NEWSLETTER

From Poland with Love. September

Topic of the Month

Natural Disaster

The extreme weather triggered by Storm Boris hit Poland. The flood wave on the river Oder and its tributaries reached multiple municipalities in the region of Lower Silesia, Opole and Upper Silesia. The state of natural disaster was declared, covering 750 municipalities and almost 2,5 million people. Over 55.000 people were directly affected by the flood,  and over 11.000 homes were damaged. Thousands of people were left without power and were cut off from the outside world. Many people had to be evacuated, some were airlifted from their homes.

• The city of Stronie Śląskie was totally  flooded. The cause was the breaking of the dam on the Morawka river. Among the worst-hit places was also the city of Nysa, where all 44.000 inhabitants were requested to leave the town. Lądek-Zdrój, a picturesque spa town in the Kłodzko Valley, was also destroyed by the wave. All bridges in the town, including the historic St John’s Bridge, were damaged or completely torn down.
• Several mayors complained that warnings about the threat of flooding had come either too late or not at all. Others believe that the help was not well coordinated, or that they did not receive help from the army.
• Local entrepreneurs, authorities and the Prime Minister asked Polish people not to cancel their hotel reservations in Lower Silesia. They stressed that many towns in this tourism-dependent region are untouched by floods and they need now income from visitors more than ever. After initial mass cancelations, the situation stabilized and new bookings have been observed.
• Big cities of the region, Wrocław and Opole, were not affected by the flood. Inhabitants of Wrocław were mobilized to protect their city, and thousands of volunteers fortified riverbanks. Wrocław remembers well the terrible 1997 flood, when 40% of the city got under the water.
• Damages could have been worse if the gigantic Racibórz Dolny reservoir had not played its role. It is a dry polder with a maximum capacity of 185 million cubic meters of water. The reservoir will now undergo maintenance and technical inspection. In the Internet, it has been declared a new national hero of Poland, and some people have published poems praising the reservoir.
• The government announced it had unlocked ca. EUR 470 million of direct aid to people and localities affected by the floods. Victims can apply for immediate financial assistance of ca. EUR 2.350 and up to EUR 46.800 for or the reconstruction of residential buildings.
• The head of Polish Waters, the state water management authority, declared in the Sejm that to protect vulnerable Polish areas from future flooding will cost ca. PLN 70 billion (ca. EUR 16,3 billion). She sad that new reservoirs and dry polders are necessary. Infrastructure Minister Dariusz Klimczak said he was in talks with the World Bank to secure EUR 1,5 billion for infrastructural damage repairs.
• Tusk organized a meeting in Wrocław with the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the leaders of Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, other countries affected by the floods. The Commission president promised EUR 10 billion in EU funds to help countries affected by the natural disaster in Central Europe. Half of this sum will go to Poland. “Including European funds, we expect that we will be able to mobilize up to PLN 23 billion” (ca. EUR 5,4 billion),  Tusk commented.
• Businesses, charities, local authorities and individual citizens from all over Poland have organized themselves to provide support to victims of the flood. For instance, Poland’s largest annual charity fundraising event, the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity, donated provide PLN 40 million (ca. EUR 9 million) for the purchase of the most urgent products.
• Polish army started the “Operation Phoenix”. Over 26.000 soldiers have been mobilized to help devastated towns and villages. “Operation Phoenix” will focus on clearing roads, building temporary bridges, removing accumulated waste, and restoring essential services such as electricity and drinking water. The army will also help with medical support, including assistance for people suffering from PTSD.
• Germany sent over a hundred troops to Poland to assist with the aftermath of floods. According to the German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, the German army will help with infrastructure repairs and cleanup operations.
• Donald Tusk at a crisis meeting blamed beavers for exacerbating flooding problems. He cited a research saying that beaver dams can damage river banks, weaken levees and cause water to accumulate, increasing the risk of flooding. Tusk stressed that the government will allow any action, within law, against beavers to protect levees. Biologists responded that it is nonsense, and that  beavers are an essential part of the solution as they create healthy wetland systems, which in turn sequester carbon and slow the flow of rivers. Tusk’s anti-beaver speech became a source of jokes and online memes.
• PiS attacks Tusk, especially for his words from the day before the flood wave hit. Prime Minister said then: "There is no reason to panic, but there is a reason to be fully mobilized", and the opposition accused him of trivializing the danger. "Unfortunately, the government failed", Jarosław Kaczyński commented. Ex-PM Mateusz Morawiecki reminded that the European Commission had warned of heavy rainfall "but the government did nothing".  Interestingly, when the flood started, PiS was busy with organizing a demonstration in front of the justice ministry in defense of an arrested priest. They did not mention there the flood at all. Later, PiS called for Tusk to be held “criminally responsible” for failings relating to the flood.
• To control this communication crisis, Tusk took an unexpected decision and to broadcast live on TV meetings of the crisis team, which met twice a day and lasted for hours. Some commentators and the opposition compare this method to Putinist style.
• A leader of the far-right Confederation, accused Tusk of hiding the real number of people who died because of the flood.
• According to the government, Russian sources used the flood to spread disinformation aiming at causing panic among Poles. Tusk asked citizens not to share fake news about the unreal number of deaths and claims that the administration is hiding the truth about victims. “We recorded an increase in internet traffic in the scope of disinformation by 300%, primarily using the same IP addresses that were also used immediately after Russia attacked Ukraine”, added Digitalization Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski.
• Justice ministry has declared that prosecutors are fast-tracking cases against people who had been caught looting in municipalities affected by the flood. A few cases of looting had been reported causing public outcry. The army has deployed military police equipped with night vision and thermal imaging devices to protect evacuated areas.
• Marcin Kierwiński was appointed in charge of the recovery, in rank of a minister. Kierwiński was until recently an interior minister, who in June won a seat in the EP. He is also the secretary general of the Civic Platform, and it is commented that he might be willing to replace Rafał Trzaskowski as the mayor of Warsaw, if Trzaskowski wins the presidential race in May 2025. Kierwiński’s decision to come back to the government after only a few weeks in Brussels is very surprising. Even President Andrzej Duda commented during his appointment ceremony: "In the name of the Polish Republic, I am grateful to you. Not everyone would be willing to do this. (...) You have made a statesmanlike decision”.

