Overview
- A group of about 15 people in yellow vests tried to march with banners and a large wooden cross to a Polish World War II memorial near the Reichstag on Tuesday and clashed with officers, who briefly detained six participants.
- Berlin police had forbidden the march, offered the group alternatives at the sculpture park or individual visits to the memorial, and say force was used after participants tried to break a police cordon; the six detained were later released and the incident is under investigation.
- The action is linked to Ruch Obrony Granic (ROG), a right‑wing Polish citizen militia that formed after a false campaign accused German police of secretly returning migrants to Poland.
- ROG posted footage on X framing members as victims of police brutality, and Polish PiS politicians publicly protested, including demonstrations outside the German embassy and calls to summon the German ambassador.
- The memorial is a highly protected site that commemorates Polish victims of Nazi occupation, and officials say the probe and any diplomatic response will determine whether the episode escalates into a wider bilateral dispute.