Suggesting that “the Holocaust was somehow the fault of Poles” is more than unfair. This is not to deny, of course, that there were Poles who blackmailed Jews in hiding or even handed them over to the Germans — because such cases did occur. But there were also many who risked their own lives to save their Jewish neighbours
“The current Polish government is prickly about talk of Poles imbibing anti Semitism with their mother’s milk — to the extent that there is now a law forbidding mention of “Polish death camps,” as that term implies that the Holocaust was in some way the fault of the Poles. Instead, “death camps in Poland” is the only permissible formulation according to the nationalists outraged at talk of Polish guilt.
But while its prewar culture was indeed steeped in the anti-Semitism that contributed to the Holocaust, in all fairness, Poland was once a beacon of tolerance, at least in medieval European terms.”
This is an excerpt from „I„If Poland is one giant Jewish graveyard, then Krakow is the gravestone”” by Gedalia Guttentag, devoted to the history and present life of Krakow’s Jewish community. It was published on the Mishpacha portal, which is addressed to Orthodox Jews readers.
An Offensive and Unjust Characterisation
The phrase about Poles “imbibing anti-Semitism with their mother’s milk” is attributed to Israeli politician Yitzhak Shamir, who said it in 1989 while he was serving as Prime Minister of Israel. In later years, it was echoed by other Israeli officials.
In 2019, then–Acting Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz repeated the remark, sparking a diplomatic scandal and drawing sharp criticism in Poland. The statement implies that anti-Semitism in Poland is culturally inherited — deeply embedded in tradition and upbringing. Such a generalisation suggests that Polish society as a whole is tainted by anti-Semitism, a notion widely seen in Poland, for obvious reasons, as both offensive and unjust. This view was explicitly rejected in a Statement of the Union of Jewish Religious Communities, which read:
“The words of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, quoted by Foreign Minister Israel Katz, were unfair even when first spoken in 1989, at a time when Polish– Israeli relations were just beginning to be rebuilt after the long night of communism. They are even more painful today, thirty years later, when so much has already been done on both sides to promote mutual understanding of our very difficult but shared history. The fact that some Poles participated — directly or indirectly — in the German murder of Jews during World War II is a historical fact. But we must also remember that occupied Poland did not establish a regime that collaborated with the Third Reich.
We remember that Poles constitute the largest national group among the Righteous Among the Nations — another historical fact. Accusing all Poles of anti-Semitism insults not only these Righteous but also all those who see in them a true reflection of Polish society today. It also insults us, Polish Jews, who are part of that society.”
The document was signed by Monika Krawczyk, President of the Union of Jewish Religious Communities, and Michael Schudrich, Chief Rabbi of Poland.
Suggesting that “the Holocaust was somehow the fault of Poles” is more than unfair. This is not to deny, of course, that there were Poles who blackmailed Jews in hiding or even handed them over to the Germans — because such cases did occur. But there were also many who risked their own lives to save their Jewish neighbours.
Death Penalty for Szmalcowniks
It is also worth remembering that those who handed over Jews in hiding to the Germans were not necessarily motivated by anti-Semitism “imbibed with their mother’s milk.” They may have been motivated by simple fear for their lives and the lives of their loved ones. In occupied Poland, hiding Jews was punishable by death, and the Germans eagerly applied the principle of collective responsibility.
In addition to blackmailing or handing over Jews to the Germans, there were also cases of Jews being murdered. The structures of the Polish Underground State tried to combat these phenomena, and blackmailers, not to mention murderers of Jews, were punished with death.
“An investigation ordered by the Rzeszów Home Army (AK) inspector found that four people of Jewish nationality were killed on the night of November 21–22, 1943. Five perpetrators were identified, two of them members of the Home Army, one already dead during the investigation. The crime, committed for robbery, was judged by the Military Special Court of the Rzeszów AK Sub-district. The perpetrators were sentenced to death,” describes Piotr Szopa in the text “Verdicts on Blackmailers”. During the occupation, szmalcowniks were those who blackmailed Jews hiding from the Germans.
