Polish court orders historians to apologise over Holocaust book

[Syt]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-poland-holocaust-idUSKBN2A91M7

Polish court orders historians to apologise over Holocaust book

WARSAW (Reuters) - A Warsaw court ruled on Tuesday that two historians tarnished the memory of a Polish villager in a book about the Holocaust and must apologise, in a case some academics warn could deter impartial research into Poles' actions during World War Two.

More than seven decades on, the conflict remains a live political issue in Poland, where the ruling nationalists say studies showing complicity by some Poles in the killing of Jews by Nazi Germany are an attempt to dishonour a country that suffered immensely in the conflict.

The court ruled that Barbara Engelking and Jan Grabowski, editors of the two-volume work "Night without an end. Fate of Jews in selected counties of occupied Poland", must apologise for saying Edward Malinowski gave up Jews to the Nazi Germans.

But it stopped short of ordering them to pay compensation.

"The court's ruling must not have a cooling effect on academic research. In the opinion of the court the demanded sum of 100,000 zlotys ($27,017) would constitute such a factor," said judge Ewa Jonczyk.

Polish academics and Jewish organisations such as Israel's Yad Vashem had expressed concern that the trial may undermine freedom of research, and Engelking said the case aimed to have such an effect.

"There is no doubt this is some sort of an effort to create a freezing effect, to show academics that there are issues on which it is not worth focusing on," she said.

The World Jewish Congress said in a statement it was "dismayed" by the ruling.

Engelking and Grabowski plan to appeal Tuesday's verdict.

BATTLE OVER THE PAST

The case had been brought by Malinowski's 81-year-old niece, Filomena Leszczynska, and funded by the Polish League Against Defamation, which opposes claims of Polish involvement in the murder of Jews.

Leszczynska's lawyer, Monika Brzozowska-Pasieka, argued that Engelking and Grabowski failed to follow correct research methodology when compiling the book, an accusation Grabowski denied.

"Filomena is extremely pleased with this verdict," Brzozowska-Pasieka said after the trial. "The question of compensation from the beginning was a secondary issue."

Almost all of Poland's 3.2 million Jews are understood to have died during more than five years of Nazi rule, accounting for around half the Jews estimated to have been killed in the Holocaust. A further 3 million non-Jewish citizens also died under Poland's Nazi occupation.

A significant body of research suggests that, while thousands of Poles risked their lives to help Jews, thousands also participated in the Holocaust. Many Poles do not accept such findings.

In 2018, an international backlash forced the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party to drop a law that would have made it a crime to suggest Poland bore any responsibility for Nazi atrocities.

Grabowski told Reuters before Tuesday's ruling that the case covered similar ground to the proposed law by attempting to establish offence to national dignity as grounds for suing over any such claims in the future.

Brzozowska-Pasieka denied the case aimed to introduce new avenues for litigation, but simply sought to protect her client's personal rights.

[Josquius]

This seems to be a particular sore sport for Poland. They're keen to paint the war as black and white as possible with absolutely no collaboration or dodgy actions by the resistance.

Its fascinating how Poland is so divided between pretty decent young progressive folk in the cities and this utter idiocy. Guess we just have to hope with the passing of years this shit dies out as the young take over.

[The Brain]

They really like to make sure the world remembers their collaborators.

[Tamas]

At one hand they have a right to want this be represented properly and proportionally - they suffered incredibly from German and Russian occupation (just look at statistics), and most certainly there were plenty of heroic cases of helping Jews. Things like a couple of German papers calling the camps "Polish deathcamps" I totally understand being upset about.

On the other hand, it looks like they themselves turn the discussion into "just how evil were Poles in WW2" by challenging every single mention of collaborators.

[Sheilbh]

Its fascinating how Poland is so divided between pretty decent young progressive folk in the cities and this utter idiocy. Guess we just have to hope with the passing of years this shit dies out as the young take over.

I almost never buy this generational shift take of politics. But even if I did, a lot of the young and well-educated have moved to the rest of Europe. I posted a map of the youth and brain drain from CEE a while ago and I do wonder. It feels almost like you could apply the whole "left behind" analysis on a European level to entire countries: post-industrial, with the odd liberal/university town, young people moving away and in the case of some CEE states a legit demographic crisis.

This shouldn't be in the court. But I can see how this is difficult - Poland wasn't France, or Benelux. Poles suffered as much in the war as any other people, except for Jews, Roma etc. It took a generation or two for Western European countries to start to acknowledge their complicity in the Holocaust, I think it will take longer in CEE (not just Poland - Ukraine, the Baltics etc). Partly because of Soviet bloc education/narrative of the war but also it is more difficult to acknowledge wrongs when you were also a victim.

And it's interesting that this story came out yesterday when I also saw the story about Ukrainian anger at comments by the German President:

Germany's Steinmeier angers Kyiv with his comments on Nord Stream, WWII
The president pointed to the "bigger picture," including Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, when asked about the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. This did not go down well with Ukraine.

