Grzegorz Braun Destroys LGBT Exhibition in Polish Parliament

The news in Polish

1. członek  (m.)
   osoba należąca do organizacji, grupy lub stowarzyszenia ↩︎
2. partia  (f.)
   zorganizowana grupa ludzi o takich samych poglądach politycznych ↩︎
3. zniszczyć
   spowodować, że coś przestaje istnieć lub nie nadaje się do użytku ↩︎
4. wystawa  (f.)
   prezentacja prac artystycznych, przedmiotów lub informacji publicznie ↩︎
5. różnorodność  (f.)
   stan, w którym występuje wiele różnych elementów, cech lub osób ↩︎
6. ochrona  (f.)
   działania mające na celu zabezpieczenie przed szkodą lub niebezpieczeństwem ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: Who found Grzegorz Braun’s action disgraceful?

Question 2: What did the Sejm promise to do after the exhibition was destroyed?

Vocabulary

Polish	English
członek  (m.)	member
partia  (f.)	party
zniszczyć	destroy
wystawa  (f.)	exhibition
różnorodność  (f.)	diversity
ochrona  (f.)	protection

Read the full story

On a hotly debated day within the Polish Parliament, member Grzegorz Braun, belonging to the Konfederacja Korony Polskiej party, drew widespread attention after he vandalized an LGBT-themed exhibition set up in the corridors of the Sejm. The exhibition, titled “Tęczowe Opole“, was crafted by Arkadiusz Urbaniec and Paweł Maryniak to promote diversity and represent experiences from the LGBT community within Opole.

Witnesses observed Braun physically damaging display boards by removing them from easels, breaking them in half, and leaving them scattered on the floor. Footage of the incident was further disseminated by MP Anita Czerwińska from the ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS), showing Braun’s actions and a marshal’s guard unsuccessfully trying to dissuade the politician from his path.

Responses to the event have been polarized. Katarzyna Piekarska, a parliamentary member from the opposition Koalicja Obywatelska (KO), expressed her frustrations, condemning the act as a blatant disregard for the democratic principle of equality. “It’s merely vandalism,” she remarked, urging that the matter be taken seriously by legal authorities and suggesting potential restrictions on Braun’s access to the Sejm.

Contrastingly, Dariusz Matecki, a politician also from PiS, distanced himself from endorsing destruction but criticized the exhibition’s presence, labeling it as an extension of “extreme leftist ideology”. He advocated for equal opportunities for right-wing displays if exhibitions like “Tęczowe Opole” were allowed.

The motive behind Braun’s actions stemmed from his stated goal of preventing “public scandal”. However, similar to a previous instance in March where he had defaced the same exhibit in Opole with derogatory graffiti, his approach has attracted criticism for its aggressive manifestation.

Anna Maria Żukowska from the Lewica party took a firm stand against Braun, labeling the act “disgraceful” and highlighting its implications for the suppression of LGBT rights. Waning patience with judicial delays from prior charges against Braun was evident in her insistence on an immediate formal response from Sejm officials.

As the situation unfolded, Speaker of the Sejm, Szymon Hołownia, affirmed that measures will be fortified to apply physical deterrence if required against similar future incidents of vandalism in the legislative environment.

Info: “Polish Learner News” is a service from “Let’s Learn Polish”, a language school dedicated to teaching Polish. We offer a variety of online courses, including an engaging Polish language course, designed to meet the diverse needs of learners.