Displaying items by tag: Holocaust complicity bill

Recently a bill was approved that makes it illegal to accuse Poland of complicity in crimes committed by Nazi Germany, including the Holocaust. The bill bans the use of terms like ‘Polish death camps’ in relation to Auschwitz and others located in Nazi-occupied Poland. To become law, the bill must be signed by President Duda, who has expressed his support. Historians agree that Polish individuals and groups collaborated with the Nazi occupiers, but recent Polish governments have sought to challenge that narrative. This legislation will outlaw any remark that attributes responsibility to Poland for the Nazi crimes. Benjamin Netanyahu called the bill ‘baseless’, saying, ‘One cannot change history, and the Holocaust cannot be denied.’ Death camp survivors fear Holocaust deniers are winning. The new legislation risks blurring the historical truths regarding the assistance the Germans received from the Polish population during the Holocaust. There is no doubt that the term ‘Polish death camps’ is a historical misrepresentation.