The Holocaust and Poland’s „History Policy“ | Taylor & Francis

Last year, I delivered a paper at Princeton University entitled: “The Holocaust as a Polish Problem.” Today, a year later, I am unfortunately compelled to deliver one with a similar, albeit more ominous, message. The issues discussed at Princeton, which back then seemed like a serious, though not existential (from at least the professional standpoint), irritant, have in a very short time become a clear threat to the intellectual condition of Polish society. More importantly, from a scholar’s point of view, the history policy of the Polish state, as it is now conducted, has become a menace to the future of Holocaust research in Poland. Indeed, striking at the core of our discipline, the state-sponsored version of history seeks to undo the findings of the last few decades and to forcibly introduce a sanitized, feel-good narrative that has nothing to do with our knowledge of the past, but everything to do with national myths.