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Polish foreign minister Sikorski: Anti-immigrant hysteria damages Poland's image
Warsaw – Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has condemned growing anti-immigrant and anti-Semitic rhetoric, warning that such discourse harms Poland’s reputation and fuels dangerous ideologies. In a video statement published on the X platform on Saturday, Sikorski called for restraint and categorically rejected racism and Holocaust denial.
"Anti-immigrant hysteria harms Poland; it awakens the worst demons, and Holocaust denial excludes us from civilised nations," he said. His comments follow a series of troubling incidents in Poland, including far-right MEP Grzegorz Braun’s inflammatory claim that "the gas chambers at Auschwitz were fake."
Sikorski rebuked such statements, referencing Polish hero Witold Pilecki, who voluntarily infiltrated Auschwitz in 1940 to document Nazi atrocities. "Pilecki did not volunteer for Auschwitz so that now some scoundrel undermines his report for political gain," Sikorski stressed. Pilecki’s reports, compiled after his escape from the death camp, remain a cornerstone of Holocaust documentation.
Rising tensions at cultural events and borders
The foreign minister also highlighted recent incidents at the 22nd Eurofolk Festival in Zamość, where artists from Spain, India, Senegal, and Serbia were insulted, and revellers faced accusations of a "refugee invasion." He condemned these acts, urging Poles to reject racism and protect the country’s tradition of hospitality.
Additionally, Sikorski addressed tensions at the Polish-German border, where citizen patrols have been shouting anti-immigrant and anti-German slogans. Poland recently introduced border controls with Germany and Lithuania after Germany began sending back migrants it claimed had illegally crossed into Poland.
"We have the right to control our borders with authorised services and to know who is legally in Poland," Sikorski stated. "But there is no justification for the escalating racism and anti-Semitism that this fuels."
A call for unity and restraint
As Poland’s top diplomat, Sikorski emphasized the importance of maintaining the country’s global reputation. "I am proud of Poland. Poland has always been a hospitable country, and Poles and Polish women are better than those who 'rat on strangers and fuel the spiral of hatred.'" He appealed for unity and restraint, urging citizens to reject divisive rhetoric.
