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The '''2018 Amendment to the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance''', also known as the '''Polish Holocaust law'''<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kończal |first1=Kornelia |title=Mnemonic Populism: The Polish Holocaust Law and its Afterlife |journal=European Review |date=2020 |pages=1–13 |doi=10.1017/S1062798720000502}}</ref> or '''Lex Gross''',<ref name=Sadurski>[https://books.google.com/books?id=2AuXDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA155 Poland's Constitutional Breakdown], [[Wojciech Sadurski]], Oxford University Press, page 155</ref><ref>[https://academic.oup.com/icon/article-abstract/17/2/597/5523750?redirectedFrom=PDF Bugarič, Bojan. "Central Europe’s descent into autocracy: A constitutional analysis of authoritarian populism." International Journal of Constitutional Law 17.2 (2019): 597-616.]</ref>{{efn|The expression "Lex Gross" ("Law of Gross") was previously used for the 2006 amendment, struck down by the Constitutional Court, from which the 2018 amendment is derived. The law was perceived to target [[Jan Gross]], a Polish Holocaust researcher known for his scholarship on the [[Jedwabne pogrom]] and other research into the Holocaust which has provoked heated public debates in Poland due to its discussion of the implication of (ethnic) Poles into killings of the Jews.<ref name="Bucholc"/><ref name="Sadurski" />}} penalizes [[public speech]] which attributes [[responsibility for the Holocaust]] to Poland or the Polish nation. The legislation is part of the [[historical policy of the Law and Justice party]] which seeks to present a narrative of ethnic Poles exclusively as victims and heroes.<ref name="Hackmann"/><ref name=Sadurski/><ref name="George2019">{{cite journal |last1=Soroka |first1=George |last2=Krawatzek |first2=Félix |title=Nationalism, Democracy, and Memory Laws |journal=Journal of Democracy |date=2019 |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=157–171 |doi=10.1353/jod.2019.0032 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/721653/summary |language=en |issn=1086-3214}}</ref> The law met with widespread international criticism, as it was seen as an infringement on [[freedom of expression]] and on [[academic freedom]], and as a barrier to open discussion on [[Collaboration in German-occupied Poland|Polish collaborationism]],<ref name="Hackmann">{{cite journal |last1=Hackmann |first1=Jörg |title=Defending the “Good Name” of the Polish Nation: Politics of History as a Battlefield in Poland, 2015–18 |journal=Journal of Genocide Research |date=2018 |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=587–606 |doi=10.1080/14623528.2018.1528742}}</ref><ref name="washingtonpost.com1">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/02/01/polands-senate-passes-holocaust-complicity-bill-despite-concerns-from-u-s-israel/|title=Poland's Senate passes Holocaust complicity bill despite concerns from U.S., Israel|last=Noack|first=Rick|date=2 February 2018|work=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=2018-02-02|issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref name="Ray2019"/> in what has been described as "the biggest diplomatic crisis in [Poland's] recent history".<ref name="Cherviatsova">{{cite journal |last1=Cherviatsova |first1=Alina |title=Memory as a battlefield: European memorial laws and freedom of speech |journal=The International Journal of Human Rights |date=2020 |pages=1–20 |doi=10.1080/13642987.2020.1791826}}</ref> |
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The '''Act on the Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation''' ({{lang-pl|Ustawy o Instytucie Pamięci Narodowej - Komisji Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu}}) is a 1998 Polish law that created the [[Institute of National Remembrance]]. This [[memory laws|memory law]] was amended twice, in 2007 and 2018. |
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The law is part of a broader wave of [[memory laws]] in [[Central and Eastern Europe]] which has gone along with the rise of [[illiberal democracy]] in the region.<ref name="Cherviatsova"/><ref name=Belavusau/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Belavusau |first1=Uladzislau |last2=Gliszczyńska‐Grabias |first2=Aleksandra |title=The Remarkable Rise of ‘Law and Historical Memory’ in Europe: Theorizing Trends and Prospects in the Recent Literature |journal=Journal of Law and Society |date=2020 |volume=47 |issue=2 |pages=325–338 |doi=10.1111/jols.12228}}</ref> Although the Polish government compared the law with [[laws against Holocaust denial]], scholars argue that it more closely resembles Turkey's [[Article 301 (Turkish penal code)|Article 301]], which has been used to prosecute Turkish citizens who acknowledge the [[Armenian Genocide]].<ref>[[Alexander Tsesis]], "Genocide Censorship and Genocide Denial" In Grzebyk, Patrycja (Hg.): ''[https://www.academia.edu/44666397/Responsibility_for_negation_of_international_crimes The Responsibility for Negation of International Crimes]'', Warszawa 2020 p. 117 "Far more controversial than genocide denial laws, however, have been national efforts to censor evidence of complicity to commit genocide, and this is the case with civil legislation in Poland and the criminal law in Turkey... The newest version of the law, passed on June 6, 2019, continues to have a civil cause of action that can be brought by private citizens of the Law on Institute of National Remembrance (Art. 53o and 53p). The problem, then, has not been fully resolved, despite the 2019 changes, because defense of nationalistic honor continues to function as a censor on speech. The Law on Institute of National Remembrance is likely to have some of the same negative impacts as the Turkish censorship statute protecting national honor. Albeit, the Polish law is less draconian without a criminal provision... If the Polish Institute of National Remembrance Law were to be reviewed by the European Court of Human Rights, it would likely be found to be, like its Turkish counterpart, contrary to core principles of democratic governance."</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Belavusau |first1=Uladzislau |title=The Rise of Memory Laws in Poland: An Adequate Tool to Counter Historical Disinformation? |journal=Security and Human Rights |date=12 December 2018 |volume=29 |issue=1-4 |pages=36–54 |doi=10.1163/18750230-02901011 |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/shrs/29/1-4/article-p36_36.xml?language=en |language=en |issn=1875-0230 |quote=The argument of the Polish government that all Western European countries have been legally protecting the memory of the Holocaust in the same way is at best misleading. The closest relative of the 2018 Law is not a standard provision in continental Europe’s criminal codes about punitive measures against Holocaust deniers. Rather, the closest sibling of the Law are parts of the Turkish and Russian penal codes. The way the Law frames the defence of collective Polish dignity in a historical context is foremost reminiscent of the notorious provision in the Turkish criminal code (Article 301), which criminalises denigration of the Turkish nation and is particularly used to silence people speaking out against the massacres of Armenians and other minorities by the Ottoman Empire in 1915.}}</ref> Article 2a, which requires the [[Institute of National Remembrance]] to investigate crimes against Polish citizens by Ukrainian nationalists, also caused controversy.<ref name="Hackmann"/><ref name=Belavusau>{{cite journal |last1=Belavusau |first1=Uladzislau |title=The Rise of Memory Laws in Poland: An Adequate Tool to Counter Historical Disinformation? |journal=Security and Human Rights |date=2018 |volume=29 |issue=1-4 |pages=36–54 |doi=10.1163/18750230-02901011}}</ref> As most Ukrainians residing in Poland had Polish citizenship, Article 2a indicates that the law's references to the "Polish nation" must be understood in an ethnic sense.<ref name="Hackmann"/> |
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The 1998 Act's Article 55 [[criminalization|criminalized]] [[historical negationism]] of crimes committed against Poles or Polish citizens by [[Nazism|Nazi]] or [[communism|communist]] polities; of [[crimes against peace]] or [[crimes against humanity|humanity]]; of [[war crime]]s; and of [[political repression]]—all these being listed in Sections 1 a and 1 b of Article 1. While [[Holocaust denial]] was not ''explicitly'' mentioned, it is understood to be ''implicity'' criminalized.<ref name="Koposov 2017">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xkI4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA162|title=Memory Laws, Memory Wars: The Politics of the Past in Europe and Russia|last=Koposov|first=Nikolay|year=2017|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=162|isbn=9781108329538}}</ref> |
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While the act does not mention the [["Polish death camp" controversy]] (involving [[concentration camp]]s that had been built by [[Nazi Germany]] during [[World War II]] on German-occupied Polish soil), the act's chief intent was to address that controversy.<ref name="Hackmann"/> Under the Act, charges of offending the "good name" of Poland or the Polish nation may be brought by the [[Institute of National Remembrance]] or by accredited [[NGO]]s such as the [[Polish League Against Defamation]].<ref name="Hackmann"/> Originally, offenses against the "good name" of Poland were punishable as [[criminal offense]]s with up to 3 years in [[prison]]. Following an international outcry, a June 2018 amendment modified the "good-name" offense to a [[Civil law (common law)|civil offense]] that can be prosecuted in [[civil court]]s. The June 2018 amendment also removed exceptions for research and the arts that were present in the original law.<ref name="Hackmann"/> |
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The 2007 Amendment dealt with [[lustration in Poland|lustrations conducted in Poland]]. |
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== History == |
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A 2006 amendment with some of the same aims, Article 132a of the [[Polish Penal Code]], was passed in 2006 with the efforts of [[Ministry of Justice (Poland)|Minister of Justice]] [[Zbigniew Ziobro]], but was invalidated two years later on procedural grounds.<ref name="Koposov 2017">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xkI4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA162|title=Memory Laws, Memory Wars: The Politics of the Past in Europe and Russia|last=Koposov|first=Nikolay|year=2017|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=162|isbn=9781108329538}}</ref> The amendment was seen as targeting the writings of historian [[Jan T. Gross]], whose work on the [[Jedwabne Pogrom]] triggered wide public debate in Poland; the amendment was frequently dubbed ''Lex Gross'' ([[Latin]]: ''Gross's Law'').<ref name="Bucholc">[http://www.cultures-of-history.uni-jena.de/politics/poland/the-polish-holocaust-law-revisited-the-devastating-effects-of-prejudice-mongering/ The Polish ‘Holocaust Law’ revisited: The Devastating Effects of Prejudice-Mongering], Marta Bucholc and Maciej Komornik, Cultures of History, 19 February 2019</ref><ref>[https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Joanna_Rzepa/publication/325975522_Translation_conflict_and_the_politics_of_memory_Jan_Karski%27s_Story_of_a_Secret_State/links/5d1fcd2392851cf44068e9c7/Translation-conflict-and-the-politics-of-memory-Jan-Karskis-Story-of-a-Secret-State.pdf Rzepa, Joanna. "Translation, conflict and the politics of memory: Jan Karski's Story of a Secret State." Translation Studies 11.3 (2018): 315-332.]</ref> |
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The 2018 Amendment added an Article 55a, which seeks to defend the "good name" of Poland and its people against unfounded accusations of complicity in the Holocaust.<ref name="George2019"/> Also added by the 2018 Amendment was an Article 2a, addressing crimes against "Polish citizens" by "Ukrainian nationalists", which has been seen as an act of exclusion against ethnic minorities.<ref name="Hackmann"/> Following an international outcry, [[defamation]] of Poland and the Polish people through unfounded accusations of complicity in the Holocaust, under Article 55a, was amended to a [[Civil law (common law)|civil offense]] that can be tried in [[civil court]]s.<ref name="Hackmann"/> Article 2a was appealed by Polish President [[Andrzej Duda]] and was found to be unconstitutional by the [[Constitutional Tribunal (Poland)|Polish Constitutional Tribunal]], which declared it null and void.<ref name="PR24">{{cite news|url=https://www.polskieradio24.pl/5/1222/Artykul/2247655,Ekspert-orzeczenie-Trybunalu-Konstytucyjnego-ws-nowelizacji-ustawy-o-IPN-moze-otworzyc-droge-do-dyskusji|title=Ekspert: orzeczenie Trybunału Konstytucyjnego ws. nowelizacji ustawy o IPN może otworzyć drogę do dyskusji|publisher=[[Polskie Radio 24]]|date=17 January 2019|accessdate=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref> |
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==1998 act== |
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{{main|Institute of National Remembrance}} |
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The Institute of National Remembrance was established by a Sejm Act of 18 December 1998.<ref name="IPNabout">{{cite web|url=http://www.ipn.gov.pl/portal/en/1/2/|title=About the IPN|website=ipn.gov.pl|publisher=Institute of National Remembrance|accessdate=2019-05-16}}</ref> |
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=== Article 55 === |
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The Act's article 55 criminalized "public denial, against the facts, of [[Nazi crime]]s, [[communist crimes]], and other offenses constituting [[crimes against peace]], [[crimes against humanity]] or [[war crime]]s, committed against persons of Polish nationality or against Polish citizens of other nationalities between 1 September 1939 and 31 July 1990";<ref>{{cite news|url=http://dziennikustaw.gov.pl/du/2016/1575/D2016000157501.pdf|title=Obwieszczenie Marszałka Sejmu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 8 września 2016 r. w sprawie ogłoszenia jednolitego tekstu ustawy o Instytucie Pamięci Narodowej – Komisji Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu|work=Dziennik Ustaw|issue=Poz. 1575|date=29 September 2016|accessdate=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref> and is therefore sometimes restrictively referred to as the law against [[Holocaust denial]].<ref name= rpan>{{cite book|last=Pankowski|first=Rafal|section-url=http://www.nigdywiecej.org//docstation/com_docstation/20/holocaust_denial.pdf|section=From the lunatic fringe to academia: Holocaust denial in Poland|title=Holocaust Denial: The David Irving Trial and International Revisionism|editor-last=Taylor|editor-first=Kate|year=2000|pages=75–81|accessdate=2019-05-16}}</ref> |
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In 1999 a [[University of Opole]] history professor, [[Dariusz Ratajczak]], was tried under Article 55 for his Holocaust denial, was found guilty, and was sentenced to a year's probation.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Kwiet|editor-first1=Konrad |editor-link1=Konrad Kwiet|editor-last2=Matthäus|editor-first2=Jürgen |editor-link2=Jürgen Matthäus|title=Contemporary Responses to the Holocaust|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2004|isbn=0-275-97466-9|page=162}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://auschwitz.org/en/museum/news/guilty-of-holocaust-denial-negligible-public-harm,227.html|title=Guilty of Holocaust Denial. Negligible public harm?|website=auschwitz.org|publisher=[[Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum]]|date=19 December 2001|access-date=2018-02-23}}</ref> |
