"Hands off Dąbrowski Brigade Street" campaign
The "Łapy Precz od ul. Dąbrowszczaków" (Hands off Dąbrowski Brigade Street) initiative was launched in 2015 with the aim of preventing the so-called "decommunisation" of the Dąbrowszczaków Street (Dąbrowski Brigade Street) in Warsaw, commemorating anti-fascists from Poland fighting in the Spanish Civil War as part of the International Brigades.
For the first two years, the campaign operated informally, and in 2017 its members formed the "Ochotnicy Wolności" Association (Volunteers of Freedom Association) to formalize and systematize the existing activities and broaden the scope of activities in the field of left-wing historical memory. Thus, the initiative "Hands off Dąbrowski Brigade Street" became a campaign of the Association. In April 2019, the Supreme Administrative Court restored the name of Dąbrowski Brigade Street so the Association completed this campaign.
Over the course of almost four years the initiative "Hands off Dąbrowski Brigade Street" has contributed to restoring the social memory of Polish interbrigadists and to stimulating public debate on erasing their memory from urban space. The initiative also reminded everyone of the values and attitudes of anti-fascist volunteers from Poland and made their struggle recognized by contemporary left-wing and anti-fascist movements as an element of left-wing tradition.
This was achieved, among other things, thanks to the initiative's various activities - writing petitions, participating in city commission meetings, organizing rallies, anniversary celebrations and artistic events, as well as writing journalistic texts.
The initiative "Hands off Dąbrowski Brigade Street" also attracted the attention of Warsaw and national media as one of the first initiatives opposing the so-called "decommunisation". In 2017 the initiative won "Stołek" - the readers' award of Gazeta Stołeczna, one of the most popular daily newspapers. In the same year the representatives of the initiative were on the front page of this newspaper. For several years of the initiative's activity its members have given dozens of statements, interviews and appeared in various media: (in the press, on the radio, and on the television.
In 2018, when the Mazovian Voivode, in accordance with the guidelines of the Institute of National Remembrance, ordered to change the name of Dąbrowski Brigade Street, the dispute over its preservation entered the administrative path between the Capital City of Warsaw and the representative of the central authority. At that time the activity of the initiative focused on convincing the councilors to take action to restore Dąbrowski Brigade Street to the map of Warsaw. Eventually the decision of the voivode was challenged by Warsaw authorities and addressed to the Provincial Administrative Court, which restored the name of the street. In April 2019 this decision was confirmed by the Supreme Administrative Court. The activity of the Initiative "Hands off Dąbrowski Brigade Street" undoubtedly contributed to the steps taken by the city authorities to restore the street's name.
Further activities aimed at commemorating the Dąbrowski Brigade volunteers are carried out under the name of The Volunteers of Freedom Association.
Calendar of events
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24 June 2015
The Municipal Names Council gives a positive opinion on the change of the name of Dąbrowszczaków Street (Dąbrowski Brigade Street) in Warsaw. The issue is discussed at the Municipal Names Committee of the Warsaw City Council. After the local media describes the issue, the initiative "Łapy Precz od Ulicy Dąbrowszczaków" ("Hands off Dąbrowski Brigade Street") is launched.
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9 July 2015
The representatives of the "Hands off Dąbrowski Brigade Street" initiative participate in the meeting of the Warsaw City Council and pass an appeal for the preservation of Dąbrowski Brigade Street to its chairman, Ewa Malinowska-Grupińska.
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28 January 2016
Participation of the representatives of the "Hands off Dąbrowski Brigade Street" initiative in the meeting of the Municipal Names Committee of the Warsaw City Council. The councillors receive an appeal in defense of Dąbrowski Brigade Street, signed by over a thousand people.
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5 April 2016
The Polish Parliament (Sejm) unanimously adopts the so-called "decommunisation law", i.e. law "on the prohibition of promoting communism or other totalitarian systems through the names of organizational units, auxiliary units of the commune, buildings, public buildings and facilities and monuments".
