Cross in front of the Presidential Palace in Warsaw

The cross, 23 July 2010, in front of the Presidential Palace.

The cross, 10 September 2010, visible in the background. In front, the barricade wall decorated by the "defenders" movement.

Cross in front of Presidential Palace in Poland was a wooden cross placed by Polish Scouts on 15 April 2010, 5 days after 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash, to honor memory of its 96 casualties. On 16 September 2010 it was moved to a chapel in the Presidential Palace. On 10 November 2010 it was moved to St. Anne's Church, Warsaw, where it currently resides.

It was controversial and provoked debate in the Polish society and media about the issues of politics, religion and and patriotism.

History

The cross was erected spontaneously a group of Polish Scouts on 15 April 2010, 5 days after 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash, in front of the Presidential Palace in Warsaw to honor memory of its 96 casualties.^[1][2] Chief among its victims was Polish President Lech Kaczyński of the right-wing, conservative and pro-Catholic Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (Pis) party.^[2][3] Soon after the Polish presidential election, 2010, in July, the new Polish president, Bronisław Komorowski, from the more centrist and liberal Platforma Obywatelska (PO) party, requested that the cross be moved to a nearby St. Anne's Church.^[1][4] The move was supported by the Scouts and the archbishop of Warsaw, but criticized by certain groups, as the issue gained notoriety in the Polish media.^[4]

The cross was to be moved on 3 August but this caused increasingly vocal protests from the PiS supporters, known as the "defenders of the cross" (Obrońcy krzyża).^[1][3] Some of the defenders believed that the Smolensk air crash was a victim of a conspiracy, in which the new Polish government was taking a part in.^[5] The defender movement guarded the cross around the clock.^[2] The protesters clashed with the police and the cross was not moved on that day.^[1][6] The situation became one of the issues of contention in politics of Poland, with the defenders supported by the PiS party.^[5]

Defenders of the cross clashed with youth, secular counter movement, organized through new media like Facebook.^[2] Members of the anti demonstraction declared that the cross in a public space has no place in a secular state, and that it should be removed its prominent position in front of the Presidential Palace.^[4][3] As the defenders, many of the armed with crucifixes, prayed and sang religious hymns around the cross, their opponents chanted "Go to church" and declared the defenders to be "Catholic fantatics".^[4][1] Many among the counter movement were disrespectful of the cross, and the Catholic religion; one of their symbols was a cross made of beer cans.^[2] The two groups were separated by police and metal barriers, to prevent clashes.^[3] The rise of this counter movement was shocking to many, as the young generation in Poland was seen as not very politically active.^[2]

On 16 September 2010 it was moved to a chapel in the Presidential Palace, this time without a prior announcement, as the government did not want to give the Defenders movement an opportunity to prepare for their action.^[7] On 10 November 2010 it was moved to St. Anne's Church, Warsaw, where it currently resides.

Debate in the Polish society

The cross provoked a major debate in the Polish society and media about the proper way to honor the victims of the April air crash, the symbol of a cross in the public space and Poland, relations between the state and the Roman Catholic Church, and the actions taken by the Polish government.^{[3][8][9][10][5]} The cross was seen as a symbol of this debate.^[3]

Polish media devoted significant attention to the event.^[11] In August, all of the Polish major news networks had teams monitoring the situation 24h a day. An analysis by the Krajowa Rada Radiofonii i Telewizji (National Broadcasting Council) revealed that Polish stations devoted significant amount of time for coverage of the related events.^[11] With regards to news coverage on regular channels, the lead was taken by TVP1 (57 min.), followed by TVP2 (42 min.), TVN (39 min.) and Polsat (35 min.), and with regards to the the dedicated Polish news channels, TVN24 (366 min.) was ahead of TVP Info (95 min.).^[11] For non-news coverage (discussions, analysis, etc.), the lead was taken by TVN24 (279 min.), followed by TVP Info (249 min.), TVP2 (33 min.).^[11]

Catholic Church in Poland was split on the issue; support of many Church officials for the removal of the cross has led to their estrangement from the Defenders movement.^[1][3]

See also

• Auschwitz cross
• Sejm cross

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Supporters of late Poland President Lech Kaczynski involved in scuffles with police as they try to remove shrine in his memory". Daily Mail. 2010-08-03. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1300012/Supporters-late-Poland-President-Lech-Kaczynski-involved-scuffles-police-try-remove-shrine-memory.html. Retrieved 2011-11-10. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Leszczynski, Adam (2011-04-06). "A very Polish protest party". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/apr/06/polish-protest-cross-of-beer. Retrieved 2011-11-10. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Dempsey, Judy (2010-09-01). "In Poland, a Memorial Becomes a Battleground". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/02/world/europe/02iht-letter.html. Retrieved 2011-11-10. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d} "Big protest against cross to late Polish president". AFP. 2010-08-09. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5heCOK1uI_OJ9fDN5R4X-YKngVydg. Retrieved 2011-11-10. 
5. ^ ^{a b c} J. P. (2010-08-06). "Poland's new president and old problems: Knots and crosses". The Economist. http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2010/08/polands_new_president_and_old_problems. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
6. ^ "Poland clash over memorial cross for Lech Kaczynski". BBC News (bbc.co.uk). 2010-08-03. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10853307. Retrieved 2011-11-10. 
7. ^ Sobczyk, Marcin (2010-09-17). "Crash Cross Removed From Polish Palace". The Wall Street Journal. http://blogs.wsj.com/emergingeurope/2010/09/17/polish-presidents-office-removes-smolensk-crash-cross/. Retrieved 2011-11-10. 
8. ^ Sobczyk, Marcin (2010-08-10). "Poland’s Heated Row Over Cross Reaches Boiling Point". The Wall Street Journal. http://blogs.wsj.com/emergingeurope/2010/08/10/polands-heated-row-over-cross-reaches-boiling-point/. Retrieved 2011-11-10. 
9. ^ Paterson, Tony (2010-08-12). "Memorial cross exposes Poland's religious divide". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/memorial-cross-exposes-polands-religious-divide-2050137.html. Retrieved 2011-11-10. 
10. ^ "Controversy over Presidential Palace cross". Warsaw Business Journal (wbj.pl). 2010-07-13. http://www.wbj.pl/article-50321-controversy-over-presidential-palace-cross.html?typ=ise. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
11. ^ ^{a b c d} "Raport z monitoringu na temat prezentowania w programach telewizyjnych przebiegu wydarzeń związanych z zamiarem przeniesienia krzyża sprzed Pałacu Prezydenckiego do Kościoła św. Anny" (in Polish). http://www.krrit.gov.pl/Data/Files/_public/Portals/0/kontrola/krzyz_101123.pdf. PDF