Page 30 - bne_Magazine_March_2018

30 I Central Europe bne March 2018
Polish neo-Nazis have been emboldened by the Law and Justice government.
Polish president signs divisive
“Holocaust bill”
Wojciech Kosc in Warsaw
Polish President Andrzej Duda has signed off on the highly contested "Holocaust bill" that has alienated Warsaw from Israel, the US, as well as Ukraine.
The bill seeks to penalise claims that Poland was complicit in atrocities perpe- trated by Nazi Germany during the Sec- ond World War. That has caused outrage in Israel, which said the bill could lead to falsehoods concerning Poles’ wartime attitude to Jews under the Nazi occupa- tion of Poland.
The bill states that anyone who “publicly and against the facts ascribe responsibil- ity or co-responsibility for the crimes per- petrated by the Third German Reich to the Polish nation or the Polish state” will face prosecution charges and possibly jail.
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“We have the right to historical truth and we have the right to be judged according to the facts,” Duda said on announcing his decision on February 6.
Thousands of Poles helped Jews survive the Nazi occupation, during which the Nazis exterminated over 90% of Poland’s Jewish population. However, there also
books, which Israel suggests might be silenced now.
Poland dismisses Israel’s concerns. The bill will not result in censorship of sci- entific research, Duda underlined. Still, since there are doubts that the bill could restrain freedom of speech, he said he would send the bill to the Constitutional
“Thousands of Poles helped Jews survive the Nazi occupation”
are numerous examples of Poles’ turning Jews in to the Nazi administration or directly killing them. Those atrocities have been documented in accounts
of witnesses, historical research, and
Tribunal for review. “There are fears that the survivors will not be allowed to speak out,” the president admitted.
The tribunal is, however, seen as a policy