View source for Amendment to the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance

{{Short description|Polish law penalizing blame of Poland for the Holocaust}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{POV|date=May 2020}}
The '''Amendment to the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance''' of 2018 is a partly repealed Polish law that criminalized [[public speech]] attributing [[responsibility for the Holocaust]] to Poland or the Polish nation; the criminal provisions were removed again later that year, after international protests.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-06-27 |title=Poland Holocaust law: Government U-turn on jail threat |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44627129 |access-date=2023-06-04}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Ahren |first=Raphael |title=Does the Israeli-Polish Holocaust law agreement defend truth or betray history? |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/does-the-israeli-polish-holocaust-law-agreement-defend-truth-or-betray-history/ |access-date=2023-06-07 |website=www.timesofisrael.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Article 2a, addressing crimes against "Polish citizens" by "Ukrainian nationalists", also caused controversy.<ref name="Hackmann"/> The legislation is part of the [[historical policy of the Law and Justice party]] which seeks to present a narrative of ethnic Poles exclusively as victims and heroes.<ref name="Hackmann"/><ref name=Sadurski>[https://books.google.com/books?id=2AuXDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA155 Poland's Constitutional Breakdown], [[Wojciech Sadurski]], Oxford University Press, page 155</ref><ref name="George2019">{{cite journal |last1=Soroka |first1=George |last2=Krawatzek |first2=Félix |title=Nationalism, Democracy, and Memory Laws |journal=Journal of Democracy |date=2019 |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=157–171 |doi=10.1353/jod.2019.0032 |s2cid=159294126 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/721653/summary |language=en |issn=1086-3214}}</ref> The law was widely seen as an infringement on [[freedom of expression]] and on [[academic freedom]], and as a barrier to open discussion on [[Collaboration in German-occupied Poland|Polish collaborationism]],<ref name="Hackmann">{{cite journal |last1=Hackmann |first1=Jörg |title=Defending the "Good Name" of the Polish Nation: Politics of History as a Battlefield in Poland, 2015–18 |journal=Journal of Genocide Research |date=2018 |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=587–606 |doi=10.1080/14623528.2018.1528742|s2cid=81922100 }}</ref><ref name="washingtonpost.com1">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/02/01/polands-senate-passes-holocaust-complicity-bill-despite-concerns-from-u-s-israel/|title=Poland's Senate passes Holocaust complicity bill despite concerns from U.S., Israel|last=Noack|first=Rick|date=2 February 2018|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=2018-02-02|issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref name="Ray2019"/> leading to what has been described as "the biggest diplomatic crisis in [Poland's] recent history".<ref name="Cherviatsova">{{cite journal |last1=Cherviatsova |first1=Alina |title=Memory as a battlefield: European memorial laws and freedom of speech |journal=The International Journal of Human Rights |date=2020 |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=675–694 |doi=10.1080/13642987.2020.1791826|s2cid=225574752 }}</ref>
While the act does not mention the [["Polish death camp" controversy]] (involving [[concentration camp]]s that had been built by [[Nazi Germany]] during [[World War II]] on German-occupied Polish soil), the act's chief intent was to address that controversy.<ref name="Hackmann"/> In 2019, the [[Constitutional Tribunal (Poland)|Constitutional Tribunal of Poland]] ruled that Article 2a was void and non-binding.<ref name="PR24">{{cite news |url=https://www.polskieradio24.pl/5/1222/Artykul/2247655,Ekspert-orzeczenie-Trybunalu-Konstytucyjnego-ws-nowelizacji-ustawy-o-IPN-moze-otworzyc-droge-do-dyskusji| title=Ekspert: orzeczenie Trybunału Konstytucyjnego ws. nowelizacji ustawy o IPN może otworzyć drogę do dyskusji|publisher=[[Polskie Radio 24]]|date=17 January 2019|access-date=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref>
== History ==
