A bronze statue showing German philosopher Karl Marx. Poland’s interior minister apologized after police entered a conference devoted to Karl Marx to check if anyone was propagating “totalitarianism” or engaging in “anti-national activity.” (AP Photo/Michael Probst, File)
Poland’s interior minister has apologized after Polish police entered an academic conference devoted to Karl Marx to check if anyone was propagating “totalitarianism” or engaging in “anti-national activity.”
Interior Minister Joachim Brudzinski apologized Monday for the incident Friday at a University of Szczecin conference center in Pobierowo, in western Poland.
A conference organizer, Tymoteusz Kochan, said three police officers acting on prosecutors’ orders questioned organizers and photographed scholarly publications. Prosecutors confirmed that they ordered the police check.
Kochan, a doctoral candidate in philosophy, said the incident left participants shaken. He said he believed it was an attempt by Poland’s right-wing authorities to intimidate them.
Marx was a 19th-century socialist whose views guided the development of communist theory.
Poland’s current government is staunchly anti-communist.
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