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==2007 amendment== |
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The 2007 amendment dealt with [[lustration in Poland|lustrations conducted in Poland]]. |
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==2018 amendment== |
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Article 55a has been referred to as "the '''Holocaust Law'''',<ref name="Hackmann"/> "the '''Polish Holocaust bill'''", "the '''Poland Holocaust law'''", and "the '''Lex Gross'''"<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=2AuXDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA155 Poland's Constitutional Breakdown], Wojciech Sadurski, Oxford University Press, page 155</ref><ref>[https://academic.oup.com/icon/article-abstract/17/2/597/5523750?redirectedFrom=PDF Bugarič, Bojan. "Central Europe’s descent into autocracy: A constitutional analysis of authoritarian populism." International Journal of Constitutional Law 17.2 (2019): 597-616.]</ref> (the latter expression also previously used in reference to the 2007 Amendment)<ref name="Bucholc"/> The legislation was met with harsh international criticism as it is seen as an obstacle to free discussion on Polish complicity in the Holocaust.<ref name="Hackmann">[https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14623528.2018.1528742 Hackmann, Jörg. "Defending the “Good Name” of the Polish Nation: Politics of History as a Battlefield in Poland, 2015–18." Journal of Genocide Research 20.4 (2018): 587-606.]</ref><ref name="washingtonpost.com">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/02/01/polands-senate-passes-holocaust-complicity-bill-despite-concerns-from-u-s-israel/|title=Poland's Senate passes Holocaust complicity bill despite concerns from U.S., Israel|last=Noack|first=Rick|date=2 February 2018|work=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=2018-02-02|issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref name="Ray2019"/> Article 55a seeks to defend the "good name" of Poland and the Polish people against unfounded accusations of complicity in the Holocaust.<ref name="George2019">[https://muse.jhu.edu/article/721653/summary Soroka, George, and Félix Krawatzek. "Nationalism, Democracy, and Memory Laws." Journal of Democracy 30.2 (2019): 157-171.]</ref> |
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Article 2a, addressing crimes against "Polish citizens" by "Ukrainian nationalists", also caused controversy.<ref name="Hackmann"/> As most Ukrainians residing in Poland have had Polish citizenship, Article 2a has been viewed as an act of exclusion against ethnic minorities.<ref name="Hackmann"/> |
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While the act does not mention the [["Polish death camp" controversy]] (involving [[concentration camp]]s that had been built by [[Nazi Germany]] during [[World War II]] on German-occupied Polish soil), the act's chief intent was to address that controversy.<ref name="Hackmann"/> While the expression "Polish death camp" refers to the geographical locations of those camps, it is misleading as it implies that the Polish state or Polish people were responsible for those camps' establishment or operation.<ref name="Hackmann"/> The "Polish death camp" question rose to prominence when President [[Barack Obama]] used the expression in a 2012 ceremony honoring [[Jan Karski]], though that expression had appeared in 1944 press accounts concerning [[Karski's reports]] without at the time causing confusion. Obama, who was criticized by Polish organizations, politicians, and media, subsequently apologized for his use of the expression.<ref name="Hackmann"/> The act also does not explicitly mention complicity by some Poles in the murder of Jews. <ref name="Hackmann"/> |
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The amendment has been described as part of an effort by Poland's [[Law and Justice]] government to mandate a narrative for the commemoration and presentation of Polish history in Poland and internationally.<ref name="Hackmann"/> It has been suggested that, whereas Holocaust legislation in other countries enacts a "duty to remember" by criminalizing [[Holocaust denial]], the Polish bill enacts a "duty to forget" by instituting "collective amnesia" about the complicity of part of the Polish population in the Holocaust.<ref name="Gauba">[https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-13-7052-6_10 Gauba, Kanika. "Rethinking ‘Memory Laws’ from a Comparative Perspective." The Indian Yearbook of Comparative Law 2018. Springer, Singapore, 2019. 233-249.]</ref> |
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Under the Act, [[defamation]] charges may be preferred by the [[Institute of National Remembrance]] or by accredited [[NGO]]s such as the [[Polish League Against Defamation]].<ref name="Hackmann"/> Originally, offenses against the "good name" of Poland were punishable as [[criminal offense]]s with up to 3 years in [[prison]]. Following an international outcry, a June 2018 amendment modified the "good-name" offense to a [[Civil law (common law)|civil offense]] that can be prosecuted in [[civil court]]s. The June 2018 amendment also removed exceptions for research and the arts that were present in the original law.<ref name="Hackmann"/> |
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=== History === |
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A 2006 amendment with some of the same aims, Article 132a of the [[Polish Penal Code]], was passed in 2006 with the efforts of [[Ministry of Justice (Poland)|Minister of Justice]] [[Zbigniew Ziobro]], but was invalidated two years later.<ref name="Koposov 2017" /> The amendment was seen as targeting the writings of historian [[Jan T. Gross]], whose work on the [[Jedwabne Pogrom]] triggered wide public debate in Poland; the amendment was frequently dubbed ''Lex Gross'' ([[Latin]]: ''Gross's Law'').<ref name="Bucholc">[http://www.cultures-of-history.uni-jena.de/politics/poland/the-polish-holocaust-law-revisited-the-devastating-effects-of-prejudice-mongering/ The Polish ‘Holocaust Law’ revisited: The Devastating Effects of Prejudice-Mongering], Marta Bucholc and Maciej Komornik, Cultures of History, 19 February 2019</ref><ref>[https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Joanna_Rzepa/publication/325975522_Translation_conflict_and_the_politics_of_memory_Jan_Karski%27s_Story_of_a_Secret_State/links/5d1fcd2392851cf44068e9c7/Translation-conflict-and-the-politics-of-memory-Jan-Karskis-Story-of-a-Secret-State.pdf Rzepa, Joanna. "Translation, conflict and the politics of memory: Jan Karski's Story of a Secret State." Translation Studies 11.3 (2018): 315-332.]</ref> |
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After a period of lobbying, the first version of the 2018 Amendment was drafted on 17 February 2016 by Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro. On 30 August 2016 the [[Council of Ministers (Poland)|Council of Ministers]], presided over by Prime Minister [[Beata Szydło]], forwarded the draft to the [[Sejm]]. |
After a period of lobbying, the first version of the 2018 Amendment was drafted on 17 February 2016 by Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro. On 30 August 2016 the [[Council of Ministers (Poland)|Council of Ministers]], presided over by Prime Minister [[Beata Szydło]], forwarded the draft to the [[Sejm]]. |
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<ref name="tr2016">{{cite web|url=http://legislacja.rcl.gov.pl/projekt/12282660|title=Projekt ustawy o zmianie ustawy o Instytucie Pamięci Narodowej - Komisji Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu oraz ustawy o odpowiedzialności podmiotów zbiorowych za czyny zabronione pod groźbą kary|website=legislacja.rcl.gov.pl|publisher=Government Legislation Centre|date=1 March 2016|accessdate=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref> In September 2016, Zbigniew Ziobro asserted that the "Polish death camp" term constituted an attack on the "good name of the Polish nation".<ref name="Hackmann"/> |
<ref name="tr2016">{{cite web|url=http://legislacja.rcl.gov.pl/projekt/12282660|title=Projekt ustawy o zmianie ustawy o Instytucie Pamięci Narodowej - Komisji Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu oraz ustawy o odpowiedzialności podmiotów zbiorowych za czyny zabronione pod groźbą kary|website=legislacja.rcl.gov.pl|publisher=Government Legislation Centre|date=1 March 2016|accessdate=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref> In September 2016, Zbigniew Ziobro asserted that the "Polish death camp" term constituted an attack on the "good name of the Polish nation".<ref name="Hackmann"/> |
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The proposed legislation was criticized internationally as an attempt to suppress discussion of crimes that had been committed during the Holocaust by Polish citizens.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/16/poland-approves-bill-outlawing-phrase-polish-death-camps |title=Poland approves bill outlawing phrase 'Polish death camps' |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=16 August 2016 |via=[[The Guardian]] |accessdate=4 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/08/17/obama-once-referred-to-a-polish-death-camp-in-poland-that-could-soon-be-punishable-by-3-years-in-prison/ |title=Obama once referred to a 'Polish death camp.' In Poland, that could soon be punishable by 3 years in prison. |first=Rick |last=Noack |date=17 August 2016 |work=The Washington Post |accessdate=4 September 2016}}</ref> |
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The addition of the "ban on [[propaganda]] of Banderism" to the law (Article 2a) was spearheaded by the right-wing political movement, [[Kukiz'15]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://dorzeczy.pl/kraj/54261/Sejm-uchwalil-ustawe-o-penalizacji-banderyzmu.html|title=Sejm uchwalił ustawę o penalizacji banderyzmu|work=[[Do Rzeczy]]|date=26 January 2018|accessdate=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref> Kukiz'15 submitted this addition on July 16, 2016, however it was blocked by [[Civic Platform]] and [[Law and Justice]] parties citing "the good of Polish–Ukrainian relations".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://dorzeczy.pl/kraj/35189/Kukiz-oskarza-kierownictwo-PiS-o-uleglosc-wobec-spadkobiercow-Bandery.html|title=Kukiz oskarża kierownictwo PiS o uległość wobec spadkobierców Bandery|work=Do Rzeczy|date=11 June 2017|accessdate=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref> Eventually, Article 2a was added to the bill on 25 January 2018 during the second reading.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sejm.gov.pl/sejm8.nsf/druk.xsp?nr=993-A |title=Druk nr 993-A|date=26 January 2018|website=sejm.gov.pl|publisher= Sejm of the Republic of Poland|accessdate=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref> |
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On 26 January 2018, after the bill's third reading, the [[Parliament of Poland|Polish Parliament]]'s lower chamber, the Sejm, approved the bill,<ref name="ustawa26stycznia2018">{{cite web| title =Ustawa z dnia 26 stycznia 2018 r. o zmianie ustawy o Instytucie Pamięci Narodowej – Komisji Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu, ustawy o grobach i cmentarzach wojennych, ustawy o muzeach oraz ustawy o odpowiedzialności podmiotów zbiorowych za czyny zabronione pod groźbą kary|website=orka.sejm.gov.pl|publisher= Sejm of the Republic of Poland|date= 29 January 2018|url= http://orka.sejm.gov.pl/opinie8.nsf/nazwa/771_u/$file/771_u.pdf|language=pl| accessdate =2018-02-02| archiveurl =https://www.webcitation.org/6wwITJ7NY?url=http://orka.sejm.gov.pl/opinie8.nsf/nazwa/771_u/$file/771_u.pdf| archivedate =2018-02-02|url-status = live}}</ref>{{rp|Art. 1}} which would apply to Poles as well as to foreigners. On 1 February 2018 the upper chamber, the Senate, passed the bill without amendment. On 6 February 2018 President Andrzej Duda signed the bill into law.<ref name=noack/> According to an opinion poll conducted in February 2018, 51% of Poles opposed the 2018 amendment.<ref>{{cite web|last=Szwedowicz|first=Agata |url=http://dzieje.pl/aktualnosci/cbos-40-proc-polakow-jest-za-nowela-ustawy-o-ipn-51-proc-uwaza-ze-dezinformacji-nalezy|title=CBOS: 40 proc. Polaków jest za nowelą ustawy o IPN, 51 proc. uważa, że dezinformacji należy przeciwdziałać inaczej|website=dzieje.pl|publisher=[[Museum of Polish History]]|date=16 February 2018|accessdate=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref> |
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Some parts of the law will come into effect 14 days after its registration in ''[[Dziennik Ustaw]]'' (the Register of Statutes), with the full law coming into effect within 3 months. The law is was referred to the [[Constitutional Tribunal (Poland)|Constitutional Tribunal of Poland]] for review of its compliance with the [[Constitution of Poland|Polish Constitution]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Masters|first=James |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/07/europe/poland-holcaust-bill-signed-intl/index.html|title=Polish President signs controversial Holocaust bill into law|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=8 February 2018|accessdate=2019-05-16}}</ref> |
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The bill led to an outcry of condemnations against |
The bill led to an outcry of condemnations against Poland in the United States, Europe, and Israel.<ref name="Ray2019">[https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17504902.2019.1567657 Ray, Larry, and Sławomir Kapralski. "Introduction to the special issue–disputed Holocaust memory in Poland." (2019): 209-219.]</ref> Some critics went so far as to accuse the Polish government of [[Holocaust denial]].<ref name="Selk">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/01/27/it-could-soon-be-a-crime-to-blame-poland-for-nazi-atrocities-and-israel-is-appalled/|title=Israel and Poland try to tamp down tensions after Poland's 'death camp' law sparks Israeli outrage|last1=Eglash|first1=Ruth |last2=Selk|first2=Avi|date=28 January 2018|work=The Washington Post|access-date=2018-01-28|issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref name="ynetandap">{{cite web|url=https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5079364,00.html|title=Israeli politicians, survivors blast Polish Holocaust law|publisher=[[Ynet]] and [[Associated Press]]|date=1 February 2018|accessdate=2019-05-16}}</ref> The [[Simon Wiesenthal Center]] issued a [[travel advisory]] urging Jews to refrain from visiting Poland due to "Poland’s government campaign to change the historical truth by denying Polish complicity in the Nazi atrocities".<ref name="Ray2019"/> |
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As of May 2018, 70 different charges under the act were filed in Polish courts. Most, however, were by Polish citizens protesting the law by filing a self-incrimination. A non-protest charge was filed against the [[BBC]] for a production on the [[Auschwitz concentration camp]] that used the term "Polish Jewish ghettos".<ref name="Hackmann"/> |