Politics

Controversial Birthday Party

President Andrzej Duda has been facing backlash for attending the 80th birthday party of the controversial former Czech President Miloš Zeman. The party took place in Hluboká, and was attended by a number of anti-European and pro-Russian politicians, including Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico, and President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić. Zeman himself was one of the most Moscow-friendly leaders in the EU. He even opposed sanctions on Kremlin following the annexation of Crimea.

Duda travelled to the birthday party on an official plane. Neither the flight nor the event were listed on the president's office website.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski commented that the trip “was consulted, we advised against it... I would advise a different choice of friends to the president”. “I think Mr. President already regrets it; this likely doesn't build his authority. In the United States, the president advocated for the interests of Ukraine at war, and here he meets with people with different views. This is not a consistent message”, he concluded. On the other side, PiS-related politicians defend the president. “It was very appropriate that he went. Thank God we have such a president”, said presidential aide Zofia Rymaszewska.

Duda Sued over Comments about a Film

Polish NGO the Racist and Xenophobic Behaviour Monitoring Centre has filed a lawsuit against President Andrzej Duda over comments he made about the film "Green Border" by Agnieszka Holland. In 2023, he said the film’s portrayal of the treatment of migrants at the Belarusian border by Polish guards insulted people who were protecting their homeland. He cited the slogan known from the Nazi occupation of Warsaw "Only pigs sit in the cinema". The NGO said it is insulting that the president called his fellow countrymen pigs.

The Green Border has just won the top prize, the Golden Lions, at the Gdynia Film Festival, the most important one in Poland.

European Affairs

Budget for Poland

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has put forward Polish lawyer Piotr Serafin as the next EU Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration Commissioner. In the mission letter to Serafin, von der Leyen said she wanted him to develop “a modern and reinforced EU budget, moving to a policy-based budget from a programme-based budget”. She added that Serafin would be reporting directly to her (not to any of the Commission VPs), which means elevation in his status among the other commissioners.

Serafin would oversee the implementation of the rule of law conditionality mechanism together with Michael McGrath from Ireland, who is to be commissioner for justice and the rule of law.

Donald Tusk expressed his satisfaction on X: “Money, personnel and what we like most”. “You never step in the same river twice, but you do”, commented former Budget Commissioner from Poland, Janusz Lewandowski, who worked closely with Serafin during his term in Brussels. “Tough guy, tough portfolio”, he concluded.

The opposition criticizes not the portfolio but the personal choice of Tusk, stressing that Serafin is not a politician but a public servant and he won’t be able to oppose dangerous plans of the Commission President. “Poland needs more than an accountant in the European Commission”, commented PiS MEP Piotr Muller.

