Polish president: Before the Germans, Auschwitz saw Jewish-Polish coexistence

Duda turns to the history of Jews in Poland, saying there was coexistence until the arrival of Nazi Germany.

“For many centuries the old, historic Polish town of Oswiecim [whose German name is Auschwitz] was not associated with anti-Semitism and extermination. These were evoked when Germany invaded and destroyed the independent Polish state, then brought its death camps and crematoria.”

“For 1000 years, the Jewish nation regarded my country as the land of Polin, a hospitable, safe home. In Oswiecim there were houses of worship and schools. Just 80 years ago, in the Second Republic of Poland, Jews were almost 50% of the population” of Oswiecim.

“We lived as fellow citizens in one sovereign state. Together we fought for Polish independence.”

“That coexistence was brutally interrupted by the Germans, who imposed their own inhumane laws on occupied Polish lands, confined Jews to ghettos, and condemned them to death. They wanted to break the solidarity of the Polish nation, separated us with walls and barbed wire.”