NEW YORK, July 25, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In light
of certain recent statements and actions of Polish officials, AJC
Chief Executive Officer David Harris
issued the following statement:
"AJC has had unique relations with Poland, beginning in the 1980s with strong
support for the Solidarity movement, and continuing with the
reintroduction of democracy in 1989. We took the lead in seeking to
write a new chapter in ties between Poland and the Jewish people, and, together
with Polish partners, there's a great deal to show for these
efforts.
"AJC has worked closely with successive Polish governments and
other actors to promote dialogue and understanding between American
Jews and Poles, to support Poland's entry into NATO, and to foster deeper
bilateral relations between Poland
and the U.S., as well as between Poland and Israel.
"We have partnered with the Warsaw-based Forum for Dialogue in an annual
exchange program that has brought hundreds of American Jewish
leaders to Poland and Polish
leaders to the U.S., and has shattered stereotypes and increased
mutual awareness.
"And we are proud of our cooperation with the government in the
creation, in 2004, of the Bełżec Memorial and Museum, which
memorializes and protects the remains of 500,000 Holocaust victims,
who were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators in less than
one year.
"During this time, we have also witnessed how Poland has struggled to address the difficult
chapters of its Holocaust history, which has included not only the
celebration of Polish rescuers who risked their own lives to save
their Jewish neighbors, but also the recognition of others who were
either callous bystanders or, at times, perpetrators in the murder
of Jews.
"This has not been an easy process. Poles understandably do not
feel there is sufficient appreciation for their own suffering – and
resistance – under the Nazis, which was immense. As the first
country attacked by Nazi forces on September
1, 1939, Poland endured
years of brutal occupation, millions of fatalities, and widespread
destruction of its infrastructure. At the same time, the accounts
of some local attacks on Jews—common to so much of Eastern Europe during the Holocaust—were not
easily acknowledged by Poles. But the process went on and took
hold. There were examinations of the pogrom in Jedwabne at the
outbreak of the Second World War, and of Kielce and other places
after the war's end. Eventually, the country's own Institute for
National Remembrance (IPN) documented these events, new memorial
inscriptions were unveiled, and commemoration ceremonies held.
"Alongside this, we saw a growing interest in reclaiming the
long history of Jewish life in Poland as part of the country's national
identity. It has been reflected in popular Jewish cultural
festivals, the creation of the remarkable POLIN Museum of the
History of Polish Jews in Warsaw,
and in the revival of a small but vibrant Jewish community in
Poland. Taken together, all these
steps have offered a largely hopeful and optimistic journey.
"But today, there are reasons for concern.
"Recently, Anna Zalewska, the
Education Minister of Poland's
current government, has challenged the historical accuracy of the
attack on Jewish neighbors in Jedwabne and Kielce having been
perpetrated by Poles, despite the exhaustive research that had been
conducted years ago. A new director of the IPN, Jarosław Szarek,
has been appointed who has signaled his intent to pursue this
revisionist policy. And this follows the controversial
interrogation several months ago by the public prosecutor of
Princeton University historian
Jan Tomasz Gross, who was among the
first to raise the public consciousness of the events in Jedwabne
and Kielce.
"In light of these recent and troubling developments, and as
long-time friends of Poland, we
urge Polish President Andrzej Duda
and other Polish leaders to reconsider this direction and put
Poland back on the path towards an
honest confrontation with the dark chapters of its past, thereby
ensuring a solid foundation for future engagement."
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SOURCE American Jewish Committee