Serafin currently serves as the acting Polish permanent representative to the European Union. From 1998 to 2009, Serafin worked as an official at the Office of the Committee for European Integration, the body in charge of Poland's integration policy with the EU. In 2004, he took up the position of director of the Committee’s Department of Analysis and Strategy. Between 2010 and 2012, he was deputy head of the cabinet of Poland’s Janusz Lewandowski, the then budget commissioner, and in 2012-2014 he was secretary of state for European affairs in the first Tusk government. He is a trusted aide of Donald Tusk and led his cabinet during his service as the president of the European Council.

Poland & Germany

Untold Stories of Confiscated Objects

In a ceremony held in Warsaw, personal belongings of 12 Polish inmates from Nazi concentration camps during World War II were returned to their families. The return of confiscated objects, including jewelry, was organized by the Arolsen Archives, an international center focused on Nazi persecution located in the small German town of Bad Arolsen. The ceremony was part of the organization's broader campaign "Warsaw Uprising: 100 Untold Stories", marking the 80th anniversary of the insurrection against the brutal occupation of the Polish capital.

The archives hold records on 17,5 million victims and have amassed around 2.000 confiscated items from concentration camp inmates across over 30 countries. Ewelina Karpińska-Morek from the Arolsen Archives commented: “We believe that together we will be able to return a hundred belongings of the inhabitants of Warsaw and their loved ones and tell a hundred unknown stories”. She concluded: “Each found family and each returned item is a gateway to reconstructing the fate of the victims and restoring their memory.”

Environment

Climate Minister vs. Hunters & Foresters

Polish hunters have voiced their anger with government plans to introduce compulsory periodic checks of their physical and mental health. The climate and environment ministry claims the proposed measures are a response to recent accidents involving hunters in which people were confused with animals and deadly shot, adding that other groups that handle weapons – including private weapon owners - already have the requirement to undergo such tests.

The proposal is part of a wider ministerial package which also includes restrictions on hunting in groups and on the use of night vision, and obligations to inform property owners about planned individual hunting on their land.

“We can’t pretend that everything is OK. We have a problem”, commented deputy climate minister Mikołaj Dorożała, stressing that such test would be obligatory every 4-5 years. Dorożała, former environmental activist, became the main enemy of hunters and foresters in Poland. He implemented a moratorium on logging of the most valuable forests, affecting nearly 100.000 hectares. He has also recently presented a new initiative aimed at limiting bird hunting, which results in the disappearance of endangered species. Polish Hunting Association is mobilizing its members to show their discontent with the deputy minister’s actions. 

Economy

eSky Buys Thomas Cook

Polish travel platform eSky Group has signed agreements with China's Fosun Tourism Group to acquire Thomas Cook, the world's oldest travel firm.

Fosun Tourism Group was the largest single shareholder in Cook when it failed in September 2019. After a rescue deal failed to materialize, the Chinese company paid around GBP 11 million to acquire the Cook brand and assets. It was commented that Fosun was looking for a buyer for a year and a half. The value of the deal was estimated by Fosun at GBP 30 million pounds, excluding Thomas Cook's business in China. "This move will enhance eSky's position and could boost eSky's packages sales beyond EUR 233 million next year, sustaining a three-digit growth rate", eSky declared in a statement.

eSky Group is a major travel platform in Central and Eastern Europe and it is now operating in more than 50 countries across Europe, the Americas and Africa. Listed private equity company MCI Capital took a 55% stake in eSky Group in 2022.

Culture

Capital of Culture

Lublin has been recommended for the European Capital of Culture 2029 title in Poland.

“The last two years have been a time of intensive work for all of us and the implementation of many valuable projects and events in the spirit of the RE:UNION idea. Ahead of us lies several years of preparation and work on translating the ideas contained in our application into concrete actions”, commented mayor Krzysztof Żuk.

Twelve cities submitted applications by the deadline of 15 September 2023: Bielsko–Biała, Bydgoszcz, Jastrzębie–Zdrój, Katowice, Kielce, Kołobrzeg, Lublin, Opole, Płock, Pszczyna, Rzeszów and Toruń. The cities of Bielsko–Biała, Katowice, Kołobrzeg and Lublin were short-listed.

