Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has issued a strong statement condemning a series of acts of racism and Holocaust denial in the country, the Polish Press Agency reported, BTA reports.
“We do not accept the escalating racist campaign and the anti-Semitism it fuels“, Sikorski said in a video posted on Saturday on the “Ex“ platform (formerly Twitter).
He cited as a worrying example an incident during the “Euro Folk 2025“ festival in the eastern city of Zamość, where participants from Spain, Senegal, Serbia and India have been subjected to verbal attacks. In addition, local residents have filed reports with the police demanding that the “refugee invasion“ be stopped.
“This is not an isolated case“, said Sikorski. “Anti-immigrant hysteria is hurting Poland, awakening its most terrible demons.“
The minister also condemned two cases of historical revisionism related to the Holocaust. He expressed indignation at the placement of stones with inscriptions such as “Jews in occupied Poland enjoyed autonomy“ and “lived in symbiosis with Germans“ near the new memorial to the victims of the Jedwabne pogrom, on the occasion of the 84th anniversary of the tragedy.
Sikorski also sharply criticized far-right MP Grzegorz Braun, who casts doubt on the existence of gas chambers in Auschwitz.
“Captain Pilecki did not go to Auschwitz voluntarily so that some scoundrel could now dispute his reports for political gain“, he said, referring to Witold Pilecki - a resistance hero who infiltrated the camp to pass on information about the crimes there.
The foreign minister stressed that Poland has the sovereign right to control its borders and check the legal status of foreigners, but this should not lead to manifestations of racial hatred.
“History shows that words often turn into actions. Germany has taught us that racial hatred leads to the gas chambers“, warned Sikorski.
“Poland has always been a hospitable country. Poles are better than those who slander strangers and sow hatred. I appeal towards reason and humanity“, he concluded.