"Yad Vashem historian participated in the preparation of the statements of Prime Ministers of Poland and Israel"

In the preparation of a joint statement of Prime Ministers of Poland and Israel, Mateusz Morawiecki and Benjamin Netanyahu, criticized Thursday by the Yad Vashem Institute, the main historian Yad Vashem , Dina Porat

The newspaper "Jerusalem Post" informs, citing Jaakow Nagel and Joseph Ciechanower, who prepared this statement. In response to criticism, Yad Vashem issued a statement in which they stressed that the "historic claims" contained in this statement were approved by her.

"Jerusalem Post" writes that he could not get a comment from Porat.

Yad Vashem The statements contained in the document are inconsistent with current historical knowledge.

As stated in a statement posted on the Institute's website, "The in-depth analysis conducted by Yad Vashem's historians shows that the historical claims presented in the joint statements are undeniable they contain errors and serious distortions. "

The Institute stresses that the Joint Statement of Heads of Government" contains highly problematic sentences that are inconsistent with current and valid historical knowledge in this area ". These statements are part of the narrative "that scientific research has long since refuted, namely that the Polish government in exile and its clandestine armed forces tirelessly sought – in occupied Poland and not only – to thwart the extermination of Polish Jews. . "

By the declaration of Morawiecki and Netanyahu, the government in exile created a "mechanism of help and systemic support for people of Jewish origin" and took decisive action against the Poles who denounce the Jews. Yad Vashem notes that "although the statement mentions cases of Poles committing atrocities against Jews, we also speak of" many Poles "who risked their lives to save the Jews."

"Existing documents and decades Historical research Photo: The Polish government in exile with its seat in London and the Government (Parliament) did not act decisively in favor of Polish citizens of Jewish origin at any time of the war. she actively participated in their persecution, "says Yad Vashem in a polemic with the text of the statements of the Prime Ministers of Poland and Israel.

The Institute also finds a difference in the magnitude of help to the Jews and the persecution. "Three decades of historical research here also show a completely different picture: helping the Jews of the Poles was relatively rare, and the attacks and even the murders of Jews were a common phenomenon", Yad Vashem points out that the "impressive" actions of the Jewish aid Żegota, backed by the Polish government in exile, "can not be translated into Polish society as a whole" or "generally attributed to the institutions of the resistance movement. Polish "[…] The analysis of documentation and research shows that even the Poles who were trying to help the tormented Jews were afraid of their Polish neighbors, no less than the German occupiers, attempting to glorify the help given to the Jews and to present it as a common phenomenon. The Jews are not only against the historical truth, but also against the memory of the heroism of the Righteous among the Nations, "writes Yad Vashem on the Declaration of the Heads of Government of Poland and Israel signed on June 27 .

people – regardless of origin, religion or belief – they revealed their darkest face. "According to Yad Vashem," the tragedy that met the Jews with its specific historical context and the realities of occupied Poland during the war "is separate.Yad Vashem believes that it is" d & # 39; a scandalous insinuation that the Jews also revealed their "darkest face" and points out that those who revealed the darkest face "have not been deprived of identity." "They were Polish and Catholic and collaborated with the German invader whom they hated, persecuting Polish citizens of Jewish origin, "emphasized the Institute for the Remembrance of Martyrs and Heroes of the Holocaust

Yad Vashem also strongly opposed to "juxtaposing the anti-Semitic phenomenon with what is called" antipolonism. "Mentioned in the statement of the heads of government.It was noted that although the misuse of the "Polish death camps" is over, " using terms like + anti-Polonism + is completely anachronistic and has nothing to do with anti-Semitism. "

In his statement on Thursday, Yad Vashem of the Law on the Institute of national memory, which the Polish authorities withdrew on June 27th, art. 55a imposing fines and imprisonment for assigning responsibilities to the Polish nation and state, inter alia for the crimes of the Third Reich and art. 55b announcing that criminal provisions must apply to a Polish citizen and a foreigner "regardless of the rules in force at the place where the act was committed."

In response to these acts, Yad Vashem described them as "not positive in the right direction". On Thursday, the Institute pointed out that although "probably important", "the withdrawal (of these articles with the amendment of 27 June – PAP) removes a clear exclusion, which included in the January amendments ( January) scientific and artistic research ". "Other provisions (the current amendment), which remained unchanged, allow the civil law" to prosecute for violation of the reputation of the Polish and Polish nation – the institute believes. The statement by the Prime Minister ensured that people from education or education would not be subject to legal liability, "but this was not clearly stated" in the report. June amendment to the IPN Act – Yad Vashem claims

. and the public discourse on historical issues to a state unalterable by legal and penal provisions is inappropriate and constitutes a clear violation (freedom – PAP) of scientific research "- emphasized in the Institute of Remembrance's statement of the martyrs and heroes of the Holocaust.