A 2006 amendment with some of the same aims, Article 132a of the [[Polish Penal Code]], was passed in 2006 with the efforts of [[Ministry of Justice (Poland)|Minister of Justice]] [[Zbigniew Ziobro]] but was invalidated two years later on procedural grounds.<ref name="Koposov 2017">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xkI4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA162|title=Memory Laws, Memory Wars: The Politics of the Past in Europe and Russia|last=Koposov|first=Nikolay|year=2017|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=162|isbn=9781108329538}}</ref> The amendment was seen as targeting the writings of historian [[Jan T. Gross]], whose work on the [[Jedwabne Pogrom]] triggered wide public debate in Poland; the amendment was frequently dubbed ''Lex Gross'' ([[Latin]]: ''Gross's Law'').<ref name="Bucholc">[http://www.cultures-of-history.uni-jena.de/politics/poland/the-polish-holocaust-law-revisited-the-devastating-effects-of-prejudice-mongering/ The Polish 'Holocaust Law' revisited: The Devastating Effects of Prejudice-Mongering], Marta Bucholc and Maciej Komornik, Cultures of History, 19 February 2019</ref><ref>[https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Joanna_Rzepa/publication/325975522_Translation_conflict_and_the_politics_of_memory_Jan_Karski%27s_Story_of_a_Secret_State/links/5d1fcd2392851cf44068e9c7/Translation-conflict-and-the-politics-of-memory-Jan-Karskis-Story-of-a-Secret-State.pdf Rzepa, Joanna. "Translation, conflict and the politics of memory: Jan Karski's Story of a Secret State." Translation Studies 11.3 (2018): 315-332.]</ref>
After a period of lobbying, the first version of the 2018 Amendment was drafted on 17 February 2016 by Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro. On 30 August 2016, the [[Council of Ministers (Poland)|Council of Ministers]], presided over by Prime Minister [[Beata Szydło]], forwarded the draft to the [[Sejm]].
<ref name="tr2016">{{cite web|url=http://legislacja.rcl.gov.pl/projekt/12282660|title=Projekt ustawy o zmianie ustawy o Instytucie Pamięci Narodowej - Komisji Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu oraz ustawy o odpowiedzialności podmiotów zbiorowych za czyny zabronione pod groźbą kary|website=legislacja.rcl.gov.pl|publisher=Government Legislation Centre|date=1 March 2016|access-date=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref> In September 2016, Zbigniew Ziobro asserted that the "Polish death camp" term constituted an attack on the "good name of the Polish nation".<ref name="Hackmann"/> The proposed legislation was criticized internationally as an attempt to suppress discussion of crimes that had been committed during the Holocaust by Polish citizens.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/16/poland-approves-bill-outlawing-phrase-polish-death-camps |title=Poland approves bill outlawing phrase 'Polish death camps' |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=16 August 2016 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=4 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/08/17/obama-once-referred-to-a-polish-death-camp-in-poland-that-could-soon-be-punishable-by-3-years-in-prison/ |title=Obama once referred to a 'Polish death camp.' In Poland, that could soon be punishable by 3 years in prison. |first=Rick |last=Noack |date=17 August 2016 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=4 September 2016}}</ref> The addition of the "ban on [[propaganda]] of [[Banderites|Banderism]]" to the law (Article 2a) was spearheaded by the right-wing political movement, [[Kukiz'15]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://dorzeczy.pl/kraj/54261/Sejm-uchwalil-ustawe-o-penalizacji-banderyzmu.html|title=Sejm uchwalił ustawę o penalizacji banderyzmu|work=[[Do Rzeczy]]|date=26 January 2018|access-date=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref> Kukiz'15 submitted this addition on July 16, 2016, however it was blocked by [[Civic Platform]] and [[Law and Justice (Poland)|Law and Justice]] parties citing "the good of Polish–Ukrainian relations".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://dorzeczy.pl/kraj/35189/Kukiz-oskarza-kierownictwo-PiS-o-uleglosc-wobec-spadkobiercow-Bandery.html|title=Kukiz oskarża kierownictwo PiS o uległość wobec spadkobierców Bandery|work=Do Rzeczy|date=11 June 2017|access-date=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref> Eventually, Article 2a was added to the bill on 25 January 2018 during the second reading.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sejm.gov.pl/sejm8.nsf/druk.xsp?nr=993-A |title=Druk nr 993-A|date=26 January 2018|website=sejm.gov.pl|publisher= Sejm of the Republic of Poland|access-date=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref>
