[Fiji Hill]

As one of Polish heritage, I consider Napoleon to be a liberator, as many in Poland do. There is even mention of Napoleon in the Polish National Anthem.

Indeed, Mazurek Dabrowskiego (Dabrowski's Mazurka), the Polish national anthem, does mention Napoleon:

Dał nam przykład Bonaparte,
Jak zwyciężać mamy.
(Bonaparte has shown us ways to victory)

[dfwgator]

Marsz, marsz, Dąbrowski....

[dangus]

I looked this up, since it seemed odd that a devoutly Catholic nation would include such a line about a killer whose enormity led to the collapse of European Christianity, and the slaughter of millions.

Sure enough, it’s true, but Poland’s national anthem comes from a weird historical quirk, which you may have known:

Poland had been conquered, and divided amongst Russian, Prussian, and Austrian Empires. Rather than celebrating a state, the song celebrates the persistance of a nation, in spite of the loss of an independent state. With France at war with Poland’s looters, Polish forces in Italy, which had literally been trained by Napoleon himself, planned a liberating battle.

So, yes, the anthem means not (necessarily) that Napoleon is someone to be emulated in character, but literally that Napoleon taught them combat. Ironically, this song was written long *before* Napoleonic forces briefly reconstituted Poland (1807-1815).