As of May 2018, 70 different charges under the act were filed in Polish courts. Most, however, were by Polish citizens protesting the law by filing a self-incrimination. A non-protest charge was filed against the [[BBC]] for a production on the [[Auschwitz concentration camp]] that used the term "Polish Jewish ghettos".<ref name="Hackmann"/> |
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==Original bill== |
===Original bill=== |
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The proposed law modifies a previous law relating to the [[Institute of National Remembrance]] (namely, the Act of 18 December 1998 on the Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation<ref>{{cite news|url=http://dziennikustaw.gov.pl/du/1998/s/155/1016/D1998155101601.pdf|title=Ustawa z dnia 18 grudnia 1998 r. o Instytucie Pamięci Narodowej — Komisji Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu.|work=Dziennik Ustaw|issue=nr. 155 poz. 1016|date=19 December 1998|accessdate=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref> (''Dz.U.'' 1998 nr 155 poz. 1016)). |
The proposed law modifies a previous law relating to the [[Institute of National Remembrance]] (namely, the Act of 18 December 1998 on the Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation<ref>{{cite news|url=http://dziennikustaw.gov.pl/du/1998/s/155/1016/D1998155101601.pdf|title=Ustawa z dnia 18 grudnia 1998 r. o Instytucie Pamięci Narodowej — Komisji Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu.|work=Dziennik Ustaw|issue=nr. 155 poz. 1016|date=19 December 1998|accessdate=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref> (''Dz.U.'' 1998 nr 155 poz. 1016)). |
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The following main articles were added in February 2018: |
The following main articles were added in February 2018: |
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*Article 55a:<ref name="Gauba" |
*Article 55a:<ref name="Gauba"/><ref name=timesofisrael>{{cite news |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-of-polands-controversial-holocaust-legislation/}}</ref> |
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<blockquote> |
<blockquote> |
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1. Whoever claims, publicly and contrary to the facts, that the Polish Nation or the Republic of Poland is responsible or co-responsible for Nazi crimes committed by the Third Reich, as specified in Article 6 of the Charter of the International Military Tribunal enclosed to the International agreement for the prosecution and punishment of the major war criminals of the European Axis, signed in London on 8 August 1945 (Polish Journal of Laws of 1947, item 367), or for other felonies that constitute crimes against peace, crimes against humanity or war crimes, or whoever otherwise grossly diminishes the responsibility of the true perpetrators of said crimes—shall be liable to a fine or imprisonment for up to 3 years. The sentence shall be made |
1. Whoever claims, publicly and contrary to the facts, that the Polish Nation or the Republic of Poland is responsible or co-responsible for Nazi crimes committed by the Third Reich, as specified in Article 6 of the Charter of the International Military Tribunal enclosed to the International agreement for the prosecution and punishment of the major war criminals of the European Axis, signed in London on 8 August 1945 (Polish Journal of Laws of 1947, item 367), or for other felonies that constitute crimes against peace, crimes against humanity or war crimes, or whoever otherwise grossly diminishes the responsibility of the true perpetrators of said crimes—shall be liable to a fine or imprisonment for up to 3 years. The sentence shall be made |
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public. |
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2. If the act specified in clause 1 is committed unintentionally, the perpetrator shall be liable to a fine or a restriction of liberty. |
2. If the act specified in clause 1 is committed unintentionally, the perpetrator shall be liable to a fine or a restriction of liberty. |
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Line 35: | Line 69: | ||
The crimes of [[Ukrainian nationalists]] and members of Ukrainian organizations collaborating with the Third German Reich, as defined in the Act, are acts committed by Ukrainian nationalists in the years 1925–1950, involving the use of violence, terror or other forms of violation of human rights, against individuals or ethnic groups. One of the crimes of Ukrainian nationalists and members of Ukrainian organizations collaborating with the Third German Reich is their involvement in the extermination of the Jewish population and genocide on citizens of the [[Second Polish Republic]] in [[Volhynia]] and Eastern [[Lesser Poland]]." |
The crimes of [[Ukrainian nationalists]] and members of Ukrainian organizations collaborating with the Third German Reich, as defined in the Act, are acts committed by Ukrainian nationalists in the years 1925–1950, involving the use of violence, terror or other forms of violation of human rights, against individuals or ethnic groups. One of the crimes of Ukrainian nationalists and members of Ukrainian organizations collaborating with the Third German Reich is their involvement in the extermination of the Jewish population and genocide on citizens of the [[Second Polish Republic]] in [[Volhynia]] and Eastern [[Lesser Poland]]." |
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</blockquote> |
</blockquote> |
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:The above text refers to [[massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia]] and to {{Interlanguage link|ethnic cleansing in Eastern Lesser Poland|pl|Czystka etniczna w Małopolsce Wschodniej}} (''Note'': Eastern Galicia and {{Interlanguage link|Eastern Lesser Poland|pl|Małopolska Wschodnia}} overlapped substantially, but were not coterminous: Eastern Galicia was a part of Eastern Lesser Poland annexed by [[Austrian Empire|Habsburg Austria]] to the [[Austrian Partition]] of Poland.<ref>{{cite news|last=Snyder|first=Timothy |authorlink=Timothy Snyder|url=http://www.tygodnik.com.pl/numer/275719/snyder.html |title=Pięć wieków i osiem lat|trans-title=Five Centuries and Eight Years|work=[[Tygodnik Powszechny]]|date=April 2002|number=19|accessdate=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref>) |
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==Article 55a == |
===Controversy over Article 55a === |
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Historians widely agree that some Poles were complicit in the Holocaust, betraying and murdering Jews.<ref name="BBC20180203">[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-42920934 Holocaust law wields a 'blunt instrument' against Poland's past], BBC, Joel Gunter, 3 February 2018</ref> Article 55a was condemned by Holocaust Charities, the United States, the European Union, and Israel for being an obstacle to free discussions on Polish complicity in the [[Holocaust]].<ref name="BBC20180203"/> |
Historians widely agree that some Poles were complicit in the Holocaust, betraying and murdering Jews.<ref name="BBC20180203">[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-42920934 Holocaust law wields a 'blunt instrument' against Poland's past], BBC, Joel Gunter, 3 February 2018</ref> Article 55a was condemned by Holocaust Charities, the United States, the European Union, and Israel for being an obstacle to free discussions on Polish complicity in the [[Holocaust]].<ref name="BBC20180203"/> |
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===Poland=== |
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====Government==== |
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In January 2018, there was a spate of anti-Israel and antisemitic ripostes to international criticisms of the bill. [[Telewizja Polska|State TV]] ran antisemitic [[News ticker|crawl]]s on a [[talk show]]; state-radio commentator Piotr Nisztor suggested that Poles who supported the official Israeli position might consider relinquishing their Polish citizenships; and [[TVP2]] director [[Marcin Wolski]] remarked that the Auschwitz death camp might be called a "Jewish death camp", as Jewish ''[[Sonderkommando]]'' inmates had run its crematoria.<ref name="haaretz2018">{{cite news |title=Amid Holocaust Bill Spat With Israel, Polish State Media Suggests: Why Not 'Jewish Death Camps'? |first1=Noa |last1=Landau |first2=Ofer |last2=Aderet |newspaper=Haaretz |date=1 February 2018 |url=https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/israeli-criticism-sparks-anti-semitics-remarks-in-polish-state-media-1.5783240 |access-date=1 February 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201095457/https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/israeli-criticism-sparks-anti-semitics-remarks-in-polish-state-media-1.5783240 |archive-date=1 February 2018}}</ref><ref name=TOI2018 /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.apnews.com/32a38ea92b4247859ad2fad83eb99715 |title=Israeli criticism sparks anti-Jewish remarks in Polish media |last=Gera |first=Vanessa |date=30 January 2018 |website=Associated Press News |access-date=11 November 2018}}</ref> |
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On 29 January 2018 Polish President [[Andrzej Duda]] responded to official Israeli objections to the Polish bill, saying that Poland had been a victim of Nazi Germany and had not taken part in the Holocaust.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/president-says-poland-did-not-take-part-in-the-holocaust/2018/01/29/dc5d0a06-055d-11e8-aa61-f3391373867e_story.html |title=President says Poland did not take part in the Holocaust|agency=Associated Press |date=29 January 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=2 February 2018}}</ref> "I can never accept the slandering and libeling of us Poles as a nation or of Poland as a country through the distortion of historical truth and through false accusations." On 31 January 2018, before the Polish Senate vote on the bill, Deputy Prime Minister [[Beata Szydło]] said: "We Poles were victims, as were the Jews ... It is a duty of every Pole to defend the good name of Poland."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-israel-poland-usa/polish-lawmakers-back-holocaust-bill-drawing-israeli-outrage-u-s-concern-idUKKBN1FK3ER?il=0 |title=Polish lawmakers back Holocaust bill, drawing Israeli outrage, U.S. concern |first1=Justyna |last1=Pawlak |first2=Lidia |last2=Kelly |date=31 January 2018 |website=Reuters UK |access-date=2 February 2018}}</ref> |
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A letter signed by many prominent persons in early February, including journalist [[Anne Applebaum]] and the 3rd President of Poland [[Aleksander Kwaśniewski]], said: "Why should the victims and witnesses of the Holocaust have to watch what they say for fear of being arrested, and will the testimony of a Jewish survivor who “feared Poles” be a punishable offence?".<ref name=aaak>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/05/polish-law-denies-reality-of-holocaust|title=Polish law denies reality of Holocaust|work=The Guardian|date=5 February 2018|accessdate=2019-05-16}}</ref> |
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====Other==== |
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A letter signed by many prominent persons in early February, including journalist [[Anne Applebaum]] and the 3rd President of Poland [[Aleksander Kwaśniewski]], said: "Why should the victims and witnesses of the Holocaust have to watch what they say for fear of being arrested, and will the testimony of a Jewish survivor who “feared Poles” be a punishable offence?".<ref name=aaak>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/05/polish-law-denies-reality-of-holocaust|title=Polish law denies reality of Holocaust|work=The Guardian|date=5 February 2018|accessdate=2019-05-16}}</ref> According to Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett of the POLIN museum, "These attempts to legislate what can and cannot be said is actually destroying the good name of Poland."<ref>{{cite news |title='Polish death camps': Outlawing phrase will protect Poland's good name, says minister {{!}} CBC Radio |url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-january-31-2018-1.4510938/polish-death-camps-outlawing-phrase-will-protect-poland-s-good-name-says-minister-1.4510969 |accessdate=19 October 2020 |work=CBC}}</ref> Former prime minister [[Donald Tusk]] tweeted, "Whoever spreads the false phrase about "Polish camps" is detrimental to the good name and interests of Poland. The authors of the law have promoted this vile slander to the whole world as effectively as no one has before. So, according to the law ..."<ref>{{cite news |title=Chcieliście polskich obozów koncentracyjnych, no to je macie|trans-title=You Wanted Polish Concentration Camps, So You Have Them|author=Irena Grudzińska-Gross |url=https://krytykapolityczna.pl/kraj/ustawa-ipn-polskie-obozy-koncentracyjne/ |accessdate=20 October 2020 |work=KrytykaPolityczna.pl |date=1 February 2018 |language=pl-PL}}</ref> |
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Even before being passed, the law damaged the [[Israel–Poland relations]]. Israel's Foreign Ministry director-general [[Yuval Rotem]] reported that preserving the memory of the Holocaust takes priority over international relations. He said that "Preserving the memory of the Holocaust is a matter beyond the bilateral relationship between Israel and Poland. It is a core issue cutting to the essence of the Jewish people".<ref name="target">{{cite news|url=http://www.jpost.com/International/Argentina-newspaper-first-target-of-controversial-Polish-Holocaust-law-544098|title=Argentina newspaper first target of controversial Polish Holocaust law|last=Halon|first=Eytan |date=3 March 2018|work=The Jerusalem Post|accessdate=2019-05-16}}</ref> Israel's Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] accused Poland of Holocaust denial.<ref name="Selk"/> |
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Prof. [[Stanisław Krajewski]] of the [[University of Warsaw]], who co-chairs the Polish Council of Christians and Jews, said that "The way the law is formulated makes it a blunt instrument for paralysing and punishing anyone you don't like", and that "the government's harsh, dismissive reaction to critics has encouraged many people to think they can now attack Jews."<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/8727/polish-archbishop-answers-holocaust-law-critics |title=Polish archbishop answers Holocaust law critics |last=Luxmoore |first=Jonathan |date=14 March 2018 |work=[[The Tablet]] |access-date=2018-05-12}}</ref> On 14 March 2018 the Polish Bishops' Conference noted a rise in anti-Semitism stimulated by the controversy over the Amendment and declared anti-Semitism to be "contrary to the Christian tenet of loving one's neighbor."<ref name="washingtonpost.com">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/catholic-jewish-leaders-in-poland-seek-to-reduce-tensions/2018/03/15/90237fb4-2874-11e8-a227-fd2b009466bc_story.html |title=Catholic, Jewish leaders in Poland seek to reduce tensions |date=15 March 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> On 15 March 2018, a group of Polish rabbis thanked the [[Episcopal Conference of Poland|Polish Bishops' conference]] for condemning a rise in anti-Semitism in the controversy, and said they would "continue to speak out against analogous attitudes among Jews."<ref name="washingtonpost.com"/> In 2018 the [[Union of Jewish Religious Communities in Poland]] said the legislation has led to a "growing wave of intolerance, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism", making many community members fearful for their safety.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/20/europe/poland-holocaust-law-jewish-community-intl/index.html |title=Poland's Jewish groups say Jews feel unsafe since new Holocaust law |last1=Masters |first1=James |last2=Mortensen |first2=Antonia |date=20 February 2018 |website=CNN |access-date=11 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://jewish.org.pl/wiadomosci/oswiadczenie-organizacji-zydowskich-do-opinii-publicznej-open-statement-of-polish-jewish-organizations-to-the-public-opinion/ |title=Oświadczenie organizacji żydowskich do opinii publicznej / Open statement of Polish Jewish organizations to the public opinion |website=Jewish.org.pl |language=pl |access-date=13 March 2018}}</ref> |
