Criticism in Israel of government’s “surrender” to Poland as text of Holocaust trip agreement emerges

Israeli historians and opposition figures have criticised an agreement their government has reached with its Polish counterpart to resume Holocaust study trips to Poland.

They claim that the document – which was signed last month but the text of which has only now emerged – would see Israeli groups visit sites in Poland that ignore crimes committed by Poles against Jews during and after the war, and in some cases even glorify individuals responsible for them.

Last month, the foreign ministers of Poland and Israel – Zbigniew Rau and Eli Cohen – announced that they had reached an agreement on resuming the trips, which have been suspended since last year.

While the Polish side said that the new arrangement would see Israeli groups learn more about Jewish history in Poland beyond the Holocaust, and about Polish history in general, including suffering at the hands of the German Nazi occupiers, specific details of the agreement were not released.

Now, the full text of the agreement – in Hebrew and English – has been revealed. The document is signed by both Rau and Cohen, though notes that it is still subject to “ratification in accordance with the parties’ respective domestic laws”.

The document outlines a shared goal of promoting a greater understanding of history in order to “ensure the best possible relations between the peoples of Israel and Poland and to eliminate any mutual prejudice between Israelis and Poles”.

By “telling the full story of the dark times of the Holocaust and World War II” they will “educate [the] next generation in the spirit of reconciliation, mutual understanding and respect without negative ethical and moral attitudes”.

This means that “both parties shall attach appropriate attention to additional chapters, of special importance, of each nation’s history”, including ensuring that youth groups “visit sites related to the legacy of centuries-long Polish-Jewish heritage and history”.

The two sides also agree that Israeli youth groups coming to Poland must visit at least one site from a list of places recommended by the Polish government (with the same requirement for Polish youth groups visiting Israel).

It is this list that has caused consternation in Israel, as the 16 places recommended by the Polish side include some that experts say distort Holocaust history and even glorify figures that were responsible for killing Jews.

One is the Museum of Poles Saving Jews in World War II. The institution, opened in 2016, focuses in particular on the Ulma family – parents Józef and Wiktoria and their six children – who were murdered by the German occupiers for sheltering Jews in an effort to save them from the Holocaust.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz cites Jan Grabowski – a professor of history at the University of Ottawa and vocal critic of the Polish government’s historical policies – criticising the museum for seeking to portray Poles as a nation of rescuers while ignoring research showing how Poles turned over Jews to the Germans or even helped kill them.

Two other sites on the Polish list are dedicated to the so-called “cursed soldiers”, partisans who resisted the imposition of a Soviet-backed communist government in Poland after World War Two and faced violent repression as a result.

Among the cursed soldiers are many figures widely regarded as heroes, such as Witold Pilecki, who during the war deliberately had himself imprisoned at  Auschwitz to gather intelligence and organise resistance in the camp.

However, some of them have also been found by historians to have been responsible for crimes against civilians from ethnic minorities, including Jews. Such figures have often been officially commemorated in Poland under the current government.

Israel’s official Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem, told Haaretz that the Polish list “includes problematic sites that are inappropriate for an educational tour”.

One of its historians, Havi Dreifuss, says the list includes some sites that “ignore documented aspects of Poles’ involvement in the murder of Jews” and others that actually “glorify Poles who were involved up to their necks in the murder of Jews”.

However, another scholar – Daniel Blatman of Hebrew University, who is also chief historian of the Warsaw Ghetto Museum, a Polish state institution – defended the list, saying it is important for young Israelis “to learn about and get to know the history of the country they are visiting”.

In Poland’s case, this includes “recognition of Poland’s history in the ‘dark years’ of the German occupation and communist rule”, added Blatman.

Another to condemn the content of the newly revealed agreement was Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, who said that the government’s “surrender” to Polish demands is a “national disgrace”. As the son of a Holocaust survivor, he is “ashamed of the Israeli government for giving up on its morals and principles”.

“The Poles have for years attempted through every means to hide and deny the part of many Poles in the extermination [of Jews in the Holocaust] — alongside those Righteous among the Nations who acted to save Jews,” tweeted Lapid. “It is unacceptable that youth trips coming to learn of the Holocaust will learn the Polish narrative.”

While previously serving as foreign minister, Lapid clashed on a number of occasions with the Polish government. In 2021, he called new property restitution legislation in Poland “immoral and antisemitic”. He also accused Poland’s prime minister of making an “antisemitic allusion”.

The newly revealed text of the Polish-Israeli agreement also shows that the two sides have committed to having “joint guide services by Polish and Israeli guides” during study visits “whenever possible”.

It also resolves that “organised Israeli study visits may be secured, during their entire stay in Poland, by Polish security guards from private Polish security companies”.

Poland has often complained about the presence and behaviour of armed Israeli security guards accompanying study groups. Now, only in “justified cases” can each side specially request that its own security guards accompany groups.

Main image credit: Israel Defense Forces/Flickr (under CC BY-NC 2.0)

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.