Lublin is one of the oldest cities in Poland, and the biggest one in the East. It is an important academic center with two well established universities. It is a fast-developing center with rich history and culture. It is famous for its architecture and culinary heritage, especially cebularze (onion baggles).

The idea of the European Capital of Culture emerged 40 years ago in Greece and aimed to strengthen the integration of the European Union while showcasing the cultural potential of its member countries. To date, more than 60 European cities have been awarded the title, including two from Poland: Kraków in 2000 and Wrocław in 2016. In 2029, Lublin will share the title with a city in Sweden.

World Career of the Polish Joker

Lady Gaga positively surprised Polish fans, and Poles in general. She launched her album 'Harlequin', which will be released alongside the movie 'Joker: Folie à Deux' where she plays the main role. The back cover of the vinyl edition of the album features the iconic artwork 'Stańczyk' by Jan Matejko.

‘Stańczyk’ was created in 1862 by the Polish master of historical painting. It depicts the most famous court joker in the Poland’s history. He was employed by three Polish kings: Alexander, Sigismund the Old and Sigismund Augustus. In the paining Stańczyk’s contemplats the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth’s loss of the city of Smolensk to Russia in the 1514. Stańczyk has evolved into a broader cultural symbol, became a symbol of Poland's struggle for independence. The joker from Kraków appears in works like ‘Krakowiacy i Górale’ by Wojciech Bogusławski and ‘The Undivine Comedy’ by Zygmunt Krasiński.

The paining has been presented in the National Museum in Warsaw since 1924, and is one of the most visited in its collection. It will soon be transported to the Louvre, where it will be exhibited in the Figures of the Fool collection.

Jan Matejko (1838-1893) is considered the finest representative of historicism in Polish painting and founder of the national school of historical painting. Through his art Matejko showed the former grandeur of the Polish Republic and the glory of its armies to lift the hearts of Poles and to resurrect faith in the restoration of an independent state. He spent most of his life in Kraków. Later, he became a director at this institution, which eventually was renamed the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts.

Poland & Germany

Reactions on German Border Controls

Germany has decided to extend its internal border controls with Poland, but also Czech Republic and Switzerland, for another six months, until December 15. Entirely new controls will now be introduced on Germany’s borders with France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark. The government in Berlin decided to do so taking into account the current situation and in attempt to combat people smuggling and limit irregular migration to the country. The decision follows a fatal knife attack - later claimed by Islamic State -  by a Syrian asylum seeker. Minister of Interior Nancy Faeser commented that he measure had proven to be effective so far, adding that commuters who cross the border regularly would not be impacted by the extension. In the first half of this year, Germany sent back to Poland over 4.600 migrants who had entered the EU via Poland.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk has criticized this decision, calling it is “unacceptable” and arguing that it “de facto suspends Schengen on such a large scale”. He also said: “Poland does not need anyone to lecture us on this issue [illegal migration]. (…) We have been the most consistent country when it comes to warning against ill-advised decisions concerning Ukraine, Russia and migration policy”.

Tusk also announced that Poland would ask other countries affected by German decision to urgently consult on action within the European Union on this issue. Austrian Interior Minister Gernard Karner said German measures are illegal and that his country would not accept migrants rejected by Germany.                                                                                  

German Reaction on Russia’s Comment about the Hitler-Stalin Pact

Germany reacted with surprise to Russia defending its decision to invade Poland at the beginning of the World War II, claiming it only wanted to protect the Ukrainian and Belarusian populations.

The Russian diplomatic agency posted the following marking the 85th anniversary of the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact: “On September 17, 1939, the Red Army launched a military operation in Poland’s eastern regions, preventing the genocide of the population of Western Belarus and Western Ukraine”. In a video, Russia claimed that portraying the USSR as the aggressor was “at odds with historical truth”.

German MFA responded on X: “Seriously?”. It also posted a map, signed by Joseph Stalin and Nazi Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop, showing how Poland would be divided between two totalitarian states, with the hashtags “#MolotovRibbentropPact” and “#HitlerStalinPact”. Additionally, the Ukrainian MFA supported Germany on X by posting an angry goose meme captioned “Who made a deal with the Nazis to partition Poland? Who did this?”.

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was a non-aggression treaty between two political foes, signed shortly before the outbreak of World War II. The Pact pledged no war would happen, establishing security between the two nations. The Pact’s second point established zones of influence, giving the other a free hand. Germany got Poland and a slice of Lithuania. The Soviets got parts of Poland, all three Baltic states, Finland, and other territories. A week after signing the pact, Germany invaded Poland, igniting World War II. On September 17, the Soviets marched from the East, ensuring Poland’s defeat.

