The Mława riot began after a young Roma man caused a fatal car accident, killing one pedestrian. He fled the scene, sparking anger among locals. Tensions escalated quickly, fueled by resentment toward the Roma community, leading to violent attacks on their homes.
Collective punishment as public spectacle
On the night of June 26–27, 1991, riots broke out in Mława targeting the local Roma community. The immediate cause was a traffic accident caused by a 17-year-old Roma boy who fled the scene after fatally injuring a pedestrian. Despite the family surrendering him to the police, rumours and anger spread rapidly. Mobs formed, numbering up to two hundred people, and began destroying Roma homes, smashing windows, looting, and setting property on fire.
In total, seventeen houses were completely destroyed and several others severely damaged. The violence, which lasted two days, left dozens injured and forced many Roma families to flee. The pogrom exposed deep social tensions and the persistence of antigypsyist stereotypes that turned a tragic accident into a justification for collective retribution.
“I was sick when I saw those houses, and I saw all of them. It was an apocalypse. Two-inch pipes as thick as a human arm were twisted nearly into knots, metal railings and balustrades bent like pasta, windows ripped out with their frames, bathtubs torn from the walls…such destruction requires a certain number of people and methodical, coordinated action. This level of destruction was absolutely beyond the physical capabilities of the small group that was later sentenced.”
Adam Chmieliński, mayor of Mława