“This is certainly a signal to the Poles not to be offended. And I get information about several situations like this that not only Hans G. behaved like this. Such situations in the employer-employee relationship are common in Germany. I hope the verdict will show ego-inflated Germans that such things do not go unpunished in Poland, says Natalia Nitek-Płażyńska, founder and president of the Polska Łączy nas Foundation, which won a lawsuit with her former employer Hans G. .
“I would kill all Poles”
“I hate Poland. I hate them more and more. (…) They are all cw… and idiots”, “You are g…”, “I should put them against the wall [naśladowanie odgłosów rozstrzeliwania]? I would like! I do! I would kill all Poles” – this is how the German Hans G., the owner of one of the companies in Pomerania, addressed the employees of the company.
One of the employees, Natalia Nitek (now: Nitek-Płażyńska), revealed in 2016 recordings containing vulgar, racist statements quoted above. The lawsuit with the former employer lasted seven years. Today, the Court of Appeal in Gdańsk ordered Hans G. to apologize to Nitek-Płażyńska and to pay damages of PLN 50,000. zlotys for the museum commemorating the victims of mass executions carried out by the German occupiers in Piaśnica in 1939-1940.
“Anti-Polonism must be fought openly”
In an interview with the wPolityce.pl portal, Natalia Nitek-Płażyńska not only expresses her satisfaction with the court’s decision, but also draws attention to the symbolic dimension of the compensation imposed on her former employer.
I am satisfied because at last Hans G. has to apologize to me for what he has done and he has to pay 50,000. PLN for the museum in Piaśnica. This is a very important and symbolic matter, because Piaśnica is close to Hans G’s company. For me it has great symbolic value that a German ran a company in Poland and Piaśnica is close to this company, the seat of his company, where his compatriots killed people decades ago because they were Poles
– emphasizes the founder of the Poland Connects Foundation.
The German employer also treated us badly because we were Polish. And that’s why this whole verdict is so important to me, because it shows that this anti-Polonism and Nazism must be fought openly. Even if some judges do not understand this – let’s take a look at Judge Zwierzyńska’s previous ruling – we still know that this is an obvious case. And just, despite all odds, you’ve had to fight for it for over seven years
– assesses the interviewee from wPolityce.pl.
That is why I am happy, satisfied, and I hope that it will also give food for thought to those who are guided by anti-Polonism and mistreat Poles because they are Poles. I don’t allow it. And it is also very important for us Poland to see how a tough attitude in such a situation leads to such a verdict
– adds Nitek-Płażyńska.
How Germans lie about history
Although Hans G.’s outrageous statements are quite an extremely pathological case, we have certainly had plenty of examples lately of Germans displaying a certain sense of superiority over Poles and often treating our compatriots disrespectfully. This applies to the issue of reparations, interference in the political life of Poland or German opposition to various types of investments, such as nuclear power plants.
For example, let’s look at what happened in the post-war period – how Germany became “denazified”. I mean, of course, that they didn’t denazify themselves at all. This layer of Germany’s political, cultural and economic elite came from the Nazis. Time flew, passed, Germany’s education consisted in putting guilt into perspective. As a result, successive generations of Germans believe that their ancestors were victims of the Nazis. The injustice of the Poles is not mentioned at all
– says Natalia Nitek-Płażyńska.
This climate and awareness of contemporary Germans is conducive to the policies of groups such as the AfD, whose ratings are growing and which are aggressive towards Poland, calling for a review of borders. On the other hand, we have the statements of Chancellor Scholz, who comes from another party, but also falsifies history, speaking of “the liberation of Germany from the tyranny of National Socialism”. Of course, in German-Polish relations there is an attitude towards our country that Poland should always be a “colony” of Germany, that we should come and work there. We also remember the cry in the German media in Poland about who in Germany is going to pick asparagus or do the dishes. There is still a belief among our western neighbors that we should be the penny workers
he adds.
Being myself during these proceedings against Hans G. and seeing what Germany’s attitude towards Poland is, I created the Polska Łączy nas Foundation, which aims to fight anti-Polonism. Hence, for example, “Operation Wola”, where we try to educate Germans about what their ancestors did in Poland and make them aware that history looks different than in German textbooks
– says the interviewee from wPolityce.pl.
Not only Hans G.
Can today’s verdict be taken as a signal to the Germans that the Poles will not be offended?
Certainly, this is a signal to the Poles not to be offended. And I get information about several situations like this that not only Hans G. behaved like this. Such situations with Germans in employer-employee relations are common
– replies Nitek-Płażyńska.
However, I also hope that the verdict will show the ego-inflated Germans that such cases do not go unpunished in Poland.
he concludes.
Source: wPolityce