On 26 January 2018, after the bill's third reading, the [[Parliament of Poland|Polish Parliament]]'s lower chamber, the Sejm, approved the bill,<ref name="ustawa26stycznia2018">{{cite web| title =Ustawa z dnia 26 stycznia 2018 r. o zmianie ustawy o Instytucie Pamięci Narodowej – Komisji Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu, ustawy o grobach i cmentarzach wojennych, ustawy o muzeach oraz ustawy o odpowiedzialności podmiotów zbiorowych za czyny zabronione pod groźbą kary|website=orka.sejm.gov.pl|publisher= Sejm of the Republic of Poland|date= 29 January 2018|url= http://orka.sejm.gov.pl/opinie8.nsf/nazwa/771_u/$file/771_u.pdf|language=pl| access-date =2018-02-02| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20190429210234/http://orka.sejm.gov.pl/opinie8.nsf/nazwa/771_u/$file/771_u.pdf| archive-date =2019-04-29|url-status = live}}</ref>{{rp|Art. 1}} which would apply to Poles as well as to foreigners. On 1 February 2018 the upper chamber, the Senate, passed the bill without amendment. On 6 February 2018 President [[Andrzej Duda]] signed the bill into law.<ref name=noack/> According to an opinion poll conducted in February 2018, 51% of Poles opposed the 2018 amendment.<ref>{{cite web|last=Szwedowicz|first=Agata |url=http://dzieje.pl/aktualnosci/cbos-40-proc-polakow-jest-za-nowela-ustawy-o-ipn-51-proc-uwaza-ze-dezinformacji-nalezy|title=CBOS: 40 proc. Polaków jest za nowelą ustawy o IPN, 51 proc. uważa, że dezinformacji należy przeciwdziałać inaczej|website=dzieje.pl|publisher=[[Museum of Polish History]]|date=16 February 2018|access-date=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref> Some parts of the law{{which|date=October 2020}} came into effect 14 days after its registration in ''[[Dziennik Ustaw]]'' (the Register of Statutes), with the full law coming into effect within 3 months. The law was referred to the [[Constitutional Tribunal (Poland)|Constitutional Tribunal of Poland]] for review of its compliance with the [[Constitution of Poland|Polish Constitution]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Masters|first=James |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/07/europe/poland-holcaust-bill-signed-intl/index.html|title=Polish President signs controversial Holocaust bill into law|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=8 February 2018|access-date=2019-05-16}}</ref>
The bill led to an outcry of condemnations against the Polish government in the United States, Europe, and Israel.<ref name="Ray2019">{{cite journal |last1=Ray |first1=Larry |last2=Kapralski |first2=Sławomir |title=Introduction to the special issue – disputed Holocaust memory in Poland |journal=Holocaust Studies |date=2019 |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=209–219 |doi=10.1080/17504902.2019.1567657|doi-access=free }}</ref> Some critics went so far as to accuse the Polish government of [[Holocaust denial]].<ref name="Selk">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/01/27/it-could-soon-be-a-crime-to-blame-poland-for-nazi-atrocities-and-israel-is-appalled/|title=Israel and Poland try to tamp down tensions after Poland's 'death camp' law sparks Israeli outrage|last1=Eglash|first1=Ruth |last2=Selk|first2=Avi|date=28 January 2018|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2018-01-28|issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Koposov |first1=Nikolay |title=Is Poland's New Memory Law a Case of Holocaust Denial? |url=http://www.cambridgeblog.org/2018/03/is-polands-new-memory-law-a-case-of-holocaust-denial/ |access-date=3 January 2021 |work=fifteeneightyfour |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=16 March 2018|quote=the statute makes it illegal to claim that ethnic Poles were in any way involved in the Holocaust. According to Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki, such claims are a form of Holocaust denial. But it is more accurate to say that the Polish law itself is a manifestation of Holocaust negationism.}}</ref><ref name="ynetandap">{{cite news|url=https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5079364,00.html|title=Israeli politicians, survivors blast Polish Holocaust law|newspaper=Ynetnews|agency=[[Ynet]] and [[Associated Press]]|date=1 February 2018|access-date=2019-05-16|last1=Ynet|first1=Associated Press and}}</ref> The [[Simon Wiesenthal Center]] issued a [[travel advisory]] urging Jews to limit visits to Poland due to "Poland's government campaign to change the historical truth by denying Polish complicity in the Nazi atrocities".<ref name="Ray2019"/>
As of May 2018, 70 different charges under the act were filed in Polish courts. Most, however, were by Polish citizens protesting the law by filing a self-incrimination. A non-protest charge was filed against the [[BBC]] for a production on the [[Auschwitz concentration camp]] that used the term "Polish Jewish ghettos".<ref name="Hackmann"/>
== Original bill ==
The proposed law modifies a previous law relating to the [[Institute of National Remembrance]] (namely, the Act of 18 December 1998 on the Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation<ref>{{cite news|url=http://dziennikustaw.gov.pl/du/1998/s/155/1016/D1998155101601.pdf|title=Ustawa z dnia 18 grudnia 1998 r. o Instytucie Pamięci Narodowej — Komisji Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu|work=Dziennik Ustaw|issue=155 |at=1016|date=19 December 1998|access-date=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref> (''Dz.U.'' 1998 nr 155 poz. 1016)).
