I feel sick every time Donald Tusk gets too pathetic and lectures us about patriotism. Today I don’t question his family’s war history, but it turns out he himself doesn’t live up to it.

Donald Tusk – unfortunately – has had and will again have influence over the years in how our heroes are talked about, or rather, how they are not talked about. And this is demonstrated by the battle for the Second World War Museum exhibit in Gdańsk, built by his appointees during his first reign. Their successors – nominated by the Good Change camp – then had to endure lengthy court battles over decisions that corrected historical fraud. And they defended it. But there are legitimate concerns that the Tusk 3.0 government will swing the pendulum back in its direction, and this has nothing to do with Polish patriotism.

FIRST – MANDATORY BROTHER

After the Sejm of the Republic of Poland appointed Donald Tusk as prime minister on Monday evening (the so-called second step had been completed), the new prime minister decided to speak. It should be short, so – as I understand it – only the most important issues and issues that do not allow for emotions to wait are prioritized.

I would like to dedicate this win, personally, to both my grandparents. Both were railway workers in the Free City of Danzig. A relic in our house to this day is a Polish food card, which several hundred people in Gdańsk had, because no one else dared to be Polish during the occupation.. They both spent the war in concentration camps, both were my grandfathers. When 90 percent of people left the former Free City of Gdańsk in favor of Germany, among the few thousand people who remained were my two grandparents, two Poles, Józef Tusk and Franciszek Dawidowski.

– said Donald Tusk with a clenched throat. He was moved. I won’t get into it, everyone is entitled to their own emotions, especially when it comes to family.

Do I believe Donald Tusk? Maybe I don’t have the data to question this story about grandparents. In his emotions, absolutely not.

The history of the heroism of our ancestors should be an obligation for everyone. Let us emphasize that we are talking about the Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland, a man who has had and has had real power for many years and who really has had and can again have influence in shaping historical policy. Who wouldn’t do everything to ensure that people like grandparents are talked about with pride?

SECOND – ANTI-POLONISM FOR MILLIONS

Tusk always claimed that thanks to him, a true historical monument was created in the form of the World War II Museum in Gdańsk. To date, this is the most expensive museum in Poland, where each pole (let’s emphasize – each!) contributes PLN 13. Yes, the building and its solutions are truly impressive! 5 thousand square meters of the exhibition is a huge space, and until now you have to look for traces of Poland there almost with a magnifying glass.

Now let’s get back to Tusk’s emotional speech from the Sejm on Monday. This is what I mean a fragment about grandparents who experienced persecution from the Germans because of their innocence in the Free City of Gdansk. Yes, this persecution was a fact, Germany was cruel to Poland.

This was an important element of pre-war reality. Do you think it is possible to learn this after visiting this beautiful and expensive museum in Gdańsk? The one that Donald Tusk, descendant of Józef Tusk and Franciszek Dawidowski, Polish railroad workers, was so proud of? I might surprise you. Yes, that’s impossible! Until the next director, who has been nominated by the good changes, fights for it.

I wrote about it in the weekly “Sieci” and on the website wPolityce.pl more than once. As the Prime Minister himself, a descendant of Poles persecuted by the Germans, returns to discuss the important issues of the day, I will return as well.

The essence of the changes introduced by director Karol Nawrocki was then continued by his successor, Prof. Grzegorz Berendt and his colleagues had to restore the basic balance. For some reason, the previous narrative nimbly ignores stories of Polish heroism, sacrifice, or suffering. Instead, the fate of other countries was lost, sometimes at the expense of Poland.

In a place where on one of the monitors we can read (only after changes – editor’s note) about the German persecution of the Free City of Gdańsk until 1939, there was only a tab about the persecution of the Jewish population, so the history of crimes against Poles, which were an everyday occurrence, was added next to it (not replaced!).

The element I wrote about is one of 17 changes being challenged in court. It’s a very sad story.

READ ALSO: The Triumph of Civility Over Evil at the WWII Museum. Machcewicz, Majewski, Marszalec and Wnuk – hands off Polish history!

THIRD – WHICH IVORY IS REAL?

Let us remind you that objections to changes in the permanent exhibition (including the addition of a fragment about the repression of Poles in the Free City of Gdańsk) were raised by the former director of the museum, Prof. Paweł Machcewicz (nominated by Donald Tusk) and his deputies: prof. Piotr Majewski (former advisor in Prime Minister Tusk’s office) and Dr. Janusz Marszalec (advisor to Prime Minister Tusk in his first government), as well as prof. Rafał Wnuk, former head of the Second World War scientific department.

Fortunately, the story of this disease came to a happy ending in April this year. The Court of Appeal in Warsaw ruled that former employees of the Second World War Museum had no right to block changes to the exhibition. The decision of the District Court in Gdańsk was confirmed, which in October 2020 found that 16 of 17 changes to the exhibition had been carried out correctly.

So we have to ask aloud which Donald Tusk is the real one? The guy whose voice broke when he dedicated his election victory to his heroic Polish grandparents who were persecuted by the Germans? Or perhaps who nominated Paweł Machcewicz as director of the Second World War Museum? If it’s not bad and sad, you can even smile about it It was the Tusk people who removed his grandparents’ memories from the exhibition, and they fought for it (even in court), and it was the future Professor who successfully fought for it. Piotr Gliński.

FOURTH – WHAT’S NEXT FOR MEMORY?

The story of Polish grandparents persecuted by the Germans quoted in the Sejm shows that Tusk was a man fed up with politics. Because if he is able to use stories like that instrumentally, it means he will do anything and sacrifice anyone to maintain power. Now is the time when you can feel that Donald Tusk really wants revenge. You can feel it in every word he’s said so far. Once inaugurated, he no longer had to keep a tight rein on the campaign and could start threatening anyone under his control. Now you can.

It is also clear that he is gathering people around him who also want revenge. This warms up their emotions and turns them into allies in future activities. On Monday there were also other inaugurations, apart from grandfather and grandmother.

I dedicate this victory to them, as well as to all Poles who may have felt offended, embittered, and threatened by an eight-year policy of insulting someone who was different, weaker, and did not listen to the party hierarchy. Who does not fit the image of the ruling party ideologues

– said Tusk. Anything can be included in these words, which can broadly include human hatred or a sense of injustice.

I have the impression that this group may also include a group of museologists from Gdańsk who, despite the judicial madness in Poland, did not achieve their goals. I’m not sure they won’t try again. However, many things have changed in the past few days. Therefore, we should pay close attention to what will happen to the Second World War Museum in Gdańsk in the near future. Unfortunately, I am almost certain that this will not be the last article I warn against spoiling Polish history.