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[[Yad Vashem]] condemned the Polish bill, saying that, while "Polish death camps" as a phrase is a historic misrepresentation, the legislation is "liable to blur the historical truths regarding the assistance the Germans received from the Polish population during the Holocaust".<ref name="TOI20180127">{{cite news|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/decrying-new-bill-yad-vashem-says-polish-death-camps-a-misrepresentation/|title=Yad Vashem: Poland Holocaust law risks 'serious distortion' of Polish complicity|work=The Times of Israel|date=27 January 2018|accessdate=2019-05-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/27/israel-criticises-poland-over-draft-holocaust-legislation|title=Israel criticises Poland over draft Holocaust legislation|agency=Associated Press|via=The Guardian|date=27 January 2018|accessdate=2019-05-16}}</ref> |
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On 5 March 2018, in front of the Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw and Wrocław, 45 Polish citizens made public statements referring to historical events, including the [[Jedwabne pogrom]] and the [[Szczuczyn pogrom]]. The citizens claimed that they attributed responsibility for the events and alleged that their public statements constituted criminal acts under Article 55a of the amended Act of the Institute of National Memory. In the Prosecutors' offices, the citizens deposited formal written documents reporting their alleged crimes.<ref name="OKOPress_selfaccused" /><ref name="obywatelrp_selfaccused" /> |
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In the U.S., Secretary of State [[Rex Tillerson]] expressed "disappointment" in the bill, adding: "Enactment of this law adversely affects freedom of speech and academic inquiry."<ref name=noack>{{cite news|last=Noack|first=Rick|date=6 February 2018|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/02/06/polish-president-to-sign-holocaust-bill-despite-international-concerns/ |title=Polish president signs Holocaust bill, drawing rare U.S. rebuke|work=The Washington Post|accessdate=2019-05-16}}</ref> |
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According to Polish scholar of constitutional law {{ill|Piotr Mikuli|pl}}, the amendment appears to contradict provisions of the [[Polish constitution]] including: "Art. 2 from which the so-called principle of decent legislation may be derived, Art. 42 para. 1 expressing the rule ''[[nullum crimen sine lege]]'' and Art. 54 para. 1 on the freedom to express opinions."<ref name="Mikuli" /> He also expressed the opinion that it did not meet the requirement of being [[necessary in a democratic society]] in order to allow a restriction in freedom of speech per [[Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights]].<ref name="Mikuli">{{cite journal |last1=Małecki |first1=Mikołaj |last2=Mikuli |first2=Piotr |title=The New Polish ‘Memory Law’: A Short Critical Analysis |journal=DPCE Online |date=2018 |volume=34 |issue=1 |url=http://www.dpceonline.it/index.php/dpceonline/article/view/509 |language=en |issn=2037-6677}}</ref> |
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[[Jeffrey Kopstein]] of the [[University of Toronto]] and [[Jason Wittenberg]] of the [[University of California, Berkeley]], authors of the book, ''Intimate Violence: Anti-Jewish Pogroms on the Eve of the Holocaust'', about anti-Jewish violence in Poland such as the [[Szczuczyn pogrom]], opine that the purpose of the new bill "is clear: to restrict discussion of Polish complicity." They also suggest that "Poland’s current government will likely face the unpalatable prospect of enforcing an unenforceable law and denying what the mainstream scholarly community has increasingly shown to be true: Some Poles were complicit in the Holocaust."<ref name="KopsteinWittenberg" /> |
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===Israel=== |
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Even before being passed, the law damaged the [[Israel–Poland relations]]. Israel's Foreign Ministry director-general [[Yuval Rotem]] reported that preserving the memory of the Holocaust takes priority over international relations. He said that "Preserving the memory of the Holocaust is a matter beyond the bilateral relationship between Israel and Poland. It is a core issue cutting to the essence of the Jewish people".<ref name="target">{{cite news|url=http://www.jpost.com/International/Argentina-newspaper-first-target-of-controversial-Polish-Holocaust-law-544098|title=Argentina newspaper first target of controversial Polish Holocaust law|last=Halon|first=Eytan |date=3 March 2018|work=The Jerusalem Post|accessdate=2019-05-16}}</ref> Israel's Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] accused Poland of Holocaust denial.<ref name="Selk"/> [[Yad Vashem]] condemned the Polish bill, saying that, while "Polish death camps" as a phrase is a historic misrepresentation, the legislation is "liable to blur the historical truths regarding the assistance the Germans received from the Polish population during the Holocaust".<ref name="TOI20180127">{{cite news|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/decrying-new-bill-yad-vashem-says-polish-death-camps-a-misrepresentation/|title=Yad Vashem: Poland Holocaust law risks 'serious distortion' of Polish complicity|work=The Times of Israel|date=27 January 2018|accessdate=2019-05-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/27/israel-criticises-poland-over-draft-holocaust-legislation|title=Israel criticises Poland over draft Holocaust legislation|agency=Associated Press|via=The Guardian|date=27 January 2018|accessdate=2019-05-16}}</ref> |
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Prof. [[Stanisław Krajewski]] of the [[University of Warsaw]], who co-chairs the Polish Council of Christians and Jews, said that "The way the law is formulated makes it a blunt instrument for paralysing and punishing anyone you don't like", and that "the government's harsh, dismissive reaction to critics has encouraged many people to think they can now attack Jews."<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/8727/polish-archbishop-answers-holocaust-law-critics |title=Polish archbishop answers Holocaust law critics |last=Luxmoore |first=Jonathan |date=14 March 2018 |work=[[The Tablet]] |access-date=2018-05-12}}</ref> |
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Other Israeli officials such as Education and Diaspora Affairs Minister [[Naftali Bennett]] have termed the expression a "misrepresentation", although Bennett said of the proposed law "This is a shameful disregard of the truth. It is a historic fact that many Poles aided in the murder of Jews, handed them in, abused them, and even killed Jews during and after the Holocaust."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42848842 |title=Israel criticises Polish Holocaust law |date=28 January 2018 |website=BBC News |access-date=28 January 2018}}</ref> Israeli president [[Reuven Rivlin]] said in Auschwitz that historians should be able to study the Holocaust without restrictions. He also stated "There is no doubt that many Poles fought against the Nazi regime, but we cannot deny the fact that Poland and Poles lent a hand to the annihilation".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/israeli-polish-presidents-to-take-part-in-march-of-the-living-1.5993292 |title=Israeli President to Polish Counterpart: We Cannot Deny That Poland and Poles Participated in Holocaust |first=Ofer |last=Aderet |date=12 April 2018 |newspaper=Haaretz |access-date=11 November 2018}}</ref> |
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On 5 March 2018, in front of the Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw and Wrocław, 45 Polish citizens made public statements referring to historical events, including the [[Jedwabne pogrom]] and the [[Szczuczyn pogrom]]. The citizens claimed that they attributed responsibility for the events and alleged that their public statements constituted criminal acts under Article 55a of the amended Act of the Institute of National Memory. In the Prosecutors' offices, the citizens deposited formal written documents reporting their alleged crimes.<ref name="OKOPress_selfaccused" /><ref name="obywatelrp_selfaccused" /> |
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Israel's official memorial to the victims of the [[Holocaust]], [[Yad Vashem]], has opined: "There is no doubt that the term 'Polish death camps' is a historical misrepresentation [ ...] However, restrictions on statements by scholars and others regarding the Polish people's direct or indirect complicity with the crimes committed on their land during the Holocaust are a serious distortion."<ref name="Teleg-28Jan">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/01/28/fury-israel-poland-proposes-ban-referring-nazi-death-camps-polish/ |title=Fury in Israel as Poland proposes ban on referring to Nazi death camps as 'Polish' |date=28 January 2018 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=28 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.yadvashem.org/press-release/27-january-2018-18-43.html |title=Yad Vashem Response to the Law Passed in Poland Yesterday |date=27 January 2018 |website=Yad Vashem |access-date=11 November 2018}}</ref> Israeli political scientist [[Shlomo Avineri]] said young Israelis unintentionally associate the Holocaust with Poland, sometimes far more than with Nazi Germany. Writing in ''[[Haaretz]]'', he called for a reappraisal of Israeli Holocaust education policy, to more greatly emphasize German culpability and Polish resistance during the [[March of the Living]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-holocaust-trips-to-poland-for-israeli-youth-should-start-in-germany-1.5870844 |title=Opinion: Holocaust Trips to Poland for Israeli Youth Should Start in Germany |last=Avineri |first=Shlomo |date=5 March 2018 |newspaper=Haaretz |access-date=14 March 2018}}</ref> |
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In protest at what she saw as the censorship and "borderline Holocaust denial" provided by the 2018 bill, Israeli journalist Lahav Harkov repeatedly tweeted the phrase "Polish death camps".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Harkov |first1=Lahav |title=How I became public enemy No. 1 in Poland |url=http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Antisemitism/How-I-became-public-enemy-No-1-in-Poland-540089 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |date=29 January 2018}}</ref><ref name="auto4">{{cite news |url=https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/why-poland-s-attempt-to-whitewash-holocaust-history-won-t-work-1.5769152 |title=I Used to Care About Polish Sensitivity to Charges of Holocaust Complicity. Not Anymore |last=Sommer |first=Allison Kaplan |date=28 January 2018 |newspaper=[[Haaretz]] |access-date=11 November 2018}}</ref><ref name=TOI2018>{{cite web |title=Polish TV riposte to Holocaust bill criticism: Auschwitz was 'Jewish death camp' |first=Vanessa |last=Gera |date=31 January 2018 |newspaper=The Times of Israel |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-criticism-of-holocaust-bill-sparks-anti-semitic-backlash-in-poland/ |access-date=1 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201095503/https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-criticism-of-holocaust-bill-sparks-anti-semitic-backlash-in-poland/ |archive-date=1 February 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> |
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===Other countries=== |
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In the U.S., Secretary of State [[Rex Tillerson]] expressed "disappointment" in the bill, adding: "Enactment of this law adversely affects freedom of speech and academic inquiry."<ref name=noack>{{cite news|last=Noack|first=Rick|date=6 February 2018|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/02/06/polish-president-to-sign-holocaust-bill-despite-international-concerns/ |title=Polish president signs Holocaust bill, drawing rare U.S. rebuke|work=The Washington Post|accessdate=2019-05-16}}</ref> Three United States representatives, [[Steny Hoyer]], [[David Price (American politician)|David Price]], and [[Brad Schneider]], penned an op-ed for ''Time'' to criticize the bill.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hoyer |first1=Steny |last2=Price |first2=David |last3=Schneider |first3=Brad |title=Poland’s Censorship Law Ignores Its History and Undermines Its Future |url=https://time.com/5202047/polands-censorship-law-holocaust/ |accessdate=26 October 2020 |work=Time |date=15 March 2018}}</ref> |
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While the [[American Jewish Committee]] (AJC) has stated that it "has been for decades critical of such harmful terms as 'Polish concentration camps' and 'Polish death camps,' recognizing that these sites were erected and managed by Nazi Germany during its occupation of Poland", AJC has also said that, "while we remember the brave Poles who saved Jews, the role of some Poles in murdering Jews cannot be ignored", and that the AJC is "firmly opposed to legislation that would penalize claims that Poland or Polish citizens bear responsibility for any Holocaust crimes".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ajc-opposes-polish-effort-to-criminalize-claims-of-holocaust-responsibility-300589241.html |title=AJC Opposes Polish Effort to Criminalize Claims of Holocaust Responsibility |date=27 January 2018 |website=American Jewish Committee |via=PRNewswire |access-date=11 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/as-poland-s-holocaust-law-causes-storm-tillerson-says-never-again-1.5767938 |title=As Poland's New Holocaust Law Causes Storm, U.S. Urges 'Never Again' on Holocaust Remembrance Day |last=Tibon |first=Amir |date=27 January 2018 |newspaper=Haaretz |access-date=11 November 2018}}</ref> |
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In February 2018 the [[Ruderman Family Foundation]] launched a campaign for the US government to sever its ties with Poland. The campaign included a [[YouTube]] video in which a group on-screen repeated the phrase "Polish Holocaust"; the video was removed after widespread criticism.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/US-organization-launches-campaign-calling-on-US-to-repeal-ties-with-Poland-543230 |title=US Jewish Group Draws Fire for 'Polish Holocaust' Campaign |last=Zieve |first=Tamara |date=21 February 2018 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |access-date=11 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/world/article/Polish-official-no-criminal-charges-under-12629575.php |title=US Jewish group withdraws Holocaust video offensive to Poles |first=Vanessa |last=Gera |date=21 February 2018 |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315133935/https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/world/article/Polish-official-no-criminal-charges-under-12629575.php |archive-date=15 March 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> |
