Poland

Poland Claims Germany Refuses Participation in Talks for WWII Reparations

Six million Poles, including three million Polish Jews, were killed during the second world war. Poland's nationalist government seeks to void agreements made under Communism to release Germany from liability. 

Poland Seeking $1.3 Trillion in World War II Reparations from Germany

The Polish government referenced a recently completed report documenting the costs to Poland of war, and argued that reconciliation between the nations could best be served by a payment. 

Appeals Court Sides with Polish Holocaust Historians

The decision is seen as a victory for historians and academic freedom in a Polish political climate where denying Polish complicity in the Holocaust is part of right-wing politics. 

Two Films Show the Historical Toll and Present Danger of Ethnic Violence

by Walter G. Moss

Two films show the dire consequences of ethnic antagonism during and after the second world war, and the potential for ideology to incite and justify violence.

In Poland, an L.G.B.T.Q. Migration As Homophobia Deepens

People leaving Poland for better economic opportunities within the European Union have been joined by gay and lesbian Poles who experience increasing hostility at home. 

Scholars Fear Impact of Poland's Law on the Holocaust

Poland's right-wing government has sought to promote a narrative of national victimhood by the forces of Nazism and Communism. Historians who study the participation or complicity of Poles in the Holocaust face a threat of legal action that historian Audrey Kichelewski says is chilling. 

Hidden Stories of Jewish Resistance in Poland

by Judy Batalion

I was fascinated by the widespread resistance efforts of Polish Jews, but equally by their absence from current understandings of the war. Of all the legions of Holocaust tales, what had happened to this one?

Holocaust Scholars Ordered to Apologize in Polish Libel Case

"The Polish League Against Defamation is ideologically aligned with the country’s ruling party, and the scholars see that as an indication the case is part of a government-backed effort to promote its historical narrative."

Historian: Polish Society Shunned Jewish Survivors Returning From Nazi Camps

Historian Lukasz Krzyzanowski argues that most Poles today are “unwilling to accept the bitter fact that they live in a post-genocidal land.”

A Coup of "Clerqs"?: Anne Applebaum's "Twilight of Democracy" Reviewed

by David O'Connor

Anne Applebaum's new book looks with concern at the rise of right-wing populism in Europe and the loyal party functionaries who enable its march. 

Polish Historian Ewa Kurek: Coronavirus is ‘Jewification’ of Europe

Kurek is infamous for her radical arguments about the Holocaust, which include denial of Polish crimes against Jews. Now she invokes conspiratorial ideas about Jewish control of Europe.

World War II in Europe Ended 75 Years Ago—But the World Is Still Fighting Over Who Gets to Say What Happened

The Polish historian Jan Grabowski is one of many scholars whose work has been challenged and attacked by right-wing nationalists who wish to present a purely heroic version of how Poles acted during World War II. 

Helen Hunt Brings Trailblazing War Journalist to Life in "World On Fire"

“I remember reading that she called her paper the next day and held the phone out the window [so they could hear the gunfire and chaos] and said, ‘It’s happening right now!'”

Poland’s forgotten civil strife and the struggle for Jewish statehood

by Isabella Ginor and Gideon Remez

Israel and the Russian-Polish War of Narratives: How the contest for control of post-WWII Poland intersected with the struggle for Jewish statehood as two early arenas of the Cold War.

Poles Apart: Putin, Poland and the Nazi-Soviet Pact

by Geoffrey Roberts

As the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II approaches, two of that war’s main victims – Poland and Russia – are once again embroiled in a highly emotional dispute about its origins. At the heart of the matter is the perennial controversy about the Nazi-Soviet pact of 23 August 1939. 

Putin’s Big Historical Lie

by Anne Applebaum

In a series of comments in late December, the Russian president appeared to blame Poland for the outbreak of the Second World War.

Poland’s far-right leaders seek to criminalize World War II restitution

Poland is the only major former Eastern Bloc country to do nothing to return private property confiscated by Nazis or nationalized by the communist government, according to the World Jewish Restitution Organization.

Poland asks Netflix to make changes to documentary about Nazi death camp guard

Many Poles still refuse to accept research showing that thousands of Poles participated in the Holocaust in addition to the thousands who risked their lives to help the Jews.

The Poignant Wartime Diary of a Jewish Teenager Living in Poland Has Been Published in English

Renia Spiegel was killed by the Nazis when she was 18 years old.

The populist rewriting of Polish history is a warning to us all

by Estera Flieger

Thirty years after communism ended, Poland’s past is again being manipulated for political motives, this time at a museum in Gdańsk.