Poland’s Narrative of Victimhood

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Series Details 06.02.18
Publication Date 06/02/2018
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The author discussed a new draft law about the Holocaust, passed by both houses of the Polish parliament in early 2018 and which President Andrzej Duda signed into law on the 6 February 2018. The new law would make it illegal to accuse 'the Polish nation' of complicity in the Holocaust and other Nazi atrocities. President Duda said that he would refer the new law to the Constitutional Tribunal, which would examine whether it violated the Polish constitution.

Judy Dempsey argued that the new law would jeopardise the country’s relations with Israel, Jews around the world, the United States, and Ukraine. Poland’s conservative government was squandering all the gains the country made since the overthrow of the communist regime in 1989.

Source Link Link to Main Source http://carnegieeurope.eu/strategiceurope/75450?lang=en
Related Links
Blog: Verfassungsblog, 07.02.18: Reviewing the Holocaust Bill: The Polish President and the Constitutional Tribunal https://verfassungsblog.de/reviewing-the-holocaust-bill-the-polish-president-and-the-constitutional-tribunal/
Deutsche Welle, 17.02.18: Echoes of 1968 anti-Semitic campaign haunt Poland 50 years on http://p.dw.com/p/2ru9T
Deutsche Welle, 18.02.18: Israel: Polish PM's 'Jewish perpetrators' Holocaust remark 'outrageous' http://p.dw.com/p/2ssda
Politico, 19.02.16: Poland turns history into diplomatic weapon http://www.europeansources.info/record/poland-turns-history-into-diplomatic-weapon/
The New York Times 06.02.18: Poland’s President Supports Making Some Holocaust Statements a Crime https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/06/world/europe/poland-holocaust-law.html
BBC News, 06.02.18: Poland President Duda 'will sign' controversial Holocaust bill http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-42959076
Radio Poland, 06.02.18: Polish president to sign Holocaust bill, but will ask top court for opinion http://www.thenews.pl/1/10/Artykul/347876,Polish-president-to-sign-Holocaust-bill-but-will-ask-top-court-for-opinion
Radio Poland: Website: German Death Camps.info https://www.polskieradio.pl/320/6213
Blog: Verfassungsblog, 09.02.18: Memory Wars: The Polish-Ukrainian Battle about History https://verfassungsblog.de/memory-wars-the-polish-ukrainian-battle-about-history/
The Guardian, 02.02.18: [Opinion]: Poland can’t lay its Holocaust ghosts to rest by censoring free speech https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/02/poland-holocaust-free-speech-nazi
Deutsche Welle, 06.02.18: Polish president signs controversial Holocaust bill into law http://p.dw.com/p/2sCiE
Politico, 01.02.18: Polish senate approves Holocaust law https://www.politico.eu/article/polish-senate-approves-holocaust-law/
Politico, 06.02.18: How many Polish PR specialists does it take to defuse outrage over a Holocaust law? https://www.politico.eu/article/mateusz-morawiecki-israel-us-poland-how-many-polish-pr-specialists-does-it-take-to-defuse-outrage-over-holocaust-law/
EUObserver, 05.02.18: MEPs hit by second Polish email campaign https://euobserver.com/political/140842
Euro|Topics, February 2018: The consequences of Poland's Holocaust law? http://www.eurotopics.net/en/193410/the-consequences-of-poland-s-holocaust-law#
BuzzFeed News, 06.03.18: Trump Won't Meet Poland's Leaders Until Their Holocaust Law Is Repealed, US Diplomats Have Reportedly Warned https://www.buzzfeed.com/lesterfeder/trump-wont-meet-polands-leaders-until-their-holocaust-law
openDemocracy, 01.05.18: Can grassroots historical initiatives bridge the gap between Poland and Ukraine? https://www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia/svitlana-oslavska/the-gap-between-poland-and-ukraine
openDemocracy, 11.04.18: In Poland and Ukraine, history conflicts reveal the limits of the 'nationalist international' https://www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia/agnieszka-pikulicka-wilczewska/history-conflicts-reveal-the-limits-of-the-nationalist-international
openDemocracy, 16.11.16: Clash of victimhoods: the Volhynia Massacre in Polish and Ukrainian memory https://www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia/andrii-portnov/clash-of-victimhood-1943-volhynian-massacre-in-polish-and-ukrainian-culture
openDemocracy, 26.04.18: Is Poland's Holocaust law changing US attitudes towards Ukraine’s memory laws? https://www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia/samuel-sokol/is-us-acceptance-of-poland-and-ukraine-s-memory-laws-beginning-to-change

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