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===Scholars and historians=== |
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[[Jeffrey Kopstein]] of the [[University of Toronto]] and [[Jason Wittenberg]] of the [[University of California, Berkeley]], authors of the book, ''Intimate Violence: Anti-Jewish Pogroms on the Eve of the Holocaust'', about anti-Jewish violence in occupied Poland after the Nazi invasion of Soviet Union, opine that the purpose of the new bill "is clear: to restrict discussion of Polish complicity." They also suggest that "Poland’s current government will likely face the unpalatable prospect of enforcing an unenforceable law and denying what the mainstream scholarly community has increasingly shown to be true: Some Poles were complicit in the Holocaust."<ref name="KopsteinWittenberg" /> |
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[[Dovid Katz]] wrote that the law was "an overreaction to some common mischaracterizations of Poland’s role in the Holocaust", including "the myth that Hitler chose to build concentration camps there because Poland was so antisemitic". However, he judged other Eastern European memory laws to be worse, including laws in Hungary, Lithuania, and Latvia which criminalize disagreement with the idea that there was a Soviet genocide in these countries with a prison sentence, and Estonian and Ukrainian laws which criminalize negative interpretations of those countries' collaborationist nationalist movements. What he found truly outrageous was the international silence to these non-Polish "legislative acts that criminalize truth-telling about the Holocaust".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Katz |first1=Dovid |title=Poland's New Holocaust Law Is Bad, But Not the Worst |url=https://jewishcurrents.org/poland-s-new-holocaust-is-bad-but-not-the-worst/ |accessdate=26 October 2020 |work=Jewish Currents |date=25 April 2018}}</ref> |
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Kanika Gauba in The Indian Yearbook of Comparative Law 2018 Whereas Holocaust legislation in other countries enacts a ''duty to remember'' by means of criminalizing [[Holocaust denial]], the Polish bill enacts a ''duty to forget'' by instituting "collective amnesia" on the complicity of part of the Polish population in the Holocaust.<ref name="Gauba"/> |
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Polish legal scholar {{ill|Patrycja Grzebyk|pl}} writes that "A scientist who would like to investigate crimes committed by Polish citizens or the scale of Polish collaboration risks the loss of his time, money and reputation in lengthy proceedings against her/him commenced by someone who feels insulted." Even the revised version of the law is inconsistent with international law and human rights standards, as it "limit[s] freedom of speech and scientific activity in a disproportional way and entitle[s] NGOs to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the Polish state or nation".<ref name="Grzebyk" /> |
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American jurist [[Alexander Tsesis]] criticized the law, stating that it "restricts the acquisition, expression, and dissemination of knowledge" and "its ambiguity makes it uncertain who will be punished and for what communications", leading to a [[chilling effect]] on "satire, political commentary, historical analysis, and eyewitness testimony". He concludes that "Poland’s effort to control the public spread of information is likely to lead to misleading conclusions that downplay victims’ sufferings and incite hate propaganda."<ref>Tsesis 2020 pp. 117–118</ref> |
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;Amendment |
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Constitutional law scholar [[Wojciech Sadurski]] states: |
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{{quote|The chilling effect of such penal and civil sanctions upon scholarly or journalistic debates regarding the darker sides of Polish history is obvious, and the law clearly resonates with a nationalistic governmental rhetoric, under which Polish history is comprised exclusively of heroic acts and undeserved victimhood, and never of criminal deeds... [the law] concerns not so much statements of fact, but rather an opinion: an opinion about (the alleged) responsibility of, say, passive onlookers. To punish for an opinion is an anathema to any system of freedom of expression.<ref>Sadurski 2019 p. 155</ref>}} |
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Polish law scholar [[Tomasz Tadeusz Koncewicz]] states that "The new law politicizes historical discussion and instrumentalizes law to achieve the desired reading of history and the past." The law "is the most recent proof that in Poland the past continues to be seen as a collection of indisputable truths, not open to divergent interpretations and historical debate".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Koncewicz |first1=Tomasz Tadeusz |title=Law and Memory: Towards Legal Governance of History |date=2018 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-18875-4 |pages=263–290 |chapter=On the Politics of Resentment, Mis-memory, and Constitutional Fidelity: The Demise of the Polish Overlapping Consensus?}}</ref><ref>Sadurski 2019 p. 156</ref> |
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===Amendment=== |
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Pressure from the [[United States Department of State]] and threat of downgrading the US-Poland relationship were significant in causing the Polish government to change course.<ref>[https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/ipcj.2019.23.issue-1/1641-4233.23.05/1641-4233.23.05.pdf Szklarski, Bohdan, and Piotr Ilowski. "Searching for Solid Ground in Polish-American Relations in the Second Year of the Trump Administration." (2019): 65-82.]</ref> In late June 2018, the Polish government decided to stop waiting for a ruling from the constitutional court and in a hasty process, the legislation passed in a single day, modified the act.<ref name="Hackmann"/> The revision removed the possibility of criminal prosecution, but also removed the exemption of scholarship and arts from the law.<ref name="Hackmann"/> While violating the "good name" of Poland provision is no longer a criminal charge, charges may still be levied in a civil court.<ref name="Hackmann"/> |
Pressure from the [[United States Department of State]] and threat of downgrading the US-Poland relationship were significant in causing the Polish government to change course.<ref>[https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/ipcj.2019.23.issue-1/1641-4233.23.05/1641-4233.23.05.pdf Szklarski, Bohdan, and Piotr Ilowski. "Searching for Solid Ground in Polish-American Relations in the Second Year of the Trump Administration." (2019): 65-82.]</ref> In late June 2018, the Polish government decided to stop waiting for a ruling from the constitutional court and in a hasty process, the legislation passed in a single day, modified the act.<ref name="Hackmann"/> The revision removed the possibility of criminal prosecution, but also removed the exemption of scholarship and arts from the law.<ref name="Hackmann"/> While violating the "good name" of Poland provision is no longer a criminal charge, charges may still be levied in a civil court.<ref name="Hackmann"/> |
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Following the amendment, the Polish and Israeli prime ministers issued a joint declaration condemning antisemitism and rejecting "[[anti-Polonism]]".<ref name="Hackmann"/> This statement was condemned by [[Yad Vashem]] |
Following the amendment, the Polish and Israeli prime ministers issued a joint declaration condemning antisemitism and rejecting "[[anti-Polonism]]".<ref name="Hackmann"/> This statement was condemned by [[Yad Vashem]].<ref name="Hackmann"/> |
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In 2020, [[Dariusz Stola]] told ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' that the law may have triggered "intimidation that discourages scholars, especially those of the younger generation" from studying the Holocaust in Poland.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Roache |first1=Madeline |last2=Waxman |first2=Olivia B. |title=World War II in Europe Ended 75 Years Ago—But the World Is Still Fighting Over Who Gets to Say What Happened |url=https://time.com/5832549/world-war-ii-memory/ |accessdate=26 October 2020 |work=Time |date=8 May 2020}}</ref> |
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===Prosecutions=== |
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The first case to be brought under the law was by [[Polish League Against Defamation]] against an Argentine newspaper, ''[[Pagina/12]]'', and its journalist [[Federico Pavlovsky]] for an article on the Jedwabne pogrom, published in 2017 before the amendment was passed. The League did not challenge the content of the article, only the use of a picture of [[cursed soldiers]] to illustrate it. Following the notification, ''Pagina/12'' and eleven other Argentinian publications reprinted the article, publicizing the information about Jedwabne in Argentina. The Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression of the [[Inter-American Commission on Human Rights]], {{ill|Edison Lanza|es}}, as well as several Argentine politicians, jurists, and human rights experts, criticized the attempted censorship.<ref name=oko2018>{{cite news |last1=Krzemień |first1=Edward |title=Sukces Reduty Dobrego Imienia. Cała Argentyna mówi o mordzie w Jedwabnem i cenzurze w Polsce |url=https://oko.press/sukces-reduty-dobrego-imienia-cala-argentyna-mowi-o-mordzie-jedwabnem-cenzurze-polsce/ |accessdate=25 October 2020 |work=oko.press |date=5 March 2018 |trans-title=The success of the Good Name Redoubt. The whole of Argentina talks about the Jedwabne murder and censorship in Poland}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Granovsky |first1=Martín |title=Repudio mundial por la agresión a Página/12 {{!}} Alto impacto del ataque montado por una organización ultraderechista polaca |url=https://www.pagina12.com.ar/99470-repudio-mundial-por-la-agresion-a-pagina-12 |accessdate=25 October 2020 |work=PAGINA12 |date=5 March 2018}}</ref> Lanza called the amendment "a censorship law that aims to close the academic debate on crimes against humanity". He added that "the concept of 'defamation' of a nation or a state is incompatible with international standards that refer to the protection of the reputation of individual persons" and such a law would not be accepted under the [[Inter-American Convention on Human Rights]].<ref name=oko2018/><ref>{{cite news |title=Apoyos y condenas {{!}} Críticas a la ley de censura polaca y a la denuncia contra Página/12 |url=https://www.pagina12.com.ar/99297-apoyos-y-condenas |accessdate=25 October 2020 |work=PAGINA12 |date=4 March 2018}}</ref> |
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In 2019, the League lost an 18-month lawsuit in which it alleged that ''[[Jewish News]]'' had defamed the Polish nation with an article titled "Polish restitution law excludes most Holocaust survivors and heirs". It was ordered to pay PLN 1,097 in legal costs and PLN 4,623.57 in other costs.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Decker |first1=Adam |title=Jewish News wins decisive legal case against Polish nationalists |url=https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/jewish-news-wins-decisive-legal-case-against-polish-nationalists/ |accessdate=19 October 2020 |work=jewishnews.timesofisrael.com}}</ref><ref name=pg>{{cite news |last1=Tobitt |first1=Charlotte |title=Jewish News wins legal case that 'threatened to silence allegations of historical anti-Semitism' in Poland |url=https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/jewish-news-wins-legal-case-that-threatened-to-silence-allegations-of-historical-anti-semitism-in-poland/ |accessdate=26 October 2020 |work=[[Press Gazette]] |date=29 May 2019}}</ref> In 2020, it lost an appeal against the verdict. In particular, the League objected to the fact that the article referred to "Nazis" instead of "German Nazis" and did not explicitly state that "Germans" were responsible for killing 90% of Poland's Jewish population.<ref>{{cite news |title=Jewish newspaper did not have to write 'German Nazis,' ruled Polish court |url=https://www.jpost.com/international/jewish-newspaper-did-not-have-to-write-german-nazis-ruled-polish-court-615212 |accessdate=19 October 2020 |work=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com}}</ref><ref name="pg" /> It also wanted to force the newspaper to add a sentence saying that Poles rescued Jews rather than murdering them.<ref>{{cite news |title=Wyborcza.pl |url=https://wyborcza.pl/7,75398,25620786,byla-szefowa-reduty-dobrego-imienia-przegrala-w-sadzie-z.html |accessdate=26 October 2020 |work=wyborcza.pl}}</ref> |
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===Controversy over Article 2a=== |
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In February 2019, NBC anchor [[Andrea Mitchell]] incorrectly stated that the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was against the "Polish and Nazi regime". She later apologized on Twitter, saying that she misspoke. IPN sued because they wanted an on-air apology.<ref>{{cite news |title=Polish institute sues NBC’s reporter for conflating Poland with Nazis |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/polish-institute-sues-nbcs-reporter-for-conflating-poland-with-nazis/ |accessdate=27 October 2020 |work=www.timesofisrael.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet |user=mitchellreports |number=1096131096574681088 |date=14 February 2019 |title= I misspoke on the show yesterday when I discussed the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. To be clear, the Polish government was not involved in these horrific acts. I apologize for the unfortunate inaccuracy.}}</ref> |
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In 2019, a case against Gross for writing that Poles had killed more Jews than Germans during the war was dropped after historian [[Piotr Gontarczyk]] said that no reliable statistics are available on the matter.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ilu Żydów zabili Polacy? Umorzone śledztwo wobec Grossa po zaskakującej opinii prawicowego historyka |url=https://oko.press/ilu-zydow-zabili-polacy-umorzone-sledztwo-wobec-grossa-po-zaskakujacej-opinii-prawicowego-historyka/ |accessdate=20 October 2020 |work=oko.press|date=27 November 2019|first=Adam|last= Leszczyński}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Polish prosecutors drop defamation case against Holocaust scholar |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/polish-prosecutors-drop-defamation-case-against-holocaust-scholar/ |accessdate=20 October 2020 |work=www.timesofisrael.com}}</ref> |
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==Article 2a== |
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{{main|Poland–Ukraine relations}} |
{{main|Poland–Ukraine relations}} |
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In 2019, article 2a was decreed to be void and non-binding by the [[Constitutional Tribunal of Poland]].<ref name="PR24"/> |