Articles added in February 2018 included the following:
*Article 53o:<ref name=timesofisrael/>
<blockquote>Protecting the reputation of the Republic of Poland and the Polish Nation shall be governed by the provisions of the Civil Code Act of 23 April 1964 (Polish Journal of Laws of 2016, items 380, 585 and 1579) on the protection of personal rights. A court action aimed at protecting the Republic of Poland’s or the Polish Nation’s reputation may be brought by a non-governmental organisation within the remit of its statutory activities. Any resulting compensation or damages shall be awarded to the State Treasury.</blockquote>
*Article 53p:<ref name=timesofisrael/>
<blockquote>A court action aimed at protecting the Republic of Poland’s or the Polish Nation’s reputation may also be brought by the Institute of National Remembrance. In such cases, the Institute of National Remembrance shall have the capacity to be a party to court proceedings.</blockquote>
*Article 55a:<ref name="Gauba">[https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-13-7052-6_10 Gauba, Kanika. "Rethinking 'Memory Laws' from a Comparative Perspective." The Indian Yearbook of Comparative Law 2018. Springer, Singapore, 2019. 233-249.]</ref><ref name=timesofisrael>{{cite news |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-of-polands-controversial-holocaust-legislation/|title=Full text of Poland's controversial Holocaust legislation|date=1 February 2018|access-date=2 January 2021}}</ref>
<blockquote>
1. Whoever claims, publicly and contrary to the facts, that the Polish Nation or the Republic of Poland is responsible or co-responsible for Nazi crimes committed by the Third Reich, as specified in Article 6 of the Charter of the International Military Tribunal enclosed to the International agreement for the prosecution and punishment of the major war criminals of the European Axis, signed in London on 8 August 1945 (Polish Journal of Laws of 1947, item 367), or for other felonies that constitute crimes against peace, crimes against humanity or war crimes, or whoever otherwise grossly diminishes the responsibility of the true perpetrators of said crimes—shall be liable to a fine or imprisonment for up to 3 years. The sentence shall be made public.
2. If the act specified in clause 1 is committed unintentionally, the perpetrator shall be liable to a fine or a restriction of liberty.
3. No offence is committed if the criminal act specified in clauses 1 and 2 is committed in the course of the one's artistic or academic activity.'
</blockquote>
*Article 2a:<ref name="ustawa26stycznia2018" /><ref name=timesofisrael/>
<blockquote>
The crimes of [[Ukrainian nationalists]] and members of Ukrainian organizations collaborating with the Third German Reich, as defined in the Act, are acts committed by Ukrainian nationalists in the years 1925–1950, involving the use of violence, terror or other forms of violation of human rights, against individuals or ethnic groups. One of the crimes of Ukrainian nationalists and members of Ukrainian organizations collaborating with the Third German Reich is their involvement in the extermination of the Jewish population and genocide on citizens of the [[Second Polish Republic]] in [[Volhynia]] and Eastern [[Lesser Poland]]."
