Polish Jewish leader quits Auschwitz museum board over right-wing politician’s appointment
(JTA) — A Polish right-wing politician has been appointed to a board of the Auschwitz state museum, leading to a Jewish member’s resignation on Wednesday amid claims of politicization.
Stanisław Krajewski said he would be leaving the International Auschwitz Council over the nomination of the Law and Justice party’s Beata Szydlo, Onet reported.
Culture Minister Piotr Gliński, a member of the same right-wing party, announced the nomination of Szydło, who had served as prime minister for nearly two years until 2017, on Tuesday.
“I understand it as a politicization of the Council,” Krajewski, a philosopher and former leader of Polish Jewry, wrote in a letter to Gliński, Onet reported. “In such a situation, I do not see any possibility for myself to continue my function within its framework.”
Under Law and Justice, Poland has been accused of manipulating the historical record on the Holocaust – an allegation the party has rejected, arguing it is preserving the country from such abuse. In 2019, Law and Justice passed a controversial law that outlaws blaming Poland for the Holocaust.
The Auschwitz state museum has largely stayed out of that debate and maintained its status internationally as a major site of preservation and research.
However, the museum was largely seen as having politicized its capacity as a venue for Holocaust commemoration ceremonies, in which Poland’s government under Law and Justice effectively disinvited Russian President Vladimir Putin from attending.
Russian troops liberated the Auschwitz camp, which Nazi Germany built in occupied Poland.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.
If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.
Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