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Article 2a was criticized because the law singled out "Ukrainians" as the only national group explicitly stated to have carried out crimes, while the only action qualified as "genocide" was the [[massacres of Poles in Volhynia]]. It also was worded in such a way as to criminalize Ukrainian attacks on Polish military targets, which were not illegal under international law.<ref name=Grzebyk>{{cite journal |last1=Grzebyk |first1=Patrycja |title=Amendments of January 2018 to the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation in Light of International Law |journal=Polish Yearbook of International Law |date=2018 |volume=37 |pages=287–300 |doi=10.7420/pyil2017o |quote=As a result of the amendments, Ukrainians are the only national group directly mentioned in the Act as perpetrators of crimes, and the Act does not refer even toGermans or Russians but instead prefers to speak about crimes of the “Third Reich” or of the “communists.” Not surprisingly, Ukrainians have felt offended by this “distinction.”}}</ref> |
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In 2019, article 2a was decreed to be void and non-binding by the [[Constitutional Tribunal of Poland]].<ref name="PR24">{{cite news|url=https://www.polskieradio24.pl/5/1222/Artykul/2247655,Ekspert-orzeczenie-Trybunalu-Konstytucyjnego-ws-nowelizacji-ustawy-o-IPN-moze-otworzyc-droge-do-dyskusji|title=Ekspert: orzeczenie Trybunału Konstytucyjnego ws. nowelizacji ustawy o IPN może otworzyć drogę do dyskusji|publisher=[[Polskie Radio 24]]|date=17 January 2019|accessdate=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref> |
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The Amendment's passage worsened Polish–Ukrainian relations, already contentious on the questions of the prewar [[Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists]] and the wartime and postwar [[Ukrainian Insurgent Army]]. [[Stepan Bandera]] and [[Roman Shukhevych]] have been considered Ukrainian national heroes in Ukraine, and war criminals in Poland.<ref name=spears>{{cite web|editor-last=Baran|editor-first=Violetta|url=https://wiadomosci.wp.pl/byly-minister-obrony-ukrainy-ostrzega-ponad-milion-ukraincow-moze-chwycic-za-kopie-6217366961669761a|title=Były minister obrony Ukrainy ostrzega: ponad milion Ukraińców może chwycić za kopie|trans-title=Former Ukrainian Minister of Defense Warns: over a million Ukrainians may take up the cudgels|website=WP Wiadomości|publisher=[[Wirtualna Polska]]|date=6 February 2018|accessdate=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://wiadomosci.wp.pl/spor-na-linii-polska-izrael-do-grona-komentatorow-dolaczyla-ukraina-6215619519198849a|title=Spór na linii Polska-Izrael. Do grona komentatorów dołączyła Ukraina|editor-first=Anna|editor-last=Kozińska|date=1 February 2018|website=WP Wiadomości|publisher=Wirtualna Polska|accessdate=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref> In Ukraine, the Amendment has been called "the Anti-Banderovite Law".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wiadomosci.wp.pl/ukrainskie-media-o-oswiadczeniu-prezydenta-dudy-slowo-ukraina-nawet-nie-padlo-6217420400470145a|title=Ukraińskie media o oświadczeniu prezydenta Dudy: słowo Ukraina nawet nie padło|editor-first=Violetta|editor-last=Baran|date=6 February 2018|website=WP Wiadomości|publisher=Wirtualna Polska|accessdate=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://dt.ua/WORLD/polski-deputati-vnochi-priynyali-zakon-pro-zaboronu-banderivskoyi-ideologiyi-267885_.html|title=Польські депутати вночі прийняли закон про заборону "бандерівської ідеології"|trans-title=Tonight Polish Parliamentaries Passed the Law on the Ban of the "Banderovite Ideology"|work=[[Dzerkalo Tyzhnia]]|date=1 February 2018|accessdate=2019-05-16|language=uk}}</ref> |
The Amendment's passage worsened Polish–Ukrainian relations, already contentious on the questions of the prewar [[Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists]] and the wartime and postwar [[Ukrainian Insurgent Army]]. [[Stepan Bandera]] and [[Roman Shukhevych]] have been considered Ukrainian national heroes in Ukraine, and war criminals in Poland.<ref name=spears>{{cite web|editor-last=Baran|editor-first=Violetta|url=https://wiadomosci.wp.pl/byly-minister-obrony-ukrainy-ostrzega-ponad-milion-ukraincow-moze-chwycic-za-kopie-6217366961669761a|title=Były minister obrony Ukrainy ostrzega: ponad milion Ukraińców może chwycić za kopie|trans-title=Former Ukrainian Minister of Defense Warns: over a million Ukrainians may take up the cudgels|website=WP Wiadomości|publisher=[[Wirtualna Polska]]|date=6 February 2018|accessdate=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://wiadomosci.wp.pl/spor-na-linii-polska-izrael-do-grona-komentatorow-dolaczyla-ukraina-6215619519198849a|title=Spór na linii Polska-Izrael. Do grona komentatorów dołączyła Ukraina|editor-first=Anna|editor-last=Kozińska|date=1 February 2018|website=WP Wiadomości|publisher=Wirtualna Polska|accessdate=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref> In Ukraine, the Amendment has been called "the Anti-Banderovite Law".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wiadomosci.wp.pl/ukrainskie-media-o-oswiadczeniu-prezydenta-dudy-slowo-ukraina-nawet-nie-padlo-6217420400470145a|title=Ukraińskie media o oświadczeniu prezydenta Dudy: słowo Ukraina nawet nie padło|editor-first=Violetta|editor-last=Baran|date=6 February 2018|website=WP Wiadomości|publisher=Wirtualna Polska|accessdate=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://dt.ua/WORLD/polski-deputati-vnochi-priynyali-zakon-pro-zaboronu-banderivskoyi-ideologiyi-267885_.html|title=Польські депутати вночі прийняли закон про заборону "бандерівської ідеології"|trans-title=Tonight Polish Parliamentaries Passed the Law on the Ban of the "Banderovite Ideology"|work=[[Dzerkalo Tyzhnia]]|date=1 February 2018|accessdate=2019-05-16|language=uk}}</ref> |
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The director of the [[Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance]], [[Volodymyr Viatrovych]], |
The director of the [[Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance]], [[Volodymyr Viatrovych]], asserts that the Amendment's principal target is [[Ukrainians in Poland|Ukrainians residing in Poland]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.eurointegration.com.ua/news/2018/02/1/7076941/|title=Закон про "бандеризм" спрямований проти українців у Польщі - В'ятрович|work=European Pravda|date=1 February 2018|accessdate=2019-05-16|language=uk}}</ref> |
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The Polish law has been compared to [[Ukrainian Law 2538-1]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://w1.c1.rada.gov.ua/pls/zweb2/webproc4_1?pf3511=54689|title=Проект Закону про правовий статус та вшанування пам'яті борців за незалежність України у ХХ столітті|website=w1.c1.rada.gov.ua|publisher=[[Verkhovna Rada]]|access-date=2018-02-10|language=uk}}</ref> passed in 2015.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Liphshiz|first=Cnaan|url=https://www.jta.org/2018/02/06/news-opinion/world/poland-isnt-the-only-country-trying-to-police-what-can-be-said-about-the-holocaust|title=Poland isn't the only country trying to police what can be said about the Holocaust|agency=[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]]|date=6 February 2018|access-date=2018-02-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Rudling|first1=Anders|last2=Gilley|first2= Christopher|url=http://ukraine.politicalcritique.org/2015/04/29/laws-2558-and-2538-1-on-critical-inquiry-the-holocaust-and-academic-freedom-in-ukraine/|title=Laws 2558 and 2538-1: On Critical Inquiry, the Holocaust, and Academic Freedom in Ukraine|website= ukraine.politicalcritique.org|date=29 April 2015|access-date=2018-02-10}}</ref> |
The Polish law has been compared to [[Ukrainian Law 2538-1]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://w1.c1.rada.gov.ua/pls/zweb2/webproc4_1?pf3511=54689|title=Проект Закону про правовий статус та вшанування пам'яті борців за незалежність України у ХХ столітті|website=w1.c1.rada.gov.ua|publisher=[[Verkhovna Rada]]|access-date=2018-02-10|language=uk}}</ref> passed in 2015.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Liphshiz|first=Cnaan|url=https://www.jta.org/2018/02/06/news-opinion/world/poland-isnt-the-only-country-trying-to-police-what-can-be-said-about-the-holocaust|title=Poland isn't the only country trying to police what can be said about the Holocaust|agency=[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]]|date=6 February 2018|access-date=2018-02-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Rudling|first1=Anders|last2=Gilley|first2= Christopher|url=http://ukraine.politicalcritique.org/2015/04/29/laws-2558-and-2538-1-on-critical-inquiry-the-holocaust-and-academic-freedom-in-ukraine/|title=Laws 2558 and 2538-1: On Critical Inquiry, the Holocaust, and Academic Freedom in Ukraine|website= ukraine.politicalcritique.org|date=29 April 2015|access-date=2018-02-10}}</ref> |
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===Controversy over mission statement=== |
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==Mission statement change== |
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Article 1 - the [[mission statement]] of the Institute - was changed to include "protecting the reputation of the Republic of Poland and the Polish Nation".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-of-polands-controversial-holocaust-legislation/ |title=Full text of Poland's controversial Holocaust legislation |date=2018-02-01 |work=Times of Israel |access-date=2019-10-04 |language=en-US}}</ref> |
Article 1 - the [[mission statement]] of the Institute - was changed to include "protecting the reputation of the Republic of Poland and the Polish Nation".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-of-polands-controversial-holocaust-legislation/ |title=Full text of Poland's controversial Holocaust legislation |date=2018-02-01 |work=Times of Israel |access-date=2019-10-04 |language=en-US}}</ref> Prof. [[Havi Dreifuss]], head of [[Yad Vashem]]'s Center for Research on the Holocaust in Poland, noted that: "Since the law changed, the IPN’s fundamental role has changed. Today their official mission statement is to defend Poland’s reputation, and it is in that light that they{{clarify|date=October 2019}} should be viewed."<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-the-fake-nazi-death-camp-wikipedia-s-longest-hoax-exposed-1.7942233 |title=The Fake Nazi Death Camp: Wikipedia's Longest Hoax, Exposed |last=Benjakob |first=Omer |date=2019-10-03 |work=Haaretz |access-date=2019-10-04 |language=en}}</ref> |
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Prof. [[Havi Dreifuss]], head of [[Yad Vashem]]'s Center for Research on the Holocaust in Poland, noted that with the change of the law in question the IPN’s fundamental role has changed and this was reflected in their mission statement.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-the-fake-nazi-death-camp-wikipedia-s-longest-hoax-exposed-1.7942233 |title=The Fake Nazi Death Camp: Wikipedia's Longest Hoax, Exposed |last=Benjakob |first=Omer |date=2019-10-03 |work=Haaretz |access-date=2019-10-04 |language=en}}</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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*[[German-occupied Europe]] |
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*''[[Perinçek v. Switzerland]]'' (2013), a European Court of Human Rights case which found that a ban on [[Armenian genocide denial]] contravenes freedom of speech |
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*[[The Holocaust in Poland]] |
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*[[Laws against Holocaust denial#Poland|Polish law against Holocaust denial]] |
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==Notes== |
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{{notelist}} |
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==References== |
==References== |
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==Further reading== |
==Further reading== |
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* {{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/10/polands-jews-fear-future-under-new-holocaust-law-nazi-atrocities |title=Poland's Jews fear for future under new Holocaust law |first=Christian |last=Davies |date=10 February 2018 |work=[[The Guardian]]}} |
* {{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/10/polands-jews-fear-future-under-new-holocaust-law-nazi-atrocities |title=Poland's Jews fear for future under new Holocaust law |first=Christian |last=Davies |date=10 February 2018 |work=[[The Guardian]]}} |
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* {{Cite magazine |last=Roache |first=Madeline |last2=Waxman |first2=Olivia B. |date=2020-05-08 |title=World War II in Europe Ended 75 Years Ago—But the World Is Still Fighting Over Who Gets to Say What Happened |url=https://time.com/5832549/world-war-ii-memory/ |magazine=Time |language=en}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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*[http://prawo.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU19981551016 Act on the Institute of National Remembrance], the December 18, 1998 version |
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*[http://dziennikustaw.gov.pl/du/2016/749 April 29, 2016 amendment of the Act] |
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*[http://legislacja.rcl.gov.pl/projekt/12282660 Tracking of the draft of the amendment, 2016] |
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*[http://www.sejm.gov.pl/sejm8.nsf/PrzebiegProc.xsp?nr=806 Tracking of the draft of the amendment, 2016–2018] |
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*[http://orka.sejm.gov.pl/proc8.nsf/ustawy/771_u.htm Text of the amendment] by January 26, 2018 as passed by the Sejm to the Senate |
*[http://orka.sejm.gov.pl/proc8.nsf/ustawy/771_u.htm Text of the amendment] by January 26, 2018 as passed by the Sejm to the Senate |
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*[https://www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-of-polands-controversial-holocaust-legislation/ Text of the amendment], translated to English on January 31, 2018 translation by the [[Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] |
*[https://www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-of-polands-controversial-holocaust-legislation/ Text of the amendment], translated to English on January 31, 2018 translation by the [[Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs]] |
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[[Category:1998 in law]] |
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[[Category:2016 in Poland]] |
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[[Category:2018 controversies]] |
[[Category:2018 controversies]] |
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[[Category:2018 in Poland]] |
[[Category:2018 in Poland]] |
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[[Category:Memory laws]] |
[[Category:Memory laws]] |
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[[Category:Institute of National Remembrance]] |
[[Category:Institute of National Remembrance]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Legal history of Poland]] |
Revision as of 01:09, 2 January 2021
The Act on the Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation (Polish: Ustawy o Instytucie Pamięci Narodowej - Komisji Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu) is a 1998 Polish law that created the Institute of National Remembrance. This memory law was amended twice, in 2007 and 2018.
