“We were shoved, restrained, choked and handcuffed. We were not a threat. We did not provoke violence. We wanted to pray and commemorate the victims,” wrote Robert Bąkiewicz in a statement published by the Border Defense Movement. The organization indicates that during an attempt to honor Polish victims of German crimes in Berlin, there was a brutal intervention by German police. Activists are demanding explanations from the German authorities and Polish diplomacy.
On Tuesday, members of the Border Defense Movement arrived in Berlin at the site of a boulder placed near the German parliament, intended to commemorate Polish victims of World War II. They wanted to place a symbolic cross there, but German police did not allow it. A brutal attack on the gathered Poles followed. Immediately after singing Rota, members of the Border Defense Movement moved with the cross toward the memorial site for victims of German crimes during World War II. At that moment, German police attacked the demonstrators. Officers began kicking them and hitting them with their fists. Some members of the movement were hospitalized, including the leader – Robert Bąkiewicz.
The ruling coalition, including Polish diplomacy, did not show much engagement in the matter. A spokesperson for the ministry, Maciej Wewiór, told the media that regarding the “intervention of German police, the Polish consul in Berlin is acting.” This morning, on Radosław Sikorski’s profile on X, only one brief post appeared, in which he wrote about “reckless behavior.” In another, he attacked Robert Bąkiewicz, mockingly responding to the daughter of the movement’s leader.
Donald Tusk also responded in a similar manner, saying during a press briefing: “in every situation when police intervene against Polish citizens, of course we will check whether everything is in accordance with the law, whether there were no excessive interventions, but in fact, what Bąkiewicz is doing is embarrassing, let’s be honest.” He also called the incident in Berlin a “Berlin scuffle.”
Bąkiewicz issues a statement. He describes the course of events
This afternoon, Bąkiewicz published an extensive statement on behalf of the Border Defense Movement regarding yesterday’s events. As recalled, the activists went to Germany to pay tribute to Polish victims of German crimes from World War II. They emphasize that their peaceful initiative met with a brutal reaction from German police.
The statement notes that the trip to Berlin was connected with the first anniversary of the unveiling of a memorial site dedicated to Polish victims of German terror.
The activists had criticized the form of this commemoration from the beginning.
“In our assessment, it was not a dignified monument corresponding to the scale of suffering of the Polish nation. It was rather a substitute symbol – a stone instead of real remembrance, real compensation and real responsibility,” it was written.
It was emphasized that the boulder lacks clear symbols of Polish identity and a cross. “That is why from the beginning we referred to it as a stone of shame, a stone of contempt toward Polish victims,” we read.
“We came with a cross and prayer”
Representatives of the Border Defense Movement assure that their goal was to honor murdered Poles.
“Our goal on June 16, 2026 was to pay tribute to the victims, pray and place a cross – a sign of Christian memory, suffering and hope.”
It was noted that participants carried a large wooden cross and boards reminding of German crimes, looting and the suffering inflicted on Poland during World War II.
According to the statement, when the group was about 200-250 meters from the memorial site, a large number of police vehicles arrived. These scenes were reported live yesterday by TV Republika.
“German police undertook a brutal intervention against us. Officers began to shove us and tried to tear the cross from our hands. We did not allow the profanation and seizure of this symbol of remembrance,” the statement reads.
Bąkiewicz emphasizes that the police actions had broader meaning. “German police were not only striking at a group of Polish activists. They were striking at the cross – a symbol of Christianity, which for millions of Poles is a sign of faith, memory, suffering and hope,” it added.
“We were not chanting any slogans”
The Border Defense Movement firmly rejects claims by German police that participants were demonstrating or behaving aggressively.
“We were not chanting any slogans. We did not come there as an aggressive demonstration, but as Poles who wanted to pray and pay tribute to victims of German crimes.”
It was emphasized that the spontaneous assembly was only reported after the intervention, when officers began demanding formal notification of the event.
A significant part of the statement was devoted to decisions by German services regarding the location of the gathering. According to the movement, police initially restricted participants to an area about 250 meters from the memorial site. “German police graciously allowed us to ‘commemorate’ Polish victims where there was no memorial site, no monument, no boulder, no plaque – only trees,” it was indicated.
Later, only a partial relocation of the gathering was allowed. “German police recognized our right to assemble, but at the same time deprived it of content, purpose and meaning,” the movement wrote.
According to the authors of the statement, German services tried to decide where Poles could pray, carry a cross and remind of German crimes.
No assistance from the Polish embassy
The statement also includes accusations against Polish diplomatic services.
“Throughout the entire time we tried to obtain assistance from the Polish Embassy, the consulate and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” it was recalled. Despite attempts at contact, no effective intervention was obtained.
The strongest accusations concern the final phase of the police intervention. According to the movement, participants wanted to leave the area individually or in small groups. However, they were told they were not allowed to leave and were ordered to hide the cross, boards and organizational vests.
Force was then used. “There was brutal beating by officers. We were shoved, restrained, choked and handcuffed,” the movement reports. Activists emphasize that they posed no threat and did not provoke violence.
“We were not a threat. We did not provoke violence. We wanted to pray and commemorate the victims.”
Bąkiewicz and Kryszczak on detention conditions
The statement also describes the detention of Robert Bąkiewicz and Paweł Kryszczak. “Two of us – Robert Bąkiewicz and Paweł Kryszczak – were placed in very small, enclosed compartments in police transport vehicles,” the statement reads.
It was emphasized that access to air was restricted. “Both were being suffocated. We perceive this as an element of repression and psychological breaking of the detainees,” we read.
The movement also points to the confiscation of Robert Bąkiewicz’s phone, which – as emphasized – requires explanation.
“This is an obvious and blatant lie”
The Border Defense Movement firmly rejects the accusation of assaulting German police officers.
“The height of absurdity and police arrogance is the fact that German officers accused us of active assault on police. This is an obvious and blatant lie, which we will easily refute. We have indisputable evidence in the form of video recordings for all situations described in this statement.”
In the final part of the document, the movement demands public explanations from both the German and Polish sides. “We demand a public explanation of this matter by the German and Polish sides,” it was indicated.
The organization expects, among other things, disclosure of the legal basis for the actions of German police, securing recordings from the intervention and clarification of the role of the Polish embassy and consulate.
At the end, it was written: “what happened on June 16, 2026 in Berlin was not an ordinary police intervention. It was a brutal demonstration of how contemporary Germany reacts to Poles who remind of German responsibility, German crimes and the German debt toward Poland. It was also a demonstration of how easily in today’s Germany one can strike at the cross and Christian memory when it is carried by a Pole demanding the truth about German crimes. The Border Defense Movement will not allow Polish memory to be erased. We will not allow German crimes to be covered up with empty gestures, stones without spirit, without a cross and without real compensation. Polish victims deserve truth, prayer, the cross, dignity and justice.”