Poles and the Holocaust: preserving the narrative
The burning of puppets with Jewish characteristics on the streets of Poland is a reminder that part of the Polish nation never stopped hating Jews
On the one hand, there is the Polish government which bans blaming the Polish people for the Nazi atrocities; on the other hand, there is Israel and the rest of the world standing against an attempt to rewrite history. Amid this merciless political game are the few elderly survivors from the ashes of the Holocaust. They are the ones who remember and remind us of the brave Righteous Among Nations who risked their lives to save Jews.
Aside from being offended by the Polish reactions, that are on the verge of Holocaust denial, there is some sense in protesting the ignorance involved in dealing with this delicate issue over the past year with expressions such as "Polish extermination camps" and so on.
All sides concerned understand that the Polish law is obscure and anti-Semitic. But with the Polish prime minister outrageously comparing Polish and Ukrainian involvement in the Holocaust with "Jewish crimes" and with the State of Israel; Jews in the diaspora and Israeli Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz undiplomatically retaliating, along comes the story of the Easter holiday ceremony involving burning puppets with Jewish characteristics on the streets of Poland two weeks ago, a reminder that part of the Polish nation never stopped hating.
Lately, the horrendous stories of Polish atrocities during the Holocaust are diminishing because many of the survivors have died. An Israeli Charity "J-nerations" has launched a campaign called "Thus Poles were cruel to us" which publishes harsh testimonies of survivors online. These are small stories of huge tragedies that include collaboration, abuse, murder and looting on an unimaginable scale - with the aid of the Poles.
When the Polish prime minister insists that his people saved Jews during the Holocaust and when Polish ministers take pride in the number of Polish Righteous Among the Nations, Jewish Organizations in Poland are quick to point out that the number diminishes in ratio to the number of Jews in Poland on the eve of the Holocaust. The fact that Poles too were murdered by Germans during the Holocaust doesn't justify Polish collaboration with the Nazis.
The need to stand up for the historical facts is now more crucial than ever as Polish Leadership attempts to revise their role in the Holocaust.
First and foremost, the Holocaust was an attempt to annihilate the Jews and not the Poles. Secondly, we mustn't forget that the number of Poles who gave out information on Jews for a kilo of sugar was four times higher than the number of Polish Righteous Among the Nations.
