During the brief time the Polish army was stationed on the Czech side of the border it prevented Czech people from visiting a local church citing coronavirus concerns.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFFlag of Poland, variant polish coat of arms.(photo credit: OLEK REMESZ/ WIKEPEDIA COMMONS)
Poland mistakenly invaded its neighbor, the Czech Republic, and maintained a military presence there in May until the mistake was discovered and the soldiers were called back to Poland proper, CNN reported on Friday.The Polish Republic closed its borders to protect its public from the spread of the coronavirus and, to ensure that nobody entered the country, the army was sent to Pielgrzymow in the south of Poland.Due to both nations being EU member countries, the border is not clearly marked and it is possible the soldiers simply mistook their grounds as part of Poland when it was, in fact, a foreign country.Surprised Czech citizens were told they could not visit a local church, which the soldiers thought was on the Polish side, when in fact the church and the church-goers were in the Czech Republic the entire time.When the Czech Embassy in Poland was informed of the news, it reached out to the Polish government, which quickly instructed the army to depart from there.The Polish Defense Ministry assured the Czechs that Poland is not eyeing any future annexation and that the case was a misunderstanding.The Czechs, however, are still waiting for an official statement on behalf of the Polish government to explain what happened.While relations between the two nations are good, in the past Poland did not think twice before taking over a part of the Czech Republic, and partnered with Nazi Germany in the annexation of Czech lands in 1938.In January, Israeli security details made a similar mistake when they attempted to accompany French President Emmanuel Macron into the Church of Saint Anne as part of their duty to protect him while in Israel.Due to its unique history, the church is actually a part of France, meaning Macron was legally entering French territory and “returning home.”
The French leader was not amused by this unintentional violation of French sovereignty by his hosts and demanded they allow him to enter the site without them, which they did.