Ukraine's ambassador to Berlin on Tuesday slammed "questionable historical arguments" made by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier regarding the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

Andriy Melnyk's reaction came as officials from Ukraine and many other European countries have grown increasingly frustrated with the German government's insistence on completing the project and effectively doubling the amount of gas that Germany imports from Russia.

In an interview with the German newspaper Rheinische Post, Steinmeier defended the pipeline by saying that fuel sales were "one of the last bridges between Russia and Europe."

"I believe that burning bridges is not a sign of strength," Steinmeier said.

"For us Germans, there is another dimension," the president said, noting that June will mark 80 years since the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union. He said 20 million Soviet citizens were killed in World War II.

"There have been phases of fruitful partnership, but even more times of terrible bloodshed," Steinmeier said.

"This does not justify any wrongdoing in Russian politics today, but we must not lose sight of the bigger picture," he added. "Yes, we live in the presence of a difficult relationship, but there is a past before and a future after."

Ukraine not happy

Melnyk said Steinmeier's stance was met by "surprise and indignation" in Kyiv. The comments "struck deep" into the hearts of Ukrainians, the ambassador said, according to Germany's DPA news agency.

Steinmeier's comments ignored Ukrainian victims of Nazi Germany, Melnyk said. Ukraine was a part of the Soviet Union during the war, and millions of Ukrainians also lost their lives. Kyiv is currently engaged in a prolonged conflict with Moscow, and the completion of the pipeline could  deprive Ukraine of valuable gas transit fees.

On Tuesday, Steinmeier's office dismissed Melnyk's complaints by saying it was met with "complete incomprehension."

"The text of the interview speaks for itself," they said.

Facing the heat

When asked about what the Biden administration has contacted him about the pipeline, which the previous Trump administration sanctioned, Steinmeier said dialogue "on this issue has not even begun."

Germany has come under pressure for continuing to work on construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea. France told Germany last week that it should halt production due to Russia arresting and sentencing opposition leader Alexei Navalny to more than 2.5 years in prison. Germany has demanded that Navalny be released.

Construction on the pipeline resumed earlier this month. Just 150 kilometers (93 miles) of pipeline from the more than 2,300 long pipeline remained to be built as construction resumed.

I think the memory of the occupation of Eastern Europe and the Holocaust and then the (re-)occupation by the Soviets is just still so much more messy and unsettled and contested than for countries in Western Europe. Poland and Ukraine are very good, if extreme, examples of this. The countries that were occupied and that suffered huge atrocities against their people, also had many collaborators who committed atrocities against Jews especially and many of the people who were, if not collaborators, then anti-semites subsequently resisted the Soviet occupation.

Edit: Basically what Tamas said more succinctly

[Duque de Bragança]

So not just Schröder as a Gazprom sellout in Germany? Good to know.

[The Brain]

People in Eastern Europe just don't like Jews, for whatever reason hating Jews is very important to them. The Poles felt that there were too many Jews in Poland in the 1960s. In Vilnius today the one synagogue left (of a hundred) has to have fences and cameras and guards.

[Duque de Bragança]

People in Eastern Europe just don't like Jews, for whatever reason hating Jews is very important to them. The Poles felt that there were too many Jews in Poland in the 1960s. In Vilnius today the one synagogue left (of a hundred) has to have fences and cameras and guards.

So basically like any synagogue in a muslim-rich suburb in Western Europe.

[Tamas]

Very good point Sheilbh, in Hungary it is still very much messy, and I don't think it will ever get properly resolved - as the generations go by the culture will settle on a common narrative but that's it.

You have a whole mix of things like the list of agents and informants working for the communist state. They are basically semi-public and wielded as a political tool. It is a very complex subject because a lot of informants were coerced into signing up and never provided a single shred of actual evidence on anyone, then there are the ones who did sign-up willingly due to the perks and were enthusiastically ratting on people thought them to be their friends. And I am sure a lot of people in between. Yet, technically all of them are on the same list and wearing the same designation.

Then there is the matter of our gruesome far-right history before but especially during the Arrowcross coup following the German occupation. The symbols of those bastards have been taken over by the modern far-right and little is known and less is done about that by the general public. There was actually a recent documentary done on a particularly nasty case where basically a statue glorifying one of the far-right symbols of the time ended up being put on the scene of some of the worst Jewish pogroms and executions. There are English subtitles if you are interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ygZB1MTRR4

And there is the matter of the 1956 revolution. It went from being a counter-revolution officially to a revered holy event officially with little to no transition period, while it is a far more complex topic than that.

[Tamas]

People in Eastern Europe just don't like Jews, for whatever reason hating Jews is very important to them. The Poles felt that there were too many Jews in Poland in the 1960s. In Vilnius today the one synagogue left (of a hundred) has to have fences and cameras and guards.