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24 April 2016
The "Hands off Dąbrowski Brigade Street" initiates the action of sending appeals to Warsaw councillors for the preservation of Dąbrowski Brigade Street in the face of the Polish Parliament (Sejm) voting on the so-called "decommunisation law".
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11 May 2016
Participation of the representatives of the "Hands off Dąbrowski Brigade Street" initiative in the meeting of the Municipal Names Committee of the Warsaw City Council.
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September 2016
The provisions of the "decommunisation law" enter into force. Local authorities have 12 months to change street names.
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8 September 2016
A protest held at the "Next Stop History" of the Institute of National Remembrance. "¡No pasarán! Stop falsifying the history". The event is organized by the "Hands off Dąbrowski Brigade Street" together with the Warsaw Revolutionary Choir "Warszawianka" on the 80th anniversary of the creation of "Dąbrowski Group 36" – first Polish unit in Spain.
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14 September 2016
Participation of the representatives of the "Hands off Dąbrowski Brigade Street" initiative in the meeting of the Municipal Names Committee of the Warsaw City Council.
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October-November 2016
Collection of signatures among residents of Dąbrowski Brigade Street and neighbouring streets under a petition to the Warsaw City Council calling for Dąbrowski Brigade Street not to be included on the list of names to be "decommunised".
The petition is signed by nearly 1700 residents of the street and its surroundings. The submission of the petition is accompanied by a press conference. The collection of the signatures has been implemented by the Hands off Dąbrowski Brigade Street and the Warsaw branch of the left-wing party Razem. -
May 2017
Formalization of the initiative’s activities – on the basis of the Hands off Dąbrowski Brigade Street, Volunteers of Freedom Association Stowarzyszenie Ochotnicy WolnościAt the same time, the Club of Councillors of the liberal-conservative party Platforma Obywatelska governing the city presents the list of streets to be "decommunised". Dąbrowski Brigade Street is not among them.
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6 September 2017
Handing in the open letter to the Mazovian Voivode regarding the preservation of the name of Dąbrowski Brigade Street in Warsaw. More than 100 people from the world of science,culture, as well as historians and experts from other fields of humanities from Poland and abroad have signed the appeal of The Volunteers of Freedom Association / Hands off Dąbrowski Brigade Street. The submission of the letter is accompanied by a press conference.
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27 november 2017
The Mazovian Voivode issues the decision to change the names of 47 Warsaw streets, including Dąbrowski Brigade Street, which becomes Boris Sawinkow Street.
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December 2017
The members of the Volunteers of Freedom Association speak at the session of the Warsaw City Council before the vote on the appeal against the decision of the Governor is made.
Participation in the meeting of the Infrastructure Committee of the Praga Północ District Council, where, at the request of the Association, a position is taken in favour of keeping the name of Dąbrowski Brigade Street.
The Warsaw City Council adopts resolutions on appealing the substitute orders of the Governor to the Provincial Administrative Court. -
20 january 2018
Plates with the name of Dąbrowski Brigade Street are dismantled. From that moment on, the name imposed by the Mazovian Voivode – Boris Sawinkow Street – applies.
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30 May 2018
The Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw revokes the decision of the Mazovian Voivode to change the name of Dąbrowski Brigade Street in Warsaw's Praga district. The court considered the case at the request of the Warsaw authorities who challenged the decision of the Governor. At this stage the verdict is not final – the Governor appeals against the decision to the Supreme Administrative Court. Until the final decision is made, the city authorities are holding back from restoring plaques with the correct street name.
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10 April 2019
The Supreme Administrative Court dismisses the cassation appeal of the Mazowieckie Province Governor, thereby upholding the decision of the Provincial Administrative Court, and restores the name of Dąbrowszczaków Street to the map of Warsaw. Representatives of the Volunteers of Freedom Association and the "Hands off Dąbrowski Brigade Street" initiative are present in the courtroom during the reading of the Court's decision.
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25 April 2019
The plates with the name of Dąbrowski Brigade Street return to their original place. The "Hands off Dąbrowski Brigade Street" campaign is coming to an end.