A working group under the Ministry of Justice has proposed changes to the penal code. The new regulations will criminalize “the offering of print, recordings or any other item possessing fascist or totalitarian content” as well as “disseminating fascist, communist or any other totalitarian symbols.”
Commentators point out that the tightening and singling out of regulations concerning communist symbols became necessary because these symbols were trivialized. Tomasz Rzymkowski MP of Kukiz’15 argues that the communist ideology as well as its icons aren’t prosecuted as strictly as fascist ones.
How is the Soviet Gulag different from German death camps?
Some lawyers argue, however, that changing the laws is not sufficient. There are enough laws concerning the persecution of totalitarian symbolism. The issue is the judiciary’s approach to the matter. “This is why we must reform the judicial system,” argues Bartosz Kownacki, a Law and Justice MP.
There is a double standard when combating communist ideology. It is completely trivialized compared to fascism or nazism. “What’s the difference between these genocides? How is the Soviet Gulag different from German death camps?” asks Jerzy Bukowski, a spokesman for the Veteran’s Union.
Bukowski cited the example of the Polish Communist Party, which is still active and has not lost its registration by the Constitutional Tribunal despite many calls for its closure.