</blockquote>
== Subsequent amendment ==
Pressure from the [[United States Department of State]] and the threat of downgrading the US-Poland relationship was significant in causing the Polish government to change course.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/ipcj.2019.23.issue-1/1641-4233.23.05/1641-4233.23.05.pdf |title=Szklarski, Bohdan, and Piotr Ilowski. "Searching for Solid Ground in Polish-American Relations in the Second Year of the Trump Administration." (2019): 65-82. |access-date=2019-08-27 |archive-date=2019-08-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827122035/https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/j/ipcj.2019.23.issue-1/1641-4233.23.05/1641-4233.23.05.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> In late June 2018, the Polish government decided to stop waiting for a ruling from the constitutional court and in a hasty process, the legislation passed in record speed, only eight and a half hours, modified the act. The revision removed Articles 55a and 55b and thus the possibility of criminal prosecution, but thereby also removed the exemption for scholarship and the arts. Charges may still be levied in a civil court.<ref name="Hackmann"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Jaraczewski |first1=Jakub |title=Fast Random-Access Memory (Laws) – The June 2018 Amendments to the Polish "Holocaust Law" |url=https://verfassungsblog.de/fast-random-access-memory-laws-the-june-2018-amendments-to-the-polish-holocaust-law/ |access-date=2 January 2021 |work=[[Verfassungsblog]] |date=23 July 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bucholc |first1=Marta |title=Commemorative Lawmaking: Memory Frames of the Democratic Backsliding in Poland After 2015 |journal=Hague Journal on the Rule of Law |date=2019 |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=85–110 |doi=10.1007/s40803-018-0080-7|s2cid=158265814 }}</ref>
Following the amendment, the Polish and Israeli prime ministers issued a joint declaration condemning antisemitism and rejecting "[[anti-Polonism]]".<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Hackmann"/> This statement was condemned by [[Yad Vashem]] and its former director, Holocaust survivor [[Yitzhak Arad]], because it was seen as equating the two.<ref name="Hackmann"/>
==Legal analysis==
The Polish government's rationale for the law was that it was similar to laws against [[Holocaust denial]] in many Western European countries. Law scholars, however, have rejected this comparison, noting that the Polish law, unlike Holocaust denial laws, is intended to protect national honor. They state that the law is more closely related to Turkey's [[Article 301 (Turkish penal code)|Article 301]], which has been used to prosecute Turkish citizens who acknowledge the [[Armenian Genocide]].<ref name=Tsesis2>{{cite book |url=https://www.academia.edu/44666397 |chapter=Genocide Censorship and Genocide Denial |title=Responsibility for Negation of International Crimes |publisher=Institute of Justice in Warsaw |location=Warsaw |first=Alexander |last=Tsesis |author-link=Alexander Tsesis |editor-first=Patrycja |editor-last=Grzebyk |year=2020 |page=117 |isbn=9788366344433 |quote=Far more controversial than genocide denial laws, however, have been national efforts to censor evidence of complicity to commit genocide, and this is the case with civil legislation in Poland and the criminal law in Turkey... The newest version of the law, passed on June 6, 2019, continues to have a civil cause of action that can be brought by private citizens of the Law on Institute of National Remembrance (Art. 53o and 53p). The problem, then, has not been fully resolved, despite the 2019 changes, because defense of nationalistic honor continues to function as a censor on speech. The Law on Institute of National Remembrance is likely to have some of the same negative impacts as the Turkish censorship statute protecting national honor.}}</ref><ref name=Belavusau>{{cite journal |last1=Belavusau |first1=Uladzislau |title=The Rise of Memory Laws in Poland: An Adequate Tool to Counter Historical Disinformation? |journal=Security and Human Rights |date=12 December 2018 |volume=29 |issue=1–4 |pages=36–54 |doi=10.1163/18750230-02901011 |s2cid=216759925 |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/shrs/29/1-4/article-p36_36.xml?language=en |language=en |issn=1875-0230 |quote=The argument of the Polish government that all Western European countries have been legally protecting the memory of the Holocaust in the same way is at best misleading. The closest relative of the 2018 Law is not a standard provision in continental Europe's criminal codes about punitive measures against Holocaust deniers. Rather, the closest sibling of the Law are parts of the Turkish and Russian penal codes. The way the Law frames the defence of collective Polish dignity in a historical context is foremost reminiscent of the notorious provision in the Turkish criminal code (Article 301), which criminalises denigration of the Turkish nation and is particularly used to silence people speaking out against the massacres of Armenians and other minorities by the Ottoman Empire in 1915.