summary of incident
The ceremony marked the opening of a roundabout commemorating the Jewish residents of Łuków who were murdered by the Germans during World War II. The event had been condemned two days earlier by a Law and Justice (PiS) MP and was later disrupted by a group of residents expressing antisemitic views.
Details of incident
At the initiative of one of the residents, the city authorities decided to name one of the roundabouts the “Łuków Jews Roundabout.” A formal opening ceremony was planned with the participation of historians and Jan Karwowski, the son of a Holocaust survivor and of a Polish man who helped save her, who permanently resides in the Netherlands. Two days before the ceremony, PiS MP Sławomir Skwarek posted a statement beginning with the words: “Is this really what memory policy in our country should look like?”. He also posed questions: “Whom are we honoring here? Jews who 86 years ago enthusiastically welcomed the Soviet troops entering from the east. Are there no more worthy figures in the city’s 800-year history?”.
During the ceremony, a group of local residents positioned themselves behind the speakers. They brought banners condemning the memorial and criticizing Israel in connection with the war in Gaza. When Karwowski said: “I would like to commemorate the crime in which my father and mother survived, and in which eight people were killed. The crime was committed by a Polish gang that collaborated with the Gestapo,” the protesters began shouting him down.
The regional historian Krzysztof Czubaszek, who was also speaking, condemned the linking of current conflicts with the remembrance of victims of German crimes and described the protest as shameful and disgusting. One of the protesters also kicked the initiator of the commemoration.
The protest organizer later gave a statement to the press: “This is scandalous in light of what is happening in Gaza. Genocide is being committed there, and it is being committed by the ancestors (he misspoke; he meant descendants) of the people who are being honored here. This is a scandal in my opinion. And an even greater scandal is what the man in the cap said. He came all the way from the Netherlands to call Poles murderers; he is some kind of anti-Pole and, in my opinion, he should not be in this country” he said. “It was a parallel society, and honoring them makes as much sense as honoring Muslims in Sweden or France. They had their own religion, their own temples, their own schools, and they did not feel Polish. This is a scandal in my opinion.”
Responsible actors or groups involved
Individuals involved included local protesters (including Przemysław Goławski, the protest organizer), as well as public figures who had previously criticised the commemoration. A Member of Parliament (Sławomir Skwarek, PiS) publicly questioned the legitimacy of honouring Jewish victims prior to the event, contributing to the broader controversy.
