London Socialist Historians Group
Media Release
9th February
Contact Dr Keith Flett 07803 167266
Historians say Boris Johnson must raise Holocaust ‘cancel culture’ with Polish Government
The London Socialist Historians Group, which organises the socialist history seminar at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London, has expressed concern about the outcome on 9th February of a case in a Polish court on research into Polish collaboration with the Nazis on the Holocaust.
Many Polish Jews died in Nazi concentration camps and historical research has looked at complicity between Poles and the Nazis in identifying Jewish people to be sent to the camps.
In the current case a leading researcher on the subject Professor Jan Grabowski faced a libel case from an 80 year old Pole Filomena Leszczynska who claimed her uncle had been incorrectly identified as a collaborator with the Nazis.
The judge did not fine Prof Grabowski but ordered that an apology be made and a correction in any future edition of the published research. This is despite the fact that the Professor had correctly identified the uncle of Ms Lesczynska as a collaborator.
The case has been widely seen as an effort by the hard right Polish Government to stifle research into the Polish holocaust, although this is denied.
LSHG Convenor Dr Keith Flett said, it is of great concern when research designed to show the realities of the holocaust and those who collaborated with it is the subject of a Court case. It looks like ‘cancel culture’ is at work here by those who seek to minimise or deny the Holocaust. We hope that Boris Johnson will raise the matter urgently with his Polish equivalent.
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