Let us state this clearly: the Germans usually sentenced Poles who hid Jews to death — while the Polish underground’s justice system typically sentenced to death those Poles who betrayed Jews to the Germans.
The fact that some Poles took part in anti-Jewish pogroms in 1941, such as the infamous one in Jedwabne, does not justify sweeping generalisations about the entire nation.
There Is No Such Law
“The current Polish government is prickly about talk of Poles imbibing anti Semitism with their mother’s milk — to the extent that there is now a law forbidding mention of “Polish death camps,” wrote Gedalia Gutentag in his article.
Is this true? No. There is no such law in Poland today — though one did briefly exist for several months. The truth is that while some cases have been brought in Polish courts, they were civil suits, not criminal ones. Several Polish citizens, including former prisoners of German Nazi concentration camps, have sued media outlets for using misleading terms such as “Polish camps.”
For years, Polish diplomacy has urged international media to stop using the phrase “Polish death camps,” which is historically misleading. This is simply because the camps were German Nazi camps located in occupied Poland, not Polish-run facilities. This issue resurfaced, among other occasions, in January 2025, during a meeting between the Polish and Spanish foreign ministers, held two days after the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
At the press conference, they were asked about the Spanish state news agency EFE’s use of the term “Polish camp Auschwitz,” which was later repeated by other Spanish outlets. Following intervention by the Polish Embassy in Madrid, EFE corrected the report.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares stressed that there was no doubt in Spain that Auschwitz-Birkenau was a German Nazi camp.
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski added that Polish diplomacy intervenes each time the phrase “Polish camp” is used in the context of the Auschwitz camp,
noting that these efforts have persuaded major global news agencies to use wording that “does not cause confusion” among those unfamiliar with history.
Poland Changed the Controversial Law
Even Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seemed to share this view when, in 2018, he co-signed a joint Polish–Israeli declaration affirming that the term “Polish death camps” is incorrect. The declaration followed an unnecessary and ill judged amendment to Polish law earlier that year.
That amendment stated that anyone who publicly and falsely attributed to the Polish nation or state responsibility or co-responsibility for Nazi crimes committed by the Third Reich or otherwise grossly diminishes the responsibility of the actual perpetrators of these crimes could face a fine or up to three years in prison.
Although the law did not specifically mention “Polish camps,” the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained in a statement that: “the goal of the amendment to the Act passed by the Sejm, after two years of legislative work, is to eliminate public and untrue behaviours consisting of attributing to the Polish nation or the Polish state responsibility or co-responsibility for Nazi crimes committed by the Third German Reich. This was expressed, inter alia, by the use of the terms ‘Polish camps’.”
The amendment drew strong criticism from Israel and other countries. In Israel, it was seen as an attempt to stifle discussion of crimes committed by some Poles against Jews during the war.
As Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Emmanuel Nahshon wrote on Twitter at the time: “Dear Polish Internet users, the problem is not the death camps. Of course, they were not Polish. They were German. The problem is the legal threat to the fundamental freedom to discuss Polish involvement in the murder of Jews without fear of punishment. It’s simple.”
After a few months, the controversial amendment was repealed, and the prime ministers of Poland and Israel signed a joint declaration.
Prime Ministers: There Were No Polish Camps
“We recognise and condemn every individual act of cruelty against Jews committed by Poles during World War II. We proudly recall the heroic deeds of countless Poles — in particular the Righteous Among the Nations — who risked their lives to save Jews,” the declaration stated.
“We oppose all actions aimed at blaming Poland or the entire Polish nation for atrocities committed by the Nazis and their collaborators from other countries.”
The document also addressed the issue of terminology:
“We have always agreed that the phrases ‘Polish concentration camps’ or ‘Polish death camps’ are grossly inaccurate and diminish the responsibility of the Germans for creating these camps,” both leaders affirmed.
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