In September of 1939 Nazi Germany invaded Poland, thereby starting WWII. Within weeks Poland fell, leaving the country subjected to German occupation for the rest of the war. Under the occupation many Poles were exiled or killed in an attempt to create Lebensraum for the Third Reich. Additionally, more than 3 million Polish Jews died as a result of anti-Semitic laws enacted by both the Polish government and the Nazis. Numerous concentration camps were established in Poland as part of the Final Solution enacted by the Nazis. What began as a plan to simply work to death Jews and other groups deemed subhuman by the Nazis, the Final Solution morphed into the systematic killing in concentration camps, many of which were in Poland.
As with almost every country involved in WWII, the effects of the war are clearly evident, even to this day. However, while most countries have made concerted efforts towards coming to terms with the atrocities of the war, it seems Poland is moving backwards. The concentration camps in Poland are now a source of controversy in academia and Polish national history. Recently, a law was passed in Poland that outlawed both the term “Polish death camps” and talking about Poland’s complicity in the Holocaust. The former is a historical misnomer, but the latter is the core of an academic debate that is far from reconciled. While the Polish people, gentile and Jew alike, were affected by Nazi occupation, there was a degree of collaboration from the some ethnic Poles in the systematic killing of Jewish people. Jan Gross’s Neighbors tells a story of a small town in Poland, Jedwabne, who under Nazi occupation, helped facilitate the execution of almost all of the town’s Jews. To ignore instances like Jedwabne and others like it is a historical fallacy that is reckless and detrimental to the history of the Holocaust. At no surprise, this controversy was apparent during our time in Poland. In one instance, on the way to Auschwitz, our Polish tour guide made a very clear point that although the concentration camps were in Poland, the Poles were in no way associated with or responsible for them. Her statement was not surprising given the present controversy. It is understandable that the Polish people do not want to be remembered as Nazi collaborators, however, it is counterproductive to deny any association. This law threatens the integrity of productive historical exploration and is a true travesty to academic freedom.
The Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial.