By Anne-France White - 4th October 2006
Polish MEP Maciej Giertych has sparked outrage among German MEPs by displaying large WWII posters in the European parliament.
The six black-and-white posters, which tower 1,80m high outside Giertych’s office, depict Hitler, German WWII fighter planes, and crying children surrounded by wartime destruction.
The move was rejected as an “anti-German attack” by a number of prominent German MEPs including Elmar Brok, socialist group leader Martin Schulz and EPP chairman Hans-Gert Pöttering.
Brok said that the posters should not be allowed inside the parliament, adding that “this minority uses anti-German attacks for the same political reasons that the communists once used in order to justify their power”.
Pöttering added that the posters were “targeted at the unification of Europe”.
According to Die Welt, this is not the first time that a prominent member of the League of Polish Families (LPR) has agitated against Germany in the parliament.
The paper says Giertych’s party has been trying to collect MEP signatures for the last few months against the alleged “incessant human rights infringements” perpetrated by the German authorities and the “resurgent nazism in Germany”.
Giertych himself is no stranger to controversy – in July, he endorsed the political views of dictator Francisco Franco as a “brave fighter against the communist plague” in a speech at the European parliament.
Have your say...
Please enter your comments below.