Scandalous Exhibition “Our Boys”: “It’s a Step Away from Claiming We Were Responsible for WWII”

The exhibition about soldiers of the Third Reich from the Gdańsk Pomerania region, titled “Our Boys”, has sparked justified outrage. “It’s basically just one step away from claiming that since they were ‘our boys’ in the Wehrmacht, we are responsible for World War II,” said Michał Rachoń. “This is not just a poorly organized exhibition – it’s a political provocation,” added Mariusz Błaszczak, head of the PiS parliamentary group.

The exhibition “Our Boys” was opened at the Gdańsk Museum in the Town Hall. It presents residents of Gdańsk Pomerania who served in the Third Reich’s army. The Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk is a co-organizer of the exhibit.

“A step away from saying we’re to blame for WWII”

“It’s basically just a step away from claiming that since ‘our boys’ were in the Third Reich’s army, then we’re to blame for World War II. It’s scandalous, but perhaps part of a broader pattern,” said Michał Rachoń, program director at TV Republika, on his show.

“Everything about this is scandalous. Not just the subject, but the title as well. It shifts the narrative onto us and dilutes responsibility. ‘If you, the Poles, were our boys, then it wasn’t the Germans, but the Nazis – and if Nazis, then not necessarily only Germans, but maybe also Poles, your boys.’ On the one hand, they talk about forced conscription to defend themselves if questioned, but then a little devil sneaks in and the text suddenly talks about ‘choice,’” added Jan Kanthak, a PiS Member of Parliament.

“These methods used in Gdańsk or Wrocław aim at Germanizing the narrative – blurring all distinctions between crimes committed by Germans and trying to equate them, suggesting that ‘Poles also played a part.’ It’s all about constantly recalling German memories,” he added.

Błaszczak: A Political Provocation

Mariusz Błaszczak, head of the Law and Justice parliamentary group, expressed strong criticism of the exhibition.

“This is a blatant execution of a German narrative, and it’s being carried out by institutions that should be safeguarding Polish historical memory. Exhibitions like this are attempts to falsify history. ‘Our boys’ defended Poland and died from German artillery – they didn’t put on Wehrmacht or SS uniforms,” Błaszczak wrote on social media.

He called the event in Gdańsk “a political provocation” and further evidence of advancing a German political agenda.

“These kinds of narratives are dangerous: they destroy Polish memory and blur responsibility for the crimes of World War II. I appeal: let us say a firm NO to projects that distort history instead of defending it,” he added.

“Unprecedented level of idiocy”

“Maybe some boys from Dulkiewicz’s circle served Hitler – but ours did not! This is an unprecedented level of idiocy and betrayal of the Polish cause. The title of this exhibition is disgusting, misleading, and outrageous. Why not go ahead and put on a show called ‘Our Boys in the NKVD: The Fate of the Inhabitants of the First Polish Republic in the USSR’,” remarked PiS MEP Tobiasz Bocheński.

“This is not art – it’s disgrace and shame,” added fellow MEP Bogdan Rzońca.