Absurd allegations about Germany are circulating in Poland: PiS boss Kaczynski speaks at an election campaign event about discrimination against Poles in Germany. He relies on memories of the time of National Socialism.
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, head of the national-conservative ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS), made headlines in Poland this week with an absurd claim. During an election campaign event in Opole, southern Poland, he claims that Poles are allegedly systematically discriminated against on German trains.
Kaczynski says: “Polish MEPs, for example, ride first class on a German train, a German sits down, notices that they are Poles, calls the conductor to throw them out,” reports the “Welt”. Kaczynski further asks ironically: “For how can Poles drive in first class?”.
Despite the lack of evidence, his statements bring back bad memories of the National Socialist era. The slogan “Only for Germans” could be read on trams during the German occupation of Poland in order to exclude Poles from local transport or parks, according to the “Welt”.
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The timing of the anti-German allegation does not seem to be coincidental: next year a new parliament will be elected in Poland and the PiS is only a few percentage points ahead of the opposition coalition, the Citizens’ Coalition (KO), reports the “Welt”. The PiS started the election campaign with an anti-Germany campaign.
In any case, the anti-German climate has been permeating Polish politics for some time: Politicians and party-friendly media were already in 2015 against the western neighbors, writes the “world”. The party tried to stir up fears of a refugee crisis in Poland with pictures of refugees arriving in Germany.
As early as mid-September, the Polish state television “TVP” showed an excerpt from a speech by Olaf Scholz. As a result, the chancellor was accused on Twitter of “threatening Poland” or of spreading fear of a “border revision”, according to the “Welt”. In Scholz’ speech, on the other hand, nothing of the sort was mentioned.
Germany is also increasingly being equated with Russia in Poland: Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said during the opening of the “Frische Spit” canal: “We are freeing ourselves from our dependence on Russia and Germany,” according to the “Welt”. The Baltic Sea Canal is only in the vicinity of Russian waters – the canal has little to do with Germany, according to “Welt”.
But a certain part can be attributed to the federal government itself: Its energy policy and the reluctance to provide aid to Ukraine, which is sometimes incomprehensible abroad, have destroyed a lot of trust in Germany, according to the “Welt”. Above all, Germany’s loss of reputation could be the basis for the PiS campaign. The campaign is unlikely to contribute to improving German-Polish relations.
