A demonstration organised by the Border Defence Movement (Ruch Obrony Granic) and Robert Bąkiewicz took place in the town of Gołdap. The protest was held near the Haus der Heimat (“Homeland House”) – a German cultural centre and meeting place for the local German minority. The event sparked considerable emotions among residents of Gołdap County, with participants chanting: “This is Poland!”
The Haus der Heimat, also known by its German name, is run by an organisation bringing together people connected with the history of pre-war German East Prussia. The building houses a regional museum featuring a bilingual permanent exhibition on the history of Gołdap and the surrounding area up to 1945, as well as a library dedicated to East Prussian history and culture.
Bąkiewicz criticises Germany’s stance
According to the organisers, the protest was prompted by what they described as growing interest among German circles in the Masurian region, which formed part of East Prussia before 1945. Speaking at the demonstration, Robert Bąkiewicz addressed the issue.
“Germany is deliberately, strategically and systematically pursuing policies that are intended to ensure these territories eventually become German again. Today, it is being done in a subtle, low-key way, but the aim is to pursue a policy that will produce results over the next 20 or 30 years. We must remember that we are living through a time of enormous change. The world around us is one of major crises, wars, disputes and shifting geopolitical arrangements. Revisionism is becoming an increasingly significant part of that reality,”
he said.
Participants repeatedly chanted the slogan: “This is Poland!”
The demonstration was also commented on by Jacek Wrona, who wrote on social media:
“This is the Haus der Heimat in the Polish town of Gołdap. Things like this are happening on our own soil… The circles associated with this place openly claim that Warmia and Masuria are under ‘Polish occupation’, promoting the idea that East Prussia is still alive. And those in Poland who sympathise with them? They rush to serve them so eagerly that they nearly trip over their own feet. We do not accept this scandal or the quiet attempt to condition Poles to accept Germany’s revisionist narrative. Gołdap was, is and always will be POLISH.”