Poland’s national-conservative ruling party PiS has used images of the former German concentration camp Auschwitz to stir up anti-opposition sentiment. A journalist critical of the government had earlier also alluded to the Holocaust in a tweet.
With the video published on Twitter, the PiS wants to discredit a planned opposition demonstration. To the sound of marching boots, it shows the gatehouse at Auschwitz and the entrance to the main camp with the cynical caption “Work sets you free”. A tweet from PiS-critical journalist Tomasz Lis, who wrote on Monday that a “room” would be found for President Andrzej Duda and PiS boss Jaroslaw Kaczynski, is shown. In Polish, the word for “chamber” is usually associated with “gas chamber”. Lis later apologized for the tweet. The question then follows in the video: “Do you really want to go along with this motto?” and the logo of the planned June 4 protest demonstration.
Donald Tusk called for a demo
Polish opposition leader Donald Tusk called for the demonstration next Sunday in the center of Warsaw. During his time as head of government, Tusk and then German Chancellor Angela Merkel maintained close contacts. The PiS therefore accuses him of being subject to Germany.
The name Auschwitz has become etched in consciousness around the world as a synonym for the Holocaust and the epitome of evil. There alone, the National Socialists murdered more than a million people, mostly Jews. During the Shoah, they killed about six million Jews all over Europe.
The Auschwitz Memorial condemned the instrumentalization of the tragedy of people who had suffered and died in the extermination camp in occupied Poland, calling it an “insult to the memory of the victims”. “This is a sad, painful and unacceptable expression of the moral and intellectual corruption of the public debate,” the museum wrote in a tweet.
President: “Unworthy act”
A statement from the American Jewish Committee (AJC) stated that the use of the Holocaust in political struggle was absolutely unacceptable. Polish President Andrzej Duda, who comes from the ranks of the PiS, spoke of an “undignified act for which there is no justification”. Israel’s Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem also condemned the use of the Auschwitz images and “the misuse of Holocaust remembrance in current political discourses”.
Correct attack on researchers
Meanwhile, another incident in Poland sparked outrage in Israel. Speaking at a lecture by renowned Polish-Canadian Holocaust researcher Jan Grabowski on the topic of “Poland (growing problem) with the history of the Holocaust” at the German Historical Institute in Warsaw on Tuesday, MP Grzegorz Braun of the right-wing opposition Konfederacja party suddenly jumped to forward, Grabowski snatched up the mic and slammed it on the lectern. The historian broke off the lecture. “I’m still shocked. It’s not every day you look fascism straight in the eye,” Grabowski wrote on Facebook.
“This incident marks a new low point in efforts to quell the discussion about Poland’s complicity in the persecution and murder of their Jewish neighbors during the Holocaust,” said Yad Vashem President Dani Dayan. A statement from the Wiesenthal Center said the incident was an outrageous attack not only on freedom of expression, but also on the veracity of the story of the Shoah in Poland.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
