Poland’s Gay-Free Cities

During the Holocaust, cities and regions that were occupied by the Germans proudly affirmed their status as Judenrein, or Jew-free, after Jews were rounded up into ghettos and then transported to concentration and extermination camps. 

At least a hundred municipalities in Poland currently support a ‘gay-free ideology.’ Andrzej Duda, Poland’s president, won re-election in July 2020 on a platform declaring that LGBTQ individuals are “not people,” claiming that, like communism, they are a foreign import, and that he would protect Poland and its people from attack by this evil influence.  He is supported by leaders of the Catholic Church, which wields great power in Poland. 

This is disturbing on two counts. First, the six concentration camps used exclusively for extermination during the Holocaust, including Auschwitz, were all located in German-occupied Poland. That a country with a history that includes the presence of the Holocaust’s worst horrors is the site of discrimination against a vulnerable group is disturbing. 

Second, the slogan of ‘Gay-free’ and its resonance to Judenfrei raises concern, given our awareness of the consequences of hate.  

Duda is capitalizing on a right-wing movement that supports a Poland with no Jews, no Muslims, no immigrants, and no gays.  The right originally gained strength in opposition to the influx of Syrian refugees into Europe; much of the European right blames this refugee situation on Jewish financiers such as George Soros, claiming that Soros is collaborating with Communists in the EU to Islamize Europe and to propagandize for homosexuality.   

As the demonization of Muslim refugees has abated somewhat, replaced with homophobia, antisemitism is increasing as well. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) recently conducted a survey of Poles’ attitudes towards Jews.  Fully 48% of Poles, 15 million people, hold antisemitic views. At least 79% of Poles believe that the Holocaust did not happen.  Among the 21% who do believe that the Holocaust was, in fact, an actual occurrence, they maintain that the number of Jews who died is greatly exaggerated. 

What has been the global response to the ’Gay-free’ movement?  The homophobia and hate have energized the LGBTQ community and its allies throughout Poland and abroad. 

The European Union has cut off funding to six of the ‘gay-free’ municipalities.  The ‘twinning’ city of Fermoy, Ireland has canceled its connection to Nowa Dęba in southeast Poland.  And Jews in Poland and elsewhere are standing up as well. On November 13, in direct response to the situation in Poland, the European Commission announced a four-pronged initiative to promote human rights, safety, and inclusion for LGBTQ people throughout Europe.  We hope that regional and global pressure will produce positive change. 

©World Without Genocide 2020