Olaf Pest, a member of the “Gazeta Polska” Club in Gliwice, has submitted a notification to the Internal Security Agency (ABW). “The matter concerns the activities of Mr. Seweryn Botor, a Civic Platform (PO) activist from Gliwice, whose conduct exhibits signs of deliberate and repetitive actions targeting the national interest of the Republic of Poland. Mr. Botor is once again advocating for the city to commemorate German historical figures who acted against Polish sovereignty, such as Arthur Kochmann, who was associated with revisionist and anti-Polish circles,” Pest told Niezalezna.
Olaf Pest, also a councilman in Gliwice representing the Law and Justice party (PiS), has formally submitted the notification to the Katowice branch of the ABW.
“The matter concerns Mr. Seweryn Botor, a Civic Platform activist and history teacher from Gliwice, whose activity appears to involve deliberate and recurring actions detrimental to the national interest of the Republic of Poland. Mr. Botor is again proposing to commemorate German historical figures who opposed Polish sovereignty, such as Arthur Kochmann, associated with revisionist and anti-Polish milieus,”
said Olaf Pest.
It is worth recalling that Arthur Kochmann was an activist involved in the Upper Silesian plebiscite during the Silesian Uprisings. He advocated for Gliwice to remain under German control. Even before the plebiscite, Kochmann was a member of the Landtag from the German Democratic Party (DDP), which held that Silesia and Pomerania, including Gdańsk, should remain part of Germany. The DDP advocated for Germany’s eastern border to correspond with that of 1914, thereby contesting Poland’s rights to its western and northern territories.
A Civic Platform Activist Seeking to Commemorate an Anti-Polish Politician
Currently, Seweryn Botor, a history teacher and Civic Platform activist from Gliwice, has submitted a petition to the Complaints, Motions, and Petitions Committee of the Gliwice City Council requesting that the city commemorate Kochmann.
This proposal has already received the approval of Leszek Jodliński, director of the Gliwice Museum, recently appointed by the new mayor of Gliwice, Katarzyna Kuczyńska-Budka, who is privately the wife of Borys Budka, Deputy Chairman of Civic Platform.
Following Olaf Pest’s disclosure of the matter in an interview with Niezależna, the councilman became the target of criticism from, among others, the Silesian Autonomy Movement and the German minority. Furthermore, Botor has been actively defended on social media by his colleagues—Civic Platform councilors in the Gliwice City Council—Agnieszka Filipkowska and Alicja Mainusch-Buhl, the latter of whom is also associated with the German minority.
Olaf Pest: This Is a Struggle for Poland!
“First, I am being labeled an anti-Semite, even though Arthur Kochmann’s religion is irrelevant to this issue. I never mentioned whether Kochmann was Jewish or not. Second, I am being accused of attacking a ‘poor history teacher’—Mr. Botor. Yet several teachers from the high school where Mr. Botor works have come forward to inform me that he distorts historical facts and engages in political propaganda during his classes, thereby influencing the students. Parents have also complained about this. Mr. Botor behaves similarly during the ‘historical walks’ he organizes in Gliwice. By opposing the commemoration of Kochmann, I am standing for history and truth. Why is there no proposal, for example, to honor Wojciech Korfanty, who contributed so much to Poland and Silesia? For me, this is a fight for our homeland,”
Pest emphasized in an interview with Niezalezna.
Seweryn Botor, on the other hand, believes that this is a political witch hunt and asserts that historical truth does not possess a national identity—neither Polish nor German.
The petition regarding Kochmann is scheduled to be reviewed by the Gliwice City Council in mid-May of this year.
Notification to the ABW
In his submission to the ABW, Olaf Pest requests that the agency examine: “Seweryn Botor’s public expressions undermining the sovereignty of the Republic of Poland, particularly through references advocating that Silesia and Gliwice remain German; the relativization of the history of totalitarian crimes; his sympathies for imperialist German symbols; and his attempts to shape young people’s attitudes in the spirit of anti-national narratives.”
These Views Threaten the Integrity of the State
“Why did I choose to refer this matter to the ABW rather than the Board of Education? Because Mr. Botor promotes views that undermine the integrity of the Polish state. It is also concerning who may be financing his activities. His initiatives, such as organizing historical walks, are quite costly. A young, early-career teacher would likely not be able to fund these alone,”
the councilman added.
Unanswered Question
Niezależna contacted the Press Office of the ABW in Warsaw to inquire when and how Councilor Pest’s notification will be processed. As of now, no response has been received.