The liberal authorities in Gdańsk are demanding a huge financial penalty for the weekly “Sieci”. The editorial team answers: what we have written is true

In the pretrial letter, the Gdańsk authorities demand an apology and payment of PLN 100,000 ($30000) for social purposes from the editorial office of the weekly „Sieci” in connection with the article „Wojna Gdańska z Polską” (“The War of Gdańsk against Poland”) and the cover „Czy Gdańsk chce do Niemiec?” (“Does Gdansk want to join Germany?”)

On Thursday, Daniel Stenzel, the spokesman for the Gdańsk President informed about the pretrial call for the weekly “Sieci” to „remove the effects of the violation of personal rights”.

The city authorities are outraged by the cover text of the largest conservative magazine in Poland. The editorial office pointed to the numerous tendencies of the current city authorities towards the non-Polish tradition of the „Free City of Gdansk”, which functioned in the interwar period. Gdańsk created, among others, „Rondo Wolnego Miasta Gdańsk” (The Free City of Gdańsk Roundabout) and often refers to this tradition.

The co-author of the text Marek Pyza in reaction to the call states that all that has been written in the article is true:

Does the President of Gdańsk, Ms Aleksandra Dulkiewicz, know what the Free City of Gdańsk was? Do you know what support the NSDAP received in democratic elections there in 1933? Do you know how Jews were treated there? Is this really the proud tradition that „unites Poles”? Is the model for you a place where Poles could not safely go out on the street with the Polish flag? Why do you and your co-workers so eagerly refer to the Free City of Gdańsk?

Great indignation was also caused in Poland by the careless neglect of Westerplatte - a place in Gdańsk where in 1939 Polish soldiers heroically resisted German invaders for seven days. A Polish military outpost was located there at that time.

Tłum. K.J.