On social media, the President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, reminded the public of the “Five Truths of Poles under the Sign of the Rodło.” “A manifesto of brave people who loved Poland, who-even in the face of an approaching cataclysm-looked for the nation’s strength in what mattered most,” the president added.
In 1938, the First Congress of Poles in Germany was held in Berlin. It brought together around 5,000 Polish citizens living in various regions of the German Reich, and was organized by the Union of Poles in Germany.
The context of this event was crucial.
“Hitler’s rise to power in 1933 and his rule in Germany meant a further deterioration in the situation of Poles living there. Especially after 1936, German authorities intensified repressions against the Polish population, particularly those living in ethnically Polish areas which, after the restoration of Poland’s independence, did not fall within its borders. The main thrust of the National Socialists’ attack was directed at Polish organizations, first and foremost at schools. The fight against Polish press and literature intensified-for example, a ban was issued on distributing Henryk Sienkiewicz’s The Teutonic Knights,” noted the Institute of National Remembrance.
During the Congress, the Five Truths of Poles under the Sign of the Rodło were adopted:
- We are Poles.
- The faith of our fathers is the faith of our children.
- A Pole is a brother to another Pole.
- Every day, a Pole serves the nation.
- Poland is our mother – one must not speak ill of one’s mother.
Today, this ideological manifesto of the nearly 2-million-strong Polish minority in pre-war Germany was recalled by the President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki.
“A beautiful manifesto of Polishness. A manifesto of brave people who loved Poland and who-even in the face of the coming cataclysm-sought the nation’s strength in what is most important. One may take part in historic events, help create Her, but where She already exists – it is worth either listening or staying silent,” President Nawrocki wrote.