From the beginning of March, this town near Bielsko-Biała was subjected to threats, intimidation, and violent attacks by local neo-Nazi skinheads targeting several Roma families. The fascists smashed windows in their homes, beat several people, and broke the leg of a Roma boy. They also hurled racist insults at Roma women.
Months of terror met with delayed justice
As the violence escalated, Roma families lived in fear of a pogrom. On April 3, the community barricaded themselves inside a single apartment, expecting a mass assault. Local authorities failed to act, and the Roma, driven to desperation, confronted the attackers at a local sports club frequented by the skinheads. The ringleader—an ex-security guard dismissed for racist conduct—had orchestrated the campaign.
Only in June 1998 did the judicial system respond: the Provincial Prosecutor in Bielsko-Biała filed charges against two men, Adrian R. and Rafał G., for assault and public racial harassment. The case stood out as one of the few where perpetrators of antigypsyist violence faced legal accountability, revealing both the inertia of law enforcement and the emerging strength of grassroots advocacy against hate crimes.
Further reading/SOURCES
Brunatna Księga 1987–2009. Warszawa: Stowarzyszenie „Nigdy Więcej”
Marcin Kornak – 2009