|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cherviatsova |first1=Alina |title=Memory as a battlefield: European memorial laws and freedom of speech |journal=The International Journal of Human Rights |date=2020 |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=675–694 |doi=10.1080/13642987.2020.1791826 |s2cid=225574752 |quote=The Turkish, Russian, Polish and Ukrainian cases do not exhaust the list of historical discussions limited by memorial laws for the sake of glory of the past but nevertheless reflect a dangerous tendency towards the manipulative use of history, the rise of national populism and a precipitous decline in democratic values.}}</ref>
Polish law scholars Aleksandra Gliszczyńska-Grabias, Grażyna Baranowska, and Anna Wójcik state that with the revised version of the law, "the risk of violations of individual rights and freedoms remains high".<ref name=Grabias/>
Polish legal scholar {{ill|Patrycja Grzebyk|pl}} writes that "A scientist who would like to investigate crimes committed by Polish citizens or the scale of Polish collaboration risks the loss of his time, money and reputation in lengthy proceedings against her/him commenced by someone who feels insulted." Even the revised version of the law is inconsistent with international law and human rights standards, as it "limit[s] freedom of speech and scientific activity in a disproportional way and entitle[s] NGOs to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the Polish state or nation".<ref name=Grzebyk>{{cite journal |last1=Grzebyk |first1=Patrycja |title=Amendments of January 2018 to the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation in Light of International Law |journal=Polish Yearbook of International Law |date=2018 |volume=37 |pages=287–300 |doi=10.7420/pyil2017o}}</ref> Uladzislau Belavusau writes that, despite repeal of criminal sanctions, "the fears that the 2018 Law may negatively impact on freedom of expression about Polish history have solid foundations... Potentially anybody who expresses views that are counter to the official version of history recognised by the Polish State could fall under its scope."<ref name="Belavusau" />
American jurist [[Alexander Tsesis]] states that the law, even its revised form, "restricts the acquisition, expression, and dissemination of knowledge" and "its ambiguity makes it uncertain who will be punished and for what communications", leading to a [[chilling effect]] on "satire, political commentary, historical analysis, and eyewitness testimony". He concludes that "Poland's effort to control the public spread of information is likely to lead to misleading conclusions that downplay victims' sufferings and incite hate propaganda."<ref name=Tsesis>{{cite book |url=https://www.academia.edu/44666397 |chapter=Genocide Censorship and Genocide Denial |title=Responsibility for Negation of International Crimes |publisher=Institute of Justice in Warsaw |location=Warsaw |first=Alexander |last=Tsesis |author-link=Alexander Tsesis |editor-first=Patrycja |editor-last=Grzebyk |year=2020 |pages=117–118 |isbn=9788366344433 }}</ref>
Polish law scholar {{ill|Tomasz Tadeusz Koncewicz|pl}} states that "The new law politicizes historical discussion and instrumentalizes law to achieve  the  desired  reading  of  history  and  the  past." The law "is the most recent proof that in Poland the past continues to be seen as a collection of indisputable truths, not open to divergent interpretations and historical debate".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Koncewicz |first1=Tomasz Tadeusz |title=Law and Memory: Towards Legal Governance of History |date=2018 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-18875-4 |pages=263–290 |chapter=On the Politics of Resentment, Mis-memory, and Constitutional Fidelity: The Demise of the Polish Overlapping Consensus?}}</ref><ref>Sadurski 2019 p. 156</ref>
Constitutional law scholar [[Wojciech Sadurski]] states that "[t]he chilling effect of such penal and civil sanctions upon scholarly or journalistic debates regarding the darker sides of Polish history is obvious" and that the law "concerns not so much statements of fact, but rather an opinion: an opinion about (the alleged) responsibility of, say, passive onlookers. To punish for an opinion is an anathema to any system of freedom of expression."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sadurski |first1=Wojciech|authorlink=Wojciech Sadurski |title=Poland's Constitutional Breakdown |date=16 May 2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-884050-3 |page=155 |language=en}}</ref>