Poland commemorated the 85th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s invasion. The central commemoration took place around Warsaw's Monument to the Fallen and Murdered in the East, where President Andrzej Duda lied a memorial wreath.

International Affairs

Polish Fixation Before US Elections

The upcoming US elections will be most probably decided by a razor thin margin and both candidates fight for support of many groups which may give victory to either of them. After many years Polish Americans seem to be among groups that both Democrats and Republicans identified as essential. Their efforts to win Polish votes have been so visible that some commentators call them a fixation.

Kamala Harris, during the presidential debate, addressed explicitly “the 800,000 Polish Americans right here in Pennsylvania”. She challenged Trump asking: “[h]ow quickly you would give up for the sake of favor and what you think is a friendship with what is known to be a dictator who would eat you for lunch[?]”. Harris campaign has held get-out-the-vote meetings with prominent Polish Americans, including former Rep. Tom Malinowski. A Polish-Americans for Harris Facebook page was launched on Facebook, and her picture appeared on the already existing Polish-Americans for Biden page.

Democrats are running political ads about Ukraine aimed at Polish Americans in swinging states, evoking symbolic images, including the Trumpeter of Kraków, who famously warned of foreign invaders, and the unofficial Polish motto, “For our freedom and yours”.

Trump’s team, on the other side, planned a visit to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Częstochowa, a Polish American Catholic holy place in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. The Republican candidate was supposed to meet there President Andrzej Duda. The latter one was invited for the unveiling of a statue in honor of the Solidarity movement. The meeting was canceled last minute by Trump, who sent out a post on social media congratulating the “amazing Polish-American community” and “my great friend, Polish President Andrzej Duda” on the erecting  of the monument to “the brave heroes who fought for Poland’s independence”.

This interest in Polish Americans has been noted in Poland. President Duda has urged Polish diaspora to vote during the visit to Pennsylvania. He said: “you live far away, your voice is important for Poland, for its security, for its survival. Your political strength, your votes cast in American elections, decide the future of America but also the future of Poland”. “During the administration of President Donald Trump that the decision was made that Poland would enter the F-35 programme”, he added. Duda’s clear support for Trump and his intention to meet him in the hottest period of the campaign has been criticized by the Polish government.

In total, ca. 9 million Americans have Polish ancestry (3% of the population). Many of them concentrated in locations crucial from the campaign’s point of view: three of the top five states ranked by percentage of Polish Americans are the battleground swinging states (Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan). E.g. there are 500.000 of Polish descent in Wisconsin, a state that President Joe Biden won by just 21.000 votes four years ago. According to a research conducted by the Piast Institute, which surveyed nearly 1.800 Polish Americans between October 2020 and January 2021, half identified as Democrats, while 39% identified as Republicans, and 11% were independent.

Society

Father of Polish Sex Ed Died

A renowned Polish sexologist and psychiatrist Zbigniew Lew-Starowicz has died aged 80. He became a leader in the field of sexual education in the 1990s, when he managed the UN’s sexual education program (1996 to 1998). For decades, he was the most popular figure in this field, as he was using frequent media appearances to break taboos and explain sexuality from the scientific point of view. He published many important and popular articles and books, including ‘Everything Can Be Fixed’, ‘On Jealousy and Other Madness’, and ‘Marriage Conversations’.

Lew-Starowicz was born in Sieradz in 1943. He  graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in the Military Medical Academy in Łódź. He lectured at universities and conducted courses for doctors in sexology and psychiatry.

Teddy Bear-Tossing Record

Fans of a Polish football club Widzew Łódź have broken the world record in… throwing stuffed animals onto a sports field. Just before the game against Piast Gliwice, fans of both teams competed in a charitable event consisting in throwing as many stuffed animals on the turf as possible. Supporters from Łódź won with 119.730. They also broke the world record set in 2023 by fans of Jagiellonia Białystok.

The “Toss a Teddy Bear” event is organized by the largest bookmaker in Poland, who committed to donate PLN 130.000 for medical treatment of boy suffering from Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Polls & Trends

Party Support

United Surveys for Wirtualna Polska, 27-29.09.2024

Civic Coalition                                   34,1%

PiS                                                         29,5%

Third Way                                           11,1%

Confederation                                 10,5%

Left                                                       8,7%