12:10 02.02.2018

Poland amended law on Institute of National Remembrance to fight for truth about Holocaust – PM

2 min read
Poland amended law on Institute of National Remembrance to fight for truth about Holocaust – PM

The adoption of the law on the Institute of National Remembrance in Poland was triggered by the desire to counter the falsification of history, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has said in a special statement.

"The Oswiecim lie is not only denial of German crimes, but also other ways of falsifying history. We want to fight this lie in every form. That is why we are amending the law on the Institute of National Remembrance," Ukraine's Yevropeiska Pravda media outlet quoted him as saying, with reference to Poland's TVN24 television channel.

He added that Poland was not going to limit the freedom of the Holocaust debate.

"We owe it to all who have experienced it," he said.

Morawiecki said that he understood Israel's criticism of the adopted changes. He said that Poland had been the first victim of the Third Reich and had lost during the war six million citizens, including three million Jews.

"Death and suffering in German Nazi concentration camps were a shared experience of Jews, Poles and many other nations," he said, adding that "the Holocaust was an unimaginable crime."

He noted that Polish law had for years been pursuing people who try to deny the victims of Nazi crimes and similar decisions are in force in many other European countries.

"Spreading the truth about the Holocaust is not only the task of Israel. It is also the task of Poland. It is a battle for universal truth that is a warning to the whole world," Morawiecki said.

As reported, the Senate of Poland adopted early on February 1 without any amendments the law on the Institute of National Remembrance, which foresees, in particular, punishment for "crimes of Ukrainian nationalists."

The bill was supported by 57 senators, mainly from the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) Party, 23 voted against the document, and two abstained. Amendments to the law envisage fines or imprisonment for up to three years for "sharing responsibility before the Polish people or the state, including for crimes committed by the Third Reich."

In addition, the document envisages punishment for denial of the "Volyn massacre" and the use of the expression "Polish death camps" in relation to the camps that were located in Poland during the Second World War. The law will enter into force after signing by Polish President Andrzej Duda.

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