On June 27, Poland’s parliament voted to amend a controversial Holocaust speech bill signed into law by President Andrzej Duda in February. The law, initiated by the ruling Law and Justice Party, would make implicating Poland in the World War II atrocities a criminal offense punishable by jail time.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki surprised the world – and his own Law and Justice Party – by supporting the rescinding of the imprisonment clause of the legislation. Mateusz’s move has been hailed as a response to widespread criticism emanating from nations such as the United States, Israel, and Europe, as well as from Jewish communities around the world.
After recently coming under fire for limiting judicial independence and stifling dissent, the far-right Law and Justice Party is taking steps to mend relations with the West. Although Morawiecki remained unabashedly adamant in his belief that “those who say that Poland may be responsible for the crimes deserve jail terms,” he also acknowledged that “[Poland] operates in an international context and we take that into account.”
The revision was shepherded through both chambers of the Polish Parliament in only two days. The new bill states that claiming Poland’s complicity in Nazi-era crimes would be downgraded to a civil offense, leaving courts in the right to impose fines.
In light of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and a never-ending cycle of adventurism in Eastern Ukraine, the Law and Justice Party has realized that antagonizing Poland’s NATO and European Union allies – whose economic, military, and political prowess has been crucial to safeguarding the country’s security for years – is not worth it.
The realization could not have come at a more crucial time. Earlier this year, officials in Brussels were contemplating using the European Union’s structural and cohesion funds to counteract what appears to be Poland’s democratic slide. The government’s pitch to the US to set up a permanent military base in Poland is another reason to cherish friendship with the West.
Although the law sought to criminalize leveling accusations against the Polish nation as opposed to individual Poles, critics alleged anti-Semitism and argued that having honest discussions about the Holocaust would be made more difficult on all levels. According to a joint statement issued by the prime ministers of Poland and Israel,
“We acknowledge and condemn every single case of cruelty against Jews perpetrated by Poles during the World War II. We reject the actions aimed at blaming Poland or the Polish nation as a whole for the atrocities committed by the Nazis and their collaborators of different nations.”
Up to 3 million of Poland’s Jews were murdered by the Nazis, according to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum figures. Whether the Polish State or its people actively partook in World War II crimes is a subject for debate. While many Polish citizens made effort to protect their Jewish counterparts, scholars allege that others aided and abetted German aggression. There are claims that Polish anti-semitism outlived the Nazi occupation; as late as July of 1946, at least 42 Jews were massacred and over 40 injured in the southeastern Polish town of Kielce.
The amended law, which is yet to be signed by the Polish president, was welcomed by the World Jewish Congress. “The law as it stands now sets a dangerous precedent and is contrary to the values Poland has worked to uphold and promote,” stated President Ronald S. Lauder.
Featured Image via Flickr / Kancelaria Premiera
