Last Saturday, a large protest took place on the border bridge in Zgorzelec, opposing Germany’s transfer of illegal migrants to Poland. From the stage, co-organizer Robert Bąkiewicz warned attendees about a group of provocateurs who had mingled with the crowd. Calls were issued for people to remove any face coverings, yet several masked men remained among the protesters. Their attempt to disrupt the demonstration ultimately failed.
When demonstrators tried to push these provocateurs out of their midst, the provocateurs attacked them with tear gas. Lower Silesian police later assured the public that most of the masked instigators have been identified, including the individual who deployed the gas. “At the moment, intensive actions are underway. This man, already known to law enforcement, will face consequences for his illegal conduct,” police said.
The Provocateur’s Identity Revealed
Co-organizer of the protest, Robert Bąkiewicz, announced on Platform X that they had identified the man who was part of the provocateur group.
“He was one of the few who acted openly, without covering his face. From what we’ve established, he is a resident of Zgorzelec by the name of Grzegorz Stemler,”
– wrote Bąkiewicz.
According to the Niezalezna.pl portal, Stemler is an active member of Narodowe Odrodzenie Polski (NOP, or National Rebirth of Poland). On NOP’s website, there are photographs showing a man in a distinctive cap bearing a Celtic cross and using a loudspeaker in the crowd. This was also confirmed by Bąkiewicz, who cited activists from Zgorzelec.
He noted that it was fairly straightforward to recognize the provocateurs during the event due to the Nazi symbols they displayed. Bąkiewicz added that security services generally infiltrate such groups and know how to incite them to specific actions.
“They wanted shocking images in the media—wanted to showcase some show of force—but it went nowhere,”
– Bąkiewicz told Niezalezna.pl.
He also claimed that “the police behaved scandalously and in an unusual way” for this type of gathering.
“I’ve never seen anything like what happened in Zgorzelec. Never before have I encountered a situation where police did not intervene. It’s the police who are responsible for the injuries several people sustained,”
– he said.
From Elections to International Connections
NOP identifies itself as a nationalist and radically national organization. Immediately after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, its members primarily blamed the United States for the outbreak of war (followed by the European Union, then Russia). “The moral and political responsibility for the outbreak of this war is therefore obvious: it lies with the United States,” the group’s Executive Council declared in a statement.
As a representative of NOP in western Poland (covering the Lower Silesia and Lubuskie regions), Stemler—who is approaching 60 years of age—visited the so-called “fascist embassy” in Italy, that is, the headquarters of the CasaPound organization. NOP’s website features an extensive account of the multi-day trip to establish ties with the Italian movement, which openly describes itself as national-revolutionary and neo-fascist.
A resident of Zgorzelec, Stemler has been active in local politics for years. Over nearly two decades, his political affiliations have shifted multiple times. In 2006, he ran for a seat in the city council on the Samoobrona (Self-Defense) ticket. In subsequent elections, both he and Anetta Elżbieta Stemler (likely his wife) served on election commissions. In 2015, she ran for the Senate on the NOP ticket. In 2020, both Stemlers were registered as committee members for Krzysztof Bosak’s presidential campaign. Their posts on social media suggest they are currently supporting Grzegorz Braun.