==Compatibility with international law==
According to Polish scholar of constitutional law {{ill|Piotr Mikuli|pl}}, the amendment appears to contradict provisions of the [[Polish constitution]] including: "Art. 2 from which the so-called principle of decent legislation may be derived, Art. 42 para. 1 expressing the rule ''[[nullum crimen sine lege]]'' and Art. 54 para. 1 on the freedom to express opinions."<ref name="Mikuli" /> He also expressed the opinion that it did not meet the requirement of being [[necessary in a democratic society]] in order to allow a restriction in freedom of speech per [[Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights]].<ref name="Mikuli">{{cite journal |last1=Małecki |first1=Mikołaj |last2=Mikuli |first2=Piotr |title=The New Polish 'Memory Law': A Short Critical Analysis |journal=DPCE Online |date=2018 |volume=34 |issue=1 |url=http://www.dpceonline.it/index.php/dpceonline/article/view/509 |language=en |issn=2037-6677}}</ref> Other law scholars have also questioned the compatibility of the law with international human rights standards, especially the European Convention on Human Rights.<ref name=Grabias>{{cite journal |author1=Aleksandra Gliszczyńska-Grabias, Grażyna Baranowska, Anna Wójcik |title=Law-Secured Narratives of the Past in Poland in Light of International Human Rights Law Standards |journal=Polish Yearbook of International Law |date=2019 |doi=10.24425/pyil.2019.129606|s2cid=217067626 }}</ref><ref name=Tsesis2/><ref name=Grzebyk/>
== Reactions to Article 55a ==
=== Poland ===
On 29 January 2018 Polish President [[Andrzej Duda]] responded to official Israeli objections to the Polish bill, saying that Poland had been a victim of Nazi Germany and had not taken part in the Holocaust.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/president-says-poland-did-not-take-part-in-the-holocaust/2018/01/29/dc5d0a06-055d-11e8-aa61-f3391373867e_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130034044/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/president-says-poland-did-not-take-part-in-the-holocaust/2018/01/29/dc5d0a06-055d-11e8-aa61-f3391373867e_story.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 January 2018 |title=President says Poland did not take part in the Holocaust|agency=Associated Press |date=29 January 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=2 February 2018}}</ref> "I can never accept the slandering and libeling of us Poles as a nation or of Poland as a country through the distortion of historical truth and through false accusations." On 31 January 2018, before the Polish Senate vote on the bill, Deputy Prime Minister [[Beata Szydło]] said: "We Poles were victims, as were the Jews ... It is a duty of every Pole to defend the good name of Poland."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-israel-poland-usa/polish-lawmakers-back-holocaust-bill-drawing-israeli-outrage-u-s-concern-idUKKBN1FK3ER?il=0 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203064050/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-israel-poland-usa/polish-lawmakers-back-holocaust-bill-drawing-israeli-outrage-u-s-concern-idUKKBN1FK3ER?il=0 |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 3, 2018 |title=Polish lawmakers back Holocaust bill, drawing Israeli outrage, U.S. concern |first1=Justyna |last1=Pawlak |first2=Lidia |last2=Kelly |date=31 January 2018 |website=Reuters UK |access-date=2 February 2018}}</ref>
A letter signed by many prominent persons in early February, including journalist [[Anne Applebaum]] and the 3rd President of Poland [[Aleksander Kwaśniewski]], said: "Why should the victims and witnesses of the Holocaust have to watch what they say for fear of being arrested, and will the testimony of a Jewish survivor who "feared Poles" be a punishable offence?".<ref name=aaak>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/05/polish-law-denies-reality-of-holocaust|title=Polish law denies reality of Holocaust|work=The Guardian|date=5 February 2018|access-date=2019-05-16}}</ref> According to Barbara  Kirshenblatt-Gimblett of the POLIN museum, "These attempts to legislate what can and cannot be said is actually destroying the good name of Poland."<ref>{{cite news |title='Polish death camps': Outlawing phrase will protect Poland's good name, says minister {{!}} CBC Radio |url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-january-31-2018-1.4510938/polish-death-camps-outlawing-phrase-will-protect-poland-s-good-name-says-minister-1.4510969 |access-date=19 October 2020 |work=CBC}}</ref>