The 1998 Act's Article 55 criminalized historical negationism of crimes committed against Poles or Polish citizens by Nazi or communist polities; of crimes against peace or humanity; of war crimes; and of political repression—all these being listed in Sections 1 a and 1 b of Article 1. While Holocaust denial was not explicitly mentioned, it is understood to be implicity criminalized.[1]
The 2007 Amendment dealt with lustrations conducted in Poland.
The 2018 Amendment added an Article 55a, which seeks to defend the "good name" of Poland and its people against unfounded accusations of complicity in the Holocaust.[2] Also added by the 2018 Amendment was an Article 2a, addressing crimes against "Polish citizens" by "Ukrainian nationalists", which has been seen as an act of exclusion against ethnic minorities.[3] Following an international outcry, defamation of Poland and the Polish people through unfounded accusations of complicity in the Holocaust, under Article 55a, was amended to a civil offense that can be tried in civil courts.[3] Article 2a was appealed by Polish President Andrzej Duda and was found to be unconstitutional by the Polish Constitutional Tribunal, which declared it null and void.[4]
1998 act
The Institute of National Remembrance was established by a Sejm Act of 18 December 1998.[5]
Article 55
The Act's article 55 criminalized "public denial, against the facts, of Nazi crimes, communist crimes, and other offenses constituting crimes against peace, crimes against humanity or war crimes, committed against persons of Polish nationality or against Polish citizens of other nationalities between 1 September 1939 and 31 July 1990";[6] and is therefore sometimes restrictively referred to as the law against Holocaust denial.[7]
In 1999 a University of Opole history professor, Dariusz Ratajczak, was tried under Article 55 for his Holocaust denial, was found guilty, and was sentenced to a year's probation.[8][9]
2007 amendment
The 2007 amendment dealt with lustrations conducted in Poland.
2018 amendment
Article 55a has been referred to as "the Holocaust Law',[3] "the Polish Holocaust bill", "the Poland Holocaust law", and "the Lex Gross"[10][11] (the latter expression also previously used in reference to the 2007 Amendment)[12] The legislation was met with harsh international criticism as it is seen as an obstacle to free discussion on Polish complicity in the Holocaust.[3][13][14] Article 55a seeks to defend the "good name" of Poland and the Polish people against unfounded accusations of complicity in the Holocaust.[2]
Article 2a, addressing crimes against "Polish citizens" by "Ukrainian nationalists", also caused controversy.[3] As most Ukrainians residing in Poland have had Polish citizenship, Article 2a has been viewed as an act of exclusion against ethnic minorities.[3]
While the act does not mention the "Polish death camp" controversy (involving concentration camps that had been built by Nazi Germany during World War II on German-occupied Polish soil), the act's chief intent was to address that controversy.[3] While the expression "Polish death camp" refers to the geographical locations of those camps, it is misleading as it implies that the Polish state or Polish people were responsible for those camps' establishment or operation.[3] The "Polish death camp" question rose to prominence when President Barack Obama used the expression in a 2012 ceremony honoring Jan Karski, though that expression had appeared in 1944 press accounts concerning Karski's reports without at the time causing confusion. Obama, who was criticized by Polish organizations, politicians, and media, subsequently apologized for his use of the expression.[3] The act also does not explicitly mention complicity by some Poles in the murder of Jews. [3]
The amendment has been described as part of an effort by Poland's Law and Justice government to mandate a narrative for the commemoration and presentation of Polish history in Poland and internationally.[3] It has been suggested that, whereas Holocaust legislation in other countries enacts a "duty to remember" by criminalizing Holocaust denial, the Polish bill enacts a "duty to forget" by instituting "collective amnesia" about the complicity of part of the Polish population in the Holocaust.[15]
Under the Act, defamation charges may be preferred by the Institute of National Remembrance or by accredited NGOs such as the Polish League Against Defamation.[3] Originally, offenses against the "good name" of Poland were punishable as criminal offenses with up to 3 years in prison. Following an international outcry, a June 2018 amendment modified the "good-name" offense to a civil offense that can be prosecuted in civil courts. The June 2018 amendment also removed exceptions for research and the arts that were present in the original law.[3]
History
A 2006 amendment with some of the same aims, Article 132a of the Polish Penal Code, was passed in 2006 with the efforts of Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro, but was invalidated two years later.[1] The amendment was seen as targeting the writings of historian Jan T. Gross, whose work on the Jedwabne Pogrom triggered wide public debate in Poland; the amendment was frequently dubbed Lex Gross (Latin: Gross's Law).[12][16]
After a period of lobbying, the first version of the 2018 Amendment was drafted on 17 February 2016 by Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro. On 30 August 2016 the Council of Ministers, presided over by Prime Minister Beata Szydło, forwarded the draft to the Sejm. [17] In September 2016, Zbigniew Ziobro asserted that the "Polish death camp" term constituted an attack on the "good name of the Polish nation".[3]
The proposed legislation was criticized internationally as an attempt to suppress discussion of crimes that had been committed during the Holocaust by Polish citizens.[18][19]
The addition of the "ban on propaganda of Banderism" to the law (Article 2a) was spearheaded by the right-wing political movement, Kukiz'15.[20] Kukiz'15 submitted this addition on July 16, 2016, however it was blocked by Civic Platform and Law and Justice parties citing "the good of Polish–Ukrainian relations".[21] Eventually, Article 2a was added to the bill on 25 January 2018 during the second reading.[22]
On 26 January 2018, after the bill's third reading, the Polish Parliament's lower chamber, the Sejm, approved the bill,[23]: Art. 1 which would apply to Poles as well as to foreigners. On 1 February 2018 the upper chamber, the Senate, passed the bill without amendment. On 6 February 2018 President Andrzej Duda signed the bill into law.[24] According to an opinion poll conducted in February 2018, 51% of Poles opposed the 2018 amendment.[25]
Some parts of the law will come into effect 14 days after its registration in Dziennik Ustaw (the Register of Statutes), with the full law coming into effect within 3 months. The law is was referred to the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland for review of its compliance with the Polish Constitution.[26]
The bill led to an outcry of condemnations against Poland in the United States, Europe, and Israel.[14] Some critics went so far as to accuse the Polish government of Holocaust denial.[27][28] The Simon Wiesenthal Center issued a travel advisory urging Jews to refrain from visiting Poland due to "Poland’s government campaign to change the historical truth by denying Polish complicity in the Nazi atrocities".[14]
As of May 2018, 70 different charges under the act were filed in Polish courts. Most, however, were by Polish citizens protesting the law by filing a self-incrimination. A non-protest charge was filed against the BBC for a production on the Auschwitz concentration camp that used the term "Polish Jewish ghettos".[3]
Original bill
The proposed law modifies a previous law relating to the Institute of National Remembrance (namely, the Act of 18 December 1998 on the Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation[29] (Dz.U. 1998 nr 155 poz. 1016)).
The following main articles were added in February 2018:
1. Whoever claims, publicly and contrary to the facts, that the Polish Nation or the Republic of Poland is responsible or co-responsible for Nazi crimes committed by the Third Reich, as specified in Article 6 of the Charter of the International Military Tribunal enclosed to the International agreement for the prosecution and punishment of the major war criminals of the European Axis, signed in London on 8 August 1945 (Polish Journal of Laws of 1947, item 367), or for other felonies that constitute crimes against peace, crimes against humanity or war crimes, or whoever otherwise grossly diminishes the responsibility of the true perpetrators of said crimes—shall be liable to a fine or imprisonment for up to 3 years. The sentence shall be made public.
2. If the act specified in clause 1 is committed unintentionally, the perpetrator shall be liable to a fine or a restriction of liberty.
3. No offence is committed if the criminal act specified in clauses 1 and 2 is committed in the course of the one’s artistic or academic activity.’
The crimes of Ukrainian nationalists and members of Ukrainian organizations collaborating with the Third German Reich, as defined in the Act, are acts committed by Ukrainian nationalists in the years 1925–1950, involving the use of violence, terror or other forms of violation of human rights, against individuals or ethnic groups. One of the crimes of Ukrainian nationalists and members of Ukrainian organizations collaborating with the Third German Reich is their involvement in the extermination of the Jewish population and genocide on citizens of the Second Polish Republic in Volhynia and Eastern Lesser Poland."
