Holocaust post sparks dispute between Poland, Israel

A message from Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial center prompted a fresh row with Warsaw, with Polish officials claiming it misrepresented history and demanding a correction.

The post, intended to honour the memory of Holocaust victims, triggered strong reactions from Polish authorities and reignited longstanding debates over historical terminology, Caliber.Az reports, citing TRT World.

On X, Yad Vashem wrote: “Poland was the first country where Jews were forced to wear a distinctive badge in order to isolate them from the surrounding population.”

Polish officials and commentators immediately rejected the phrasing, arguing it falsely equates the Polish state with Nazi Germany, noting that Poland was occupied at the time and all anti-Jewish laws and repressive measures were implemented solely by German occupation forces.

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski addressed Yad Vashem directly in a comment, requesting clarification: “Please clarify that you mean 'German-occupied Poland’.”       

Arkadiusz Mularczyk, member of the European Parliament, also criticised Yad Vashem, insisting the institution should not distort history.

"Poland was the first victim of the Second World War, not a perpetrator of crimes. The Holocaust was a German crime - a fact that is not open to negotiation or ‘reinterpretation’," he wrote on X.

After facing backlash, Yad Vashem clarified in a follow-up post that the actions were carried out by German authorities.

Still, the clarification did little to ease criticism, with figures including Polish Deputy Prime Minister Radoslaw Sikorski arguing the post should have specified "German-occupied Poland" or "German-occupying authorities."

Poland and Israel have clashed repeatedly over Holocaust terminology for nearly a decade.

For Poland, distinguishing between Nazi occupiers and the Polish state is crucial. The country lost its sovereignty during Germany’s 1939 invasion and did not enact anti-Jewish laws.

Tensions date back to the 2018 “Holocaust law” controversy, when Poland sought to criminalize claims of Polish complicity, a dispute that still lingers despite a more liberal current administration.

Relations have also been strained by the 2024 killing of Polish aid worker Damian Sobol in Gaza, with Warsaw accusing Israel of hindering cooperation and delaying the investigation.

By Jeyhun Aghazada