TBF that seems little better in Western Europe nowadays. Maybe their re-discovered anti-Semitism is of Middle Eastern import, but that matters little for practical effect.

[garbon]

People in Eastern Europe just don't like Jews, for whatever reason hating Jews is very important to them. The Poles felt that there were too many Jews in Poland in the 1960s. In Vilnius today the one synagogue left (of a hundred) has to have fences and cameras and guards.

TBF that seems little better in Western Europe nowadays. Maybe their re-discovered anti-Semitism is of Middle Eastern import, but that matters little for practical effect.

Yeah there's a Jewish centre in Central London with all the same security measures.

[Maladict]

I don't think it's limited to eastern Europe, apart from the heavy-handed government meddling. Questions about Dutch involvement in the SS, and the harsh treatment of Jews returning after the war, are now being asked but hardly acknowledged publicly. I think it will remain more or less taboo until everyone involved has died.

[Sheilbh]

I don't think it's limited to eastern Europe, apart from the heavy-handed government meddling. Questions about Dutch involvement in the SS, and the harsh treatment of Jews returning after the war, are now being asked but hardly acknowledged publicly. I think it will remain more or less taboo until everyone involved has died.

Interesting. I suppose I associate the Western European recognition/acknowledgement as starting with sort of the 1968 generation and then Chirac's recognition of the role of the French state in the Vel' d'Hiv round-up (which was, of course, echoed when the same location was used to hold Algerian protesters in 1962 and Maurice Papon who had participated in the round-up of Jews was, by that point, the Prefect of Police in Paris).

Edit: Out of interest have there been official acknowledgements by the Dutch government?

I don't know about all of Eastern Europe but I've read about Ukraine a lot and been to Ukraine a few times where the past is very contested (and actually you can see the creation of a "historic" memory happening in relation to both EuroMaidan and the Russian invasion). But because of the USSR this debate and appraisal of the past is something that's really only been able to start in the last thirty years after the imposed Soviet narrative and it is politically salient because Russia absolutely weaponises history in the region - particularly in relation to Ukraine. And the Soviet narrative is definitely an important part of that - going round cities like Kyiv or Odessa you will see plenty of Soviet war memorials or stars for Hero Cities - but there was a lot more to it and reconciling or even comprehending that is going to take a long time. Especially as you say when people are still alive, but also because history still has an impact on the present - particularly in relation to Russia.

[Duque de Bragança]

I don't think it's limited to eastern Europe, apart from the heavy-handed government meddling. Questions about Dutch involvement in the SS, and the harsh treatment of Jews returning after the war, are now being asked but hardly acknowledged publicly. I think it will remain more or less taboo until everyone involved has died.

Interesting. I suppose I associate the Western European recognition/acknowledgement as starting with sort of the 1968 generation and then Chirac's recognition of the role of the French state in the Vel' d'Hiv round-up (which was, of course, echoed when the same location was used to hold Algerian protesters in 1962 and Maurice Papon who had participated in the round-up of Jews was, by that point, the Prefect of Police in Paris).

You're mixing up events with Papon. Vél d'Hiv was used in 1958, not 1962, to hold Algerian French muslims. Vél d'Hiv was destroyed in 1959, with a new sport hall (Palais des Sports) being built somewhere else.
1961 was when a pro-FLN demonstration was violently suppressed, with historians still debating to this day the exact figures. "Massacre or not?" is now the debate.
1962, rue de Charonne, was an anti-OAS demonstration.
More and more people mix up the two or prefer to commemorate only one of them, i.e the last one, specially for the French left.

PS: back in 1976, one of the last Alain Delon classics dealt with the whole Vél d'Hiv' case, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsieur_Klein. Not a great success, but now seen as his last masterpiece.

[Maladict]

Interesting. I suppose I associate the Western European recognition/acknowledgement as starting with sort of the 1968 generation and then Chirac's recognition of the role of the French state in the Vel' d'Hiv round-up (which was, of course, echoed when the same location was used to hold Algerian protesters in 1962 and Maurice Papon who had participated in the round-up of Jews was, by that point, the Prefect of Police in Paris).

Edit: Out of interest have there been official acknowledgements by the Dutch government?

To be clear, none of it is contested, it's just that a lot of (mostly older) people prefer not to confront these ghosts of the past.

The city of Amsterdam sent returning Jewish survivors tax bills for 1940-1945 (plus interest, of course). Formal apologies were finally made in 2015, and some other cities are following suit now.
The PM apologized, unexpectedly, on behalf of the Dutch government on Holocaust remembrance day in 2020. It had been talked about for decades, but saying sorry seems to be very hard for politicians. The king then more or less apologized for the lack of support for the Jews from the royal family, on Liberation Day last May.

I don't really think it's the young people that are driving this, they don't seem to care about the war in any way. It's people our age, not (in)directly damaged by wartime trauma like the boomers were, but old enough to have known the people that lived through it.