[[Stanisław Krajewski]] of the [[University of Warsaw]], co-chair the Polish Council of Christians and Jews, expressed his fear that the law would become "a blunt instrument for paralysing and punishing anyone you don't like", and that "the government's harsh, dismissive reaction" would encourage violence against Jews.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/8727/polish-archbishop-answers-holocaust-law-critics |title=Polish archbishop answers Holocaust law critics |last=Luxmoore |first=Jonathan |date=14 March 2018 |work=[[The Tablet]] |access-date=2018-05-12}}</ref> The [[Episcopal Conference of Poland|Polish Bishops' Conference]] noted a rise in anti-Semitism after the amendment was passed, declaring the phenomenon "contrary to the Christian tenet of loving one's neighbor",<ref name="washingtonpost.com">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/catholic-jewish-leaders-in-poland-seek-to-reduce-tensions/2018/03/15/90237fb4-2874-11e8-a227-fd2b009466bc_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315195300/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/catholic-jewish-leaders-in-poland-seek-to-reduce-tensions/2018/03/15/90237fb4-2874-11e8-a227-fd2b009466bc_story.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 March 2018 |title=Catholic, Jewish leaders in Poland seek to reduce tensions |date=15 March 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> and the [[Union of Jewish Religious Communities in Poland]] said the legislation has led to a "growing wave of intolerance, xenophobia, and anti-Semitism", making many members fearful for their safety.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/20/europe/poland-holocaust-law-jewish-community-intl/index.html |title=Poland's Jewish groups say Jews feel unsafe since new Holocaust law |last1=Masters |first1=James |last2=Mortensen |first2=Antonia |date=20 February 2018 |website=CNN |access-date=11 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://jewish.org.pl/wiadomosci/oswiadczenie-organizacji-zydowskich-do-opinii-publicznej-open-statement-of-polish-jewish-organizations-to-the-public-opinion/ |title=Oświadczenie organizacji żydowskich do opinii publicznej / Open statement of Polish Jewish organizations to the public opinion |website=Jewish.org.pl |language=pl |access-date=13 March 2018}}</ref>
According to a survey from February 2018, 40% of Poles supported the criminal penalties in the law, while 51% felt that the issue should be addressed differently.<ref>[https://www.cbos.pl/EN/publications/reports/2018/024_18.pdf The amendment to the Institute of National Remembrance act] Centre for Public Opinion Research</ref>
Research has shown that the law had the [[unintended consequences|perverse effect]] of boosting worldwide searches for the English phrase "Polish death camps" ninefold, while increasing antisemitism expression in Polish public discourse and [[social media]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Analiza skutków noweli ustawy o IPN: wzmożenie antysemickie w debacie publicznej |url=https://www.rpo.gov.pl/pl/content/raport-skutki-ustawy-o-ipn |website=Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich |access-date=2 January 2021 |language=pl |date=13 June 2018}}</ref>
===Israel===
Even before being passed, the law damaged [[Israel–Poland relations]]. Israel's Foreign Ministry director-general [[Yuval Rotem]] reported that preserving the memory of the Holocaust takes priority over international relations. He said that "Preserving the memory of the Holocaust is a matter beyond the bilateral relationship between Israel and Poland. It is a core issue cutting to the essence of the Jewish people".<ref name="target">{{cite news|url=http://www.jpost.com/International/Argentina-newspaper-first-target-of-controversial-Polish-Holocaust-law-544098|title=Argentina newspaper first target of controversial Polish Holocaust law|last=Halon|first=Eytan |date=3 March 2018|work=The Jerusalem Post|access-date=2019-05-16}}</ref> Israel's Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] accused Poland of Holocaust denial.<ref name="Selk"/> [[Yad Vashem]] condemned the Polish bill, saying that, while "Polish death camps" as a phrase is a historic misrepresentation, the legislation is "liable to blur the historical truths regarding the assistance the Germans received from the Polish population during the Holocaust".<ref name="TOI20180127">{{cite news|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/decrying-new-bill-yad-vashem-says-polish-death-camps-a-misrepresentation/|title=Yad Vashem: Poland Holocaust law risks 'serious distortion' of Polish complicity|work=The Times of Israel|