Holocaust scholar sues group that said he 'slandered' Poland
WARSAW, Poland -- A prominent Holocaust researcher said Friday he is suing a Polish organization for libel after it waged a public campaign last year accusing him of slandering Poland's good name for his work exploring Polish violence against Jews during World War II.
Historian Jan Grabowski, of the University of Ottawa in Canada, told The Associated Press he brought a lawsuit on Thursday against the Polish League Against Defamation, an organization allied with Poland's conservative ruling party.
The league didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the case. It accused Grabowski last year of ignoring the Poles who saved Jews during the Holocaust and of exaggerating the number of Poles complicit in Jewish deaths.
"During World War II, due to the demoralizing circumstances and German actions, it is true that vile-acting individuals could be found among Poles and Jews alike," the group wrote in a statement about the academic. "Yet, we should remember that the objective of the Germans was also to 'eradicate the Polish nation' and 'completely destroy Poland.'"