- The above text refers to massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia and to ethnic cleansing in Eastern Lesser Poland (Note: Eastern Galicia and Eastern Lesser Poland overlapped substantially, but were not coterminous: Eastern Galicia was a part of Eastern Lesser Poland annexed by Habsburg Austria to the Austrian Partition of Poland.[31])
Controversy over Article 55a
Historians widely agree that some Poles were complicit in the Holocaust, betraying and murdering Jews.[32] Article 55a was condemned by Holocaust Charities, the United States, the European Union, and Israel for being an obstacle to free discussions on Polish complicity in the Holocaust.[32]
A letter signed by many prominent persons in early February, including journalist Anne Applebaum and the 3rd President of Poland Aleksander Kwaśniewski, said: "Why should the victims and witnesses of the Holocaust have to watch what they say for fear of being arrested, and will the testimony of a Jewish survivor who “feared Poles” be a punishable offence?".[33]
Even before being passed, the law damaged the Israel–Poland relations. Israel's Foreign Ministry director-general Yuval Rotem reported that preserving the memory of the Holocaust takes priority over international relations. He said that "Preserving the memory of the Holocaust is a matter beyond the bilateral relationship between Israel and Poland. It is a core issue cutting to the essence of the Jewish people".[34] Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Poland of Holocaust denial.[27]
Yad Vashem condemned the Polish bill, saying that, while "Polish death camps" as a phrase is a historic misrepresentation, the legislation is "liable to blur the historical truths regarding the assistance the Germans received from the Polish population during the Holocaust".[35][36]
In the U.S., Secretary of State Rex Tillerson expressed "disappointment" in the bill, adding: "Enactment of this law adversely affects freedom of speech and academic inquiry."[24]
Jeffrey Kopstein of the University of Toronto and Jason Wittenberg of the University of California, Berkeley, authors of the book, Intimate Violence: Anti-Jewish Pogroms on the Eve of the Holocaust, about anti-Jewish violence in Poland such as the Szczuczyn pogrom, opine that the purpose of the new bill "is clear: to restrict discussion of Polish complicity." They also suggest that "Poland’s current government will likely face the unpalatable prospect of enforcing an unenforceable law and denying what the mainstream scholarly community has increasingly shown to be true: Some Poles were complicit in the Holocaust."[37]
Prof. Stanisław Krajewski of the University of Warsaw, who co-chairs the Polish Council of Christians and Jews, said that "The way the law is formulated makes it a blunt instrument for paralysing and punishing anyone you don't like", and that "the government's harsh, dismissive reaction to critics has encouraged many people to think they can now attack Jews."[38]
On 5 March 2018, in front of the Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw and Wrocław, 45 Polish citizens made public statements referring to historical events, including the Jedwabne pogrom and the Szczuczyn pogrom. The citizens claimed that they attributed responsibility for the events and alleged that their public statements constituted criminal acts under Article 55a of the amended Act of the Institute of National Memory. In the Prosecutors' offices, the citizens deposited formal written documents reporting their alleged crimes.[39][40]
Kanika Gauba in The Indian Yearbook of Comparative Law 2018 Whereas Holocaust legislation in other countries enacts a duty to remember by means of criminalizing Holocaust denial, the Polish bill enacts a duty to forget by instituting "collective amnesia" on the complicity of part of the Polish population in the Holocaust.[15]
- Amendment
Pressure from the United States Department of State and threat of downgrading the US-Poland relationship were significant in causing the Polish government to change course.[41] In late June 2018, the Polish government decided to stop waiting for a ruling from the constitutional court and in a hasty process, the legislation passed in a single day, modified the act.[3] The revision removed the possibility of criminal prosecution, but also removed the exemption of scholarship and arts from the law.[3] While violating the "good name" of Poland provision is no longer a criminal charge, charges may still be levied in a civil court.[3]
Following the amendment, the Polish and Israeli prime ministers issued a joint declaration condemning antisemitism and rejecting "anti-Polonism".[3] This statement was condemned by Yad Vashem.[3]
Controversy over Article 2a
In 2019, article 2a was decreed to be void and non-binding by the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland.[4]
The Amendment's passage worsened Polish–Ukrainian relations, already contentious on the questions of the prewar Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the wartime and postwar Ukrainian Insurgent Army. Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych have been considered Ukrainian national heroes in Ukraine, and war criminals in Poland.[42][43] In Ukraine, the Amendment has been called "the Anti-Banderovite Law".[44][45]
The director of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, Volodymyr Viatrovych, asserts that the Amendment's principal target is Ukrainians residing in Poland.[46]
The Polish law has been compared to Ukrainian Law 2538-1,[47] passed in 2015.[48][49]
Controversy over mission statement
Article 1 - the mission statement of the Institute - was changed to include "protecting the reputation of the Republic of Poland and the Polish Nation".[50] Prof. Havi Dreifuss, head of Yad Vashem's Center for Research on the Holocaust in Poland, noted that: "Since the law changed, the IPN’s fundamental role has changed. Today their official mission statement is to defend Poland’s reputation, and it is in that light that they[clarification needed] should be viewed."[51]
See also
References
- ^ a b Koposov, Nikolay (2017). Memory Laws, Memory Wars: The Politics of the Past in Europe and Russia. Cambridge University Press. p. 162. ISBN 9781108329538.
- ^ a b Soroka, George, and Félix Krawatzek. "Nationalism, Democracy, and Memory Laws." Journal of Democracy 30.2 (2019): 157-171.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Hackmann, Jörg. "Defending the “Good Name” of the Polish Nation: Politics of History as a Battlefield in Poland, 2015–18." Journal of Genocide Research 20.4 (2018): 587-606.
- ^ a b "Ekspert: orzeczenie Trybunału Konstytucyjnego ws. nowelizacji ustawy o IPN może otworzyć drogę do dyskusji" (in Polish). Polskie Radio 24. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ "About the IPN". ipn.gov.pl. Institute of National Remembrance. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ "Obwieszczenie Marszałka Sejmu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 8 września 2016 r. w sprawie ogłoszenia jednolitego tekstu ustawy o Instytucie Pamięci Narodowej – Komisji Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu" (PDF). Dziennik Ustaw (in Polish). No. Poz. 1575. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ Pankowski, Rafal (2000). "From the lunatic fringe to academia: Holocaust denial in Poland" (PDF). In Taylor, Kate (ed.). Holocaust Denial: The David Irving Trial and International Revisionism. pp. 75–81. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ Kwiet, Konrad; Matthäus, Jürgen, eds. (2004). Contemporary Responses to the Holocaust. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 162. ISBN 0-275-97466-9.
- ^ "Guilty of Holocaust Denial. Negligible public harm?". auschwitz.org. Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum. 19 December 2001. Retrieved 2018-02-23.
- ^ Poland's Constitutional Breakdown, Wojciech Sadurski, Oxford University Press, page 155
- ^ Bugarič, Bojan. "Central Europe’s descent into autocracy: A constitutional analysis of authoritarian populism." International Journal of Constitutional Law 17.2 (2019): 597-616.
- ^ a b The Polish ‘Holocaust Law’ revisited: The Devastating Effects of Prejudice-Mongering, Marta Bucholc and Maciej Komornik, Cultures of History, 19 February 2019
- ^ Noack, Rick (2 February 2018). "Poland's Senate passes Holocaust complicity bill despite concerns from U.S., Israel". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
- ^ a b c Ray, Larry, and Sławomir Kapralski. "Introduction to the special issue–disputed Holocaust memory in Poland." (2019): 209-219.
- ^ a b c Gauba, Kanika. "Rethinking ‘Memory Laws’ from a Comparative Perspective." The Indian Yearbook of Comparative Law 2018. Springer, Singapore, 2019. 233-249.
- ^ Rzepa, Joanna. "Translation, conflict and the politics of memory: Jan Karski's Story of a Secret State." Translation Studies 11.3 (2018): 315-332.
- ^ "Projekt ustawy o zmianie ustawy o Instytucie Pamięci Narodowej - Komisji Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu oraz ustawy o odpowiedzialności podmiotów zbiorowych za czyny zabronione pod groźbą kary". legislacja.rcl.gov.pl (in Polish). Government Legislation Centre. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ "Poland approves bill outlawing phrase 'Polish death camps'". Associated Press. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016 – via The Guardian.
- ^ Noack, Rick (17 August 2016). "Obama once referred to a 'Polish death camp.' In Poland, that could soon be punishable by 3 years in prison". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
- ^ "Sejm uchwalił ustawę o penalizacji banderyzmu". Do Rzeczy (in Polish). 26 January 2018. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ "Kukiz oskarża kierownictwo PiS o uległość wobec spadkobierców Bandery". Do Rzeczy (in Polish). 11 June 2017. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ "Druk nr 993-A". sejm.gov.pl (in Polish). Sejm of the Republic of Poland. 26 January 2018. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ a b "Ustawa z dnia 26 stycznia 2018 r. o zmianie ustawy o Instytucie Pamięci Narodowej – Komisji Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu, ustawy o grobach i cmentarzach wojennych, ustawy o muzeach oraz ustawy o odpowiedzialności podmiotów zbiorowych za czyny zabronione pod groźbą kary" (PDF). orka.sejm.gov.pl (in Polish). Sejm of the Republic of Poland. 29 January 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-02-02. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
- ^ a b Noack, Rick (6 February 2018). "Polish president signs Holocaust bill, drawing rare U.S. rebuke". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ Szwedowicz, Agata (16 February 2018). "CBOS: 40 proc. Polaków jest za nowelą ustawy o IPN, 51 proc. uważa, że dezinformacji należy przeciwdziałać inaczej". dzieje.pl (in Polish). Museum of Polish History. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ Masters, James (8 February 2018). "Polish President signs controversial Holocaust bill into law". CNN. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ a b Eglash, Ruth; Selk, Avi (28 January 2018). "Israel and Poland try to tamp down tensions after Poland's 'death camp' law sparks Israeli outrage". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-01-28.
- ^ "Israeli politicians, survivors blast Polish Holocaust law". Ynet and Associated Press. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ "Ustawa z dnia 18 grudnia 1998 r. o Instytucie Pamięci Narodowej — Komisji Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu" (PDF). Dziennik Ustaw (in Polish). No. nr. 155 poz. 1016. 19 December 1998. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
{{cite news}}
:|issue=
has extra text (help) - ^ a b https://www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-of-polands-controversial-holocaust-legislation/.
{{cite news}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ Snyder, Timothy (April 2002). "Pięć wieków i osiem lat" [Five Centuries and Eight Years]. Tygodnik Powszechny (in Polish). No. 19. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ a b Holocaust law wields a 'blunt instrument' against Poland's past, BBC, Joel Gunter, 3 February 2018
- ^ "Polish law denies reality of Holocaust". The Guardian. 5 February 2018. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ Halon, Eytan (3 March 2018). "Argentina newspaper first target of controversial Polish Holocaust law". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ "Yad Vashem: Poland Holocaust law risks 'serious distortion' of Polish complicity". The Times of Israel. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ "Israel criticises Poland over draft Holocaust legislation". Associated Press. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 2019-05-16 – via The Guardian.
- ^ Wittenberg, Jason; Kopstein, Jeffrey (2 February 2018). "Yes, some Poles were Nazi collaborators. The Polish Parliament is trying to legislate that away". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2018-02-02. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
- ^ Luxmoore, Jonathan (14 March 2018). "Polish archbishop answers Holocaust law critics". The Tablet. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
- ^ Chrzczonowicz, Magdalena (6 March 2018). "Obywatele testują ustawę o IPN. Oskarżyli Polaków o współudział w Holokauście i donoszą na siebie". OKO.press (in Polish). Retrieved 2018-03-07.
- ^ Przerwa, Dorota (5 March 2018). "Sprawdzamy ustawę o IPN. Złożyliśmy samodoniesienia do prokuratury". obywatelerp.org (in Polish). Citizens of Poland. Archived from the original on 2018-03-07. Retrieved 2018-03-07.
- ^ Szklarski, Bohdan, and Piotr Ilowski. "Searching for Solid Ground in Polish-American Relations in the Second Year of the Trump Administration." (2019): 65-82.
- ^ Baran, Violetta, ed. (6 February 2018). "Były minister obrony Ukrainy ostrzega: ponad milion Ukraińców może chwycić za kopie" [Former Ukrainian Minister of Defense Warns: over a million Ukrainians may take up the cudgels]. WP Wiadomości (in Polish). Wirtualna Polska. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ Kozińska, Anna, ed. (1 February 2018). "Spór na linii Polska-Izrael. Do grona komentatorów dołączyła Ukraina". WP Wiadomości (in Polish). Wirtualna Polska. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ Baran, Violetta, ed. (6 February 2018). "Ukraińskie media o oświadczeniu prezydenta Dudy: słowo Ukraina nawet nie padło". WP Wiadomości (in Polish). Wirtualna Polska. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ "Польські депутати вночі прийняли закон про заборону "бандерівської ідеології"" [Tonight Polish Parliamentaries Passed the Law on the Ban of the "Banderovite Ideology"]. Dzerkalo Tyzhnia (in Ukrainian). 1 February 2018. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ "Закон про "бандеризм" спрямований проти українців у Польщі - В'ятрович". European Pravda (in Ukrainian). 1 February 2018. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ "Проект Закону про правовий статус та вшанування пам'яті борців за незалежність України у ХХ столітті". w1.c1.rada.gov.ua (in Ukrainian). Verkhovna Rada. Retrieved 2018-02-10.
- ^ Liphshiz, Cnaan (6 February 2018). "Poland isn't the only country trying to police what can be said about the Holocaust". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2018-02-10.
- ^ Rudling, Anders; Gilley, Christopher (29 April 2015). "Laws 2558 and 2538-1: On Critical Inquiry, the Holocaust, and Academic Freedom in Ukraine". ukraine.politicalcritique.org. Retrieved 2018-02-10.
- ^ "Full text of Poland's controversial Holocaust legislation". Times of Israel. 2018-02-01. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
- ^ Benjakob, Omer (2019-10-03). "The Fake Nazi Death Camp: Wikipedia's Longest Hoax, Exposed". Haaretz. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
Further reading
- Davies, Christian (10 February 2018). "Poland's Jews fear for future under new Holocaust law". The Guardian.
- Roache, Madeline; Waxman, Olivia B. (2020-05-08). "World War II in Europe Ended 75 Years Ago—But the World Is Still Fighting Over Who Gets to Say What Happened". Time.
External links
- Act on the Institute of National Remembrance, the December 18, 1998 version
- April 29, 2016 amendment of the Act
- Tracking of the draft of the amendment, 2016
- Tracking of the draft of the amendment, 2016–2018
- Text of the amendment by January 26, 2018 as passed by the Sejm to the Senate
- Text of the amendment, translated to English on January 31, 2018 translation by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs