Hundreds of members of Poland’s academic community have called for the dismissal of the recently appointed education minister, Przemysław Czarnek. They point, among other things, to what they claim are misogynistic, antisemitic, anti-LGBT and anti-Ukrainian statements by the minister.
Czarnek, however, denies the claims against him, accusing his critics of spreading “Marxist lies”. He says that he “loves Ukrainians” and that he cannot be a misogynist because he respects the Virgin Mary and his wife.
The nomination in September of Czarnek as the new minister of education and science – a position that puts him in charge of both schools and universities – drew controversy from the outset.
Czarnek has become known in particular for being at the forefront of a government-led anti-LGBT campaign. He claims that “LGBT ideology…comes from the same roots as Nazism” and that its adherents “are not equal to normal people” so we should “stop listening to this idiocy about human rights or equality”.
The new education minister also last year warned of the dangers of telling women that they can have “a career first, and maybe a child later”. “Saying to a woman that she does not have to do what she was called on by God to do” has “dire consequences”, he said.
After his appointment, Czarnek – who is himself a professor of law at the Catholic University of Lublin – pledged to fight the “dictatorship of left-liberal views” that he says “have dominated higher education” and begun to “penetrate schools” as well.
This week, a letter was sent by almost 350 members of the academic community to the prime minister and president, calling for “the immediate dismissal of Dr Przemysław Czarnek”.
Among the signatories are professors from the Polish Academy of Sciences – a leading research institution – as well as from some of Poland’s top universities.
“In the statements of Dr Czarnek, there is a glaring lack of respect for people with different views, [as well as] Ukrainophobia, antisemitism, dehumanisation of non-heteronormative people, misogyny and praising corporal punishment of children,” reads their letter, quoted by Polsat News.
Czarnek has previous endorsed the use of corporal punishment by parents. The letter does not outline the alleged anti-Jewish statements Czarnek has made. However, he has attended and spoken at a march of National Radical Camp (ONR), a far-right group with a history of antisemitism dating back to the interwar period.
In 2018, Czarnek submitted a request for prosecutors to investigate historian Grzegorz Kuprianowicz, head of the Ukrainian Society in Poland, for speaking about the murder of Ukrainians by Polish partisans in World War Two. Czarnek said this was a “provocation” and “an insult to the Polish nation”.
Oto nowy minister edukacji, nauki i szkolnictwa wyższego (źródło: https://t.co/qYFoANMki9) #ONR #Czarnek #MEN #MNiSW pic.twitter.com/kOjuZiqFkU
— Chmielewska-Szlajfer (@HChSz) October 19, 2020
The letter continues that “this picture is additionally worsened by [Czarnek’s] lack of understanding of the terms he uses (such as ‘ideology’), glaring gaps in his knowledge, and negligible academic achievements”.
The signatories also express outrage at Czarnek’s suggestion last week that his ministry could reduce funding for universities which have supported the ongoing protests against a court ruling that would introduce a near total ban on abortion.
The minister called the actions of those universities “scandalous, irresponsible” and “criminal”. He has also condemned the protesters themselves, saying that they are displaying “satanic behaviour” and “barbarity”.
The “threat to withdraw funds” and “to use political and ideological criteria when assessing applications for academic research [is] in our opinion absolutely unacceptable”, reads the letter.
The signatories fear that “the intellectual and ethical standards [Czarnek] proposes and intends to apply while managing the Polish research and education system will take us back into the distant past” and “threaten a complete collapse of development”.
Last week the education minister warned that there would be "consequences" for teachers who encouraged pupils to attend the abortion protests.
He also suggested that universities which have supported the demonstrations could have their funding cut https://t.co/kaO7aVzy4u
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) November 3, 2020
Meanwhile, 150 people associated with the Faculty of Polish Studies at the Jagiellonian University – Poland’s oldest and highest-ranking institution of higher education – have written a separate letter to the president and prime minister calling for Czarnek to be removed.
The minister in charge of schools and universities should be someone “who will not violate the fundamental values underlying civic education”, write the signatories, who include over 30 professors.
“Education is not only about transferring knowledge, but also about building a culture of dialogue and instilling the principle of respect for every human being,” reads their letter.
Separately, one Jagiellonian University professor has started an online petition in the name of “the members of the academic community of Polish universities and people associated with all levels of education” calling for Czarnek’s dismissal. It has received over 75,000 signatures in the space of four days.
Last month, over 100 academic, cultural and religious figures signed a letter expressing concern that Czarnek has “repeatedly shown disrespect for human dignity in relation to people belonging to minorities, in particular LGBT people”. Among the signatories were four professors from Czarnek’s own Catholic university.
This morning, Czarnek rejected the accusations against him during an interview with Catholic radio station Siódma9, calling them “Marxist lies”.
“I have never dehumanised anyone,” said the minister. “I love Ukraine and Ukrainians, [though] of course not Banderites.”
The latter term refers to Ukrainian nationalists – followers of Stepan Bandera – who in World War Two were responsible for the massacre of tens of thousands of Poles. It is also used for those in Ukraine today who today continue to honour and cultivate that history.
“I’m not any kind of misogynist; until recently I didn’t even know what that meant,” continued the education minister. “I feel awe and respect towards two women: the Virgin Mary and my wife.”
.@CzarnekP u @marcinfijolek w @siodma9_pl:
Nigdy nikogo nie dehumanizowałem. Uwielbiam Ukrainę i Ukraińców, oczywiście nie banderowców. Nie jestem żadnym mizoginem, do niedawna nawet nie wiedziałem co to znaczy. Przestańcie kłamać.
@MEN_GOV_PL— Siódma9.pl (@siodma9_pl) November 6, 2020
Main image credit: Jakub Orzechowski / Agencja Gazeta
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
