WJC: Poland’s Holocaust law a ‘historical obfuscation,’ an ‘attack on democracy’

The World Jewish Congress slams proposed Polish legislation that would outlaw the blaming of Poles for crimes committed during the Holocaust.

“While it is true that Auschwitz-Birkenau, Treblinka, Majdanek, Chełmno, Sobibór and Bełżec should be referred to as ‘Nazi’ or ‘German’ camps in occupied Poland, it is a serious mistake for Poland to seek to criminalize those who do not adhere to this practice,” says WJC CEO Robert Singer.

“Having spent decades in the field of education, I deeply believe that this must be changed through a campaign of education, not criminalization. Poland’s new law is especially objectionable as it stifles any real confrontation with the most chilling aspect of the country’s wartime history – the extent to which local Poles were complicit in the destruction of their Jewish neighbors,” he adds.

“The passage of this law can only be seen as an act of historical obfuscation and an attack on democracy.”