Going into this trip, I was most looking forward to Poland due to my extensive studies of the nation through both my International Affairs Scholars Program Capstone Project (Interwar Polish History) and through my specialization project for this study abroad (Polish Society Under German Occupation). I received a Polish Studies Initiative Scholarship from the Center for Slavic and Eastern European Studies at Ohio State, and I was excited to present the second portion of my Polish Historical Studies research that went along with receiving it. From what I learned through extensive readings about Poland, especially by historians Jan Gross and Norman Davies, I came into the country with an image of a dynamic yet distressed country that has experienced invasions, war, and changing borders and demographics for centuries. To no surprise, I found a national character of resilience apparent through sites and attitudes.
There were monuments and symbolic acknowledgements of the destruction Poland faced during World War II at every turn in Krakow. However, at the same time there were symbols and clear examples of strength through successful commercialization and the beautifully preserved and maintained city center. This spoke to the national character of resilience and determination against the Nazi attempt to eradicate the Poles and the Soviet attempt to replace Poland with a Russian satellite. In addition, the augmentation of a future and a continued Polish nation through family pride and community development was clear in the society that stands today.
Though the determination of the Polish people is a positive national characteristic, the refusal of the Polish people to fully acknowledge the facts of the Holocaust is most definitely negative, and it is widely noticed today through international news. Recently, a bill was signed that bans any accusations of collective responsibility by the Polish Nation or State for Nazi Germany’s war crimes. The basic premise of this bill asserts that all collective action during the Holocaust was at the hands of Nazi Germany. However, as I illegally announced in a public park, this is not the case. The collaboration that took place was at a relatively small scale, but it is still relevant to understanding the functionality of the systematic genocide that took place in Poland. It is the responsibility of all nations to accept, acknowledge, and strive to counteract their dark pasts. It is now the responsibility of Poland to step away from bans on free speech and to step towards a more thorough understanding and acceptance of its history. This begins with the acknowledgement of the nationality of the Polish Jews that perished in the Holocaust (90% of the nation’s Jewish population).