President Karol Nawrocki’s visit to Auschwitz caused controversy after organizers failed to acknowledge him during ceremonies marking the 81st anniversary of the camp’s liberation.
President “Not Noticed” by Host
On Tuesday, January 27, Karol Nawrocki participated in ceremonies commemorating the 81st anniversary of the liberation of prisoners from the German concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. On Thursday, when asked about what happened during the event, Wojciech Kolarski, a secretary of state in the President’s Chancellery, stated on Radio Wnet: “I should probably say what did not happen, because the ceremony itself was dignified. What was undignified was that the President of the Republic, the head of state, was not noticed by the host. The situation is absurd.”
The secretary of state emphasized that he had never encountered such a situation before. “At every ceremony where the president participated, the organizer always highlighted it, because it is a great honor. For the first time I have encountered a situation where the president is not mentioned,” said the minister and later stated that it was “undoubtedly scandalous.” “The president was treated this way,” he added.
Nawrocki “Unable to Speak”?
Wojciech Kolarski also informed that according to a resolution adopted by the Museum Council, “there was no consent for political speeches.” “We were aware of this, so the president’s statement took place on the camp grounds, but not during the ceremony. However, the fact that the President of the Republic, the head of state, at the site of a state institution – a museum, cannot speak, causes me great surprise,” said the presidential minister on Radio Wnet.
Auschwitz Museum Responds to Outrage
“Welcome of guests during the main part of the ceremonies did not have a protocol character. Individual groups of participants, including representatives of state and local government authorities, were welcomed. No one was mentioned by name, neither the Survivors, the Minister of Culture and National Heritage present at the ceremonies, nor ambassadors representing their countries. Such a form was also respected and understood during the previous anniversary of the liberation,” the official statement published on the Auschwitz Museum’s website read.
The organizers emphasized that the president was presented in the part of the ceremonies where he played a key role. “At the moment of receiving and transferring the symbolic light lit by a Survivor. The laying of a candle by the President at the memorial commemorating the victims of Auschwitz was the culmination point of the entire ceremony,” it was emphasized.
At the same time, the Museum’s management drew attention to the fact that “representatives of the President’s Chancellery were present at the dress rehearsal of the event and did not report any comments, and cooperation with the Museum in organizing the event was very good.”