Yad Vashem appears unwilling to amend its misleading statement regarding Poland. A spokesperson for the institution said: “The initial and subsequent posts by Yad Vashem are historically accurate, and we see no reason to elaborate further.” In response, the Israeli ambassador has been summoned to the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The controversy concerns a scandalous post published on Yad Vashem’s profile on platform X on Sunday, in which the institute stated that “Poland was the first country where Jews were forced to wear a distinctive badge in order to isolate them from the surrounding population.”
The post included a follow-up note saying that “On 23 November 1939 Hans Frank, the governor of the Generalgouvernement issued an order that all Jews aged 10 and above must wear a white cloth armband 10 cm wide marked with a blue Star of David on their right arm.” A link directed readers to a more detailed text on the institute’s website.
However, those who did not follow the link were left only with the original statement on X—one that omitted any reference to Germany or the Nazis, as well as the fact that Poland was under Nazi occupation at the time. Therefore, the wording risked implying that the Polish state itself had imposed the requirement that Jews wear the Star of David.
https://x.com/yadvashem/status/1992652672068112670
The post prompted immediate reaction from internet users, Polish politicians, and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum.
“Please specify that it was ‚German-occupied’ Poland,”Radosław Sikorski, Poland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, commented. Initially, Yad Vashem did not respond to the criticism. Platform X was the first to react to user requests by adding a community note beneath the post:
“At that time, Poland was occupied by Nazi Germany. Therefore, it was not Poland as a state that imposed this requirement. This part of Poland was annexed by Germany under the name ‘General Government.’ Do not confuse victims with perpetrators.”
Yad Vashem later also updated its post, posting a further clarification above the original entry: “As noted by many users and specified explicitly in the linked article, it was done by order of the German authorities.”
The article linked in the X post, titled Jewish Badges from Poland, opens with the statement: “Distinctive Jewish badges that the Jews of Poland were forced to wear on their clothing by order of the German authorities.” However, in the text itself, we read only about Poland. First, the article
reiterates that Poland was the first country where Jews were required to wear the distinctive yellow badge to isolate them from the surrounding population.
Later, the author of the text mentions that: “ From the beginning of the invasion of Poland in September 1939 all Jews aged 10 and above in the Generalgouvernement, that included the districts of Krakow, Warsaw, Radom and Lublin, were forced to wear a distinctive badge, generally a yellow badge in the shape of a Star of David.”
The text concludes with the information that “As the Jews of Poland were required to make the badges themselves, alongside privately fashioned badges, small factories and workshops sprang up for their production.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also commented on the matter during a
press conference. “When I read that text, I could not believe my eyes. Yad Vashem is a serious
institution, and Jews — together with this institution — have no need to distort history, as it is so obvious. This seems to me not just a mistake but a deliberate act by someone who wrote this text, as it contradicts history so blatantly that I find it deeply troubling,” he added.
“I not only hope that they will avoid such mistakes in the future but also expect them to take a clear stance. I am convinced that in Israel everyone knows that it was the Germans — the Nazis, Hitler and Governor Frank — who are responsible for what happened in Poland between 1939 and 1945,
and for the crimes against Polish citizens and Jews living in Poland,” Mr Tusk
said.
“This matter is so obvious that I hope this embarrassment for Yad Vashem in this particular case will awaken their attention and conscience, and they will not commit such foolish errors again.”
Finally, Dani Dajan, the chairman of Yad Vashem, spoke out.
“Yad Vashem presents the historical realities of Nazism and WWII, including countries under German occupation, control or influence. Poland was indeed under German occupation. This is clearly reflected in our material. Any other interpretation misreads our commitment to accuracy,” he wrote on platform X.
However, the original post remains unchanged. “As the misleading post has not been changed, I decided to summon the Israeli ambassador to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” Mr Sikorski announced on Monday afternoon.
The meeting took place on Tuesday (25 November 2025), with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs represented by Deputy Minister Wojciech Zajączkowski.
“We will not agree to oversimplify history and omit such important facts. Yad Vashem is too significant an institution, and there must be awareness of the weight of the language it uses,” the spokesperson emphasised after the meeting. He also added that the Israeli ambassador received Poland’s position with understanding, and that Poland is not seeking an apology, but a
correction of the post.
Nevertheless, changes appear unlikely. “The initial and subsequent posts by Yad Vashem are historically accurate, and we see no reason to elaborate further. Those who continue to misinterpret our post are doing so knowingly,” Ari Rabinowicz from Yad Vashem’s media department said in a statement to
Onet.
Burza wokół wpisu Jad Waszem. Mamy stanowisko izraelskiego instytutu
Founded in 1953, Yad Vashem is an Israeli institute dedicated to researching, documenting, and commemorating the Holocaust. It holds the world’s largest archive of Holocaust-related materials and awards the title Righteous Among the Nations to individuals who rescued Jews during World War II. As of 2023, more than 28,000 people have received this honour, including over 7,000 from Poland.
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