made in honor of Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II.

This comes less than a year after the statue was unveiled. It was created to celebrate both Reagan and Pope John Paul II, who was born in Poland, as they both helped to bring down communism 24 years ago.

Lucyna Rykowska, a spokeswoman for the city’s police department, confirmed that police are now searching for the individual who committed the crime.

Originally it was believed that it would cost over $30,000 to repair the damage caused, however the artist that created the piece has insisted that he could repair it in weeks for far less money.

This hasn’t stopped the city’s residents from commenting on the deplorable actions of those who caused the vandalism.

People interviewed by TVN24, a popular Polish television station, confirmed that the park is one of the most popular locations in the city, and that visitors even leave flowers there to commemorate the duo’s legacies.

Ronald Reagan is roundly adored in Poland because of his Cold War efforts in the 1980s.

In 2007, his widow, Nancy, was awarded the Order of the White Eagle on behalf of her husband, while there is also another statue of Reagan in Warsaw, and a roundabout has been named after him in Wroclaw.

The statue in Gdansk is an homage to a photograph of Pope John Paul II and the 40th President of the United States, which was taken by Scott Stewart in 1987. The image was captured during Pope John Paul second visit to the United States of America.

[Image via Panek/Wikimedia]