Exhibition sparks Berlin criticism over Poland's human rights

EUobserver ^ | 21.08.2006 | Honor Mahony

[lizol]

Exhibition sparks Berlin criticism over Poland's human rights

21.08.2006 - 09:59 CET | By Honor Mahony

An official from the German government has for the first time reacted to the steady souring of relations between Warsaw and Berlin and suggested human rights are being eroded in Poland.

Gunter Nooke, a Christrian Democrat human rights experts for the German government, criticised Poland in the influential German weekly, Der Spiegel, about its handling of a museum exhibition highlighting the fate of the millions expelled from their homes in the 20th century, including Germans in the post war period.

He told the magazine that he had seen credible reports that indicated that Polish supporters of the exhibition were being put under "massive pressure".

Mr Nooke also claimed that journalists were afraid to write subtly differentiated reports about the exhibition.

The Polish coastguard has already asked for the return of one of the central pieces of the exhibition - bells from the 'Wilhelm Gustloff' boat.

Carrying almost 10,000 German refugees, the Gustloff was sunk by a Soviet U-boat in 1945.

Reacting to this, Mr Nooke said he was "very worried" about the state of human rights in the neighbouring country.

"That the freedom of expression and the freedom to demonstrate is in danger" in Poland can also be seen in the forbidding of demonstrations by homosexuals, said the German lawyer.

The exhibition is the brainchild of Erika Steinbach, a Christian Democrat politician, and head of the German League of Expellees.

However, many Poles fear the exhibition casts Germans as victims in a war which they started.

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Poland's prime minister, recently said the transferral of Germans after the war was "sad, even tragic" but added that it should be remembered "who was the perpetrator and who was the victim".

Plans have also been mooted to turn the exhibition into a permanent centre causing Lech Kaczynski, president of Poland and twin brother of the prime minister, to say "It will be better for relations between our countries if this centre never comes into existence."

[lizol]

According to the Polish media Mr. Gunter Nooke (being an official from the German government) said, that Poland is endangered by something, that he called using a German word "Gleichschaltung"

I don't speak German, but according to Wikipedia Gleichschaltung is "a Nazi term for the process by which the Nazi regime successively established a system of totalitarian control over the individual, and tight coordination over all aspects of society and commerce"(follow the link for further explanation).

Well, with all my respect and sympathy that I have for the German people and modern Germany - I think situation, when a representative of the German government compares and equalizes situation in Poland to Nazi Germany is at least an exaggeration.
And definitely nothing, that's going to improve relations between the 2 countries.

[lizol]

Eastern European ping list

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FRmail me to be added or removed from this Eastern European ping list

[dfwgator]

I hope that these are just a few kooks in Germany, and their views are not shared by the rest of the German people.

[Lukasz]

Oh, how those German Christian Democrats care about “suppressed” Polish homosexuals, heartbreaking. Slowly this issue starts to remind me, old communist propaganda slogan “and in American they are beating blacks”.

[Grzegorz 246]

[Grzegorz 246]

"Looks like Germans are preparing for "something completely different" although so well known from the past."

Worry not, they will escape If only Jarek K. start singing. "Z ziemi polskiej do wolski" would be the best.

[lizol]

You mean this?


:-)))

[citizen 4RP]

Vox! Stop these emotions! Can't you see they are PO provocateurs and you do exactly what they want you to. They are losers and spill their frustration on this website by quoting such language errors. Look, this is the cause of their frustration. I prepared a short photo essay to realize the source of their mental problem.

Here are "President" Tusk  and   "the Prime Minister from Krakow"  before the election when their lackeys from TVN24, onet.pl, wp.pl and poll centers like CBOS, OBOP,etc. were giving them a landslide victory.

 

and after elections:

We wanted it all

We wanted it  all

We wanted it  all

We wanted it all

Yet, the election proved brutal. There will be no "President Tusk"    there will be no "Prime Minister from Krakow"  !!!

"President Tusk's" Club of Losers:

We are the losers - my friends
And we'll keep on losing till the end
We are the losers
We are the losers
No time for winners
'cause we are the losers -
of the world

LOSERS!!!

 

[Grzegorz 246]

Przestan pisac do siebie pojebie.

[lizol]

I can see old good Kurski's school.

Have you been trained by him?

[Grzegorz 246]

"No comment any more!"

Somehow I doubt that Ti's going to be so beautiful.

[Grzegorz 246]

"As to Kuba, we've known each other for a couple of years and that's all. I told him about this website when I was tired of writing to ultraliberals like that grzegorz. I showed him some of my files so he could use it. He is a PiS leader in my town and takes part in the elections this year while I'm just an observer."

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/pl/e/e8/Kaftan_bezpiecze%C5%84stwa_-_widok_z_ty%C5%82u.jpg

[Grzegorz 246]

:(