Polish President Andrzej Duda said Thursday that when when Poland was occupied by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust, “there were heroic people but there were also evil people, and those who behaved in an inhuman way deserve to be condemned.”
Speaking at a forum in Jerusalem jointly organized by the Israel Council on Foreign Relations (ICFR), which operates under the auspices of the World Jewish Congress, and the Polish Institute of International Affairs, Duda said: “I say it loud and clear here and in Poland: We also have painful memories but it was not we who invaded Poland in 1939, it was not we who planned the Holocaust, and it was not we who built the death camps on our own territory.”
Asked by ICFR Board member and distinguished Israeli scholar Shlomo Avineri whether Poland was not resorting to legislative measures to stifle academic discourse, particularly where research on Poland's wartime history was concerned, the president answered: "Historical truth is as it is. It is not always pleasant, and that is true for the Polish nation as well. We do not want to prosecute those who are conducting scholarly research but rather those who, in the wider world, promulgate lies insulting my country, my compatriots and me," he added, referring to a controversial law currently under discussion in Poland. He said no final decision about the law had been taken yet.
Duda also praised good relations between his country and Israel and said: "We rely heavily on Polish–Israeli cooperation in the field of defense."
The Polish head of state was accompanied by a high-level delegation that included the head of the National Security Bureau, other senior officials, Poland's chief rabbi, and the head of the Jewish community.
“I would like to commend Israel's actions in fighting terrorism," Duda stated. He added that he was very satisfied with his country's "high level of economic cooperation with Israel." He also said: "The cooperation of the Israeli Council on Foreign Relations of the Polish Institute of International Affairs is an expression of the growing importance of Poland and I very much hope that the ties between these two institutions will develop even further."
Relating to the inauguration of new US President Donald Trump on Friday, Duda declared: "The United States is the pillar of stability in the world and we look forward to good relations with the new administration."
Photo: Andres Lacko
