Poland hears echoes of Nazi rhetoric after German politician urges EU to 'starve Poland and Hungary'
Deputy Head of the European Parliament, Katarina Barley, has caused massive outrage due to her appeal to “starve” Poland and Hungary of EU funds.
According to the website of radio Deutschlandfunk, Barley called for increased pressure against Poland and Hungary to maintain so-called rule of law in those countries.
“The rule of law is constantly broken and EU funds are an efficient way to exact pressure. States such as Poland and Hungary must be financially starved. Funds are an efficient lever,” she told German radio.
Several Polish politicians and commentators criticized Barley, emphasizing the historic connotation of using the word “starvation” in context of Polish-German relations, according to Polish media outlet Salon24.
“This statement is outrageous and reminds us of the most dreadful historic connotations. We could say that Germans have ample experience in starving and persecuting Poles. We are awaiting an official apology from Mrs. Barley and the retraction of these shameful words,” Michał Dworczyk, the chief of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, posted on social media:
Ta wypowiedź jest oburzająca i przywołuje najgorsze skojarzenia historyczne. Można by powiedzieć, że Niemcy mają doświadczenie w głodzeniu i prześladowaniu Polaków...
— Michał Dworczyk (@michaldworczyk) October 1, 2020
Oczekujemy oficjalnych przeprosin od pani Barley i wycofania się z tych haniebnych słów!https://t.co/U7D3vd3b9h
Deputy Head of the European Parliament, Katarina Barley, has caused massive outrage due to her appeal to “starve” Poland and Hungary of EU funds.
According to the website of radio Deutschlandfunk, Barley called for increased pressure against Poland and Hungary to maintain so-called rule of law in those countries.
“The rule of law is constantly broken and EU funds are an efficient way to exact pressure. States such as Poland and Hungary must be financially starved. Funds are an efficient lever,” she told German radio.
Several Polish politicians and commentators criticized Barley, emphasizing the historic connotation of using the word “starvation” in context of Polish-German relations, according to Polish media outlet Salon24.
“This statement is outrageous and reminds us of the most dreadful historic connotations. We could say that Germans have ample experience in starving and persecuting Poles. We are awaiting an official apology from Mrs. Barley and the retraction of these shameful words,” Michał Dworczyk, the chief of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery, posted on social media:
Law
and Justice MEP (PiS) and former Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski
also did not spare his criticism, saying, “A German is calling for the
starvation of Hungary and Poland. No illusions remain. The fight for the
rule of law is not meant to improve legislation in the EU. It is an
ideological weapon against conservative governments.”
Zagłodzić Węgry i Polskę, nawołuje Niemka. Bez iluzji więc. Walka o praworządność nie zmierza do poprawy prawa w Unii. To ideologiczna broń przeciw konserwatywnym rządom. @vonderleyen @AngelaMerkeICDU https://t.co/UYL41HxJQW
— Witold Waszczykowski (@WaszczykowskiW) October 1, 2020
PiS MEP Ryszard Czarnecki reminded that German politicians speaking about starving someone has very disastrous connotations. He emphasized that there used to be a party in Germany which had the word “socialist” in it, referring to the NSDAP, which also intended to starve European nations. He emphasized that that plan ended poorly for both them and the Germans.
Commentator Piotr Semka also expressed shock at the usage of the term “starvation”.
“I could not believe that Katarina Barley, the deputy head of the European Parliament, could use the term 'aushungern' in relation to Poland and Hungary. I could not until I checked German media myself. 'Aushungern' is not a good term, it means 'to starve, to famish. The addition of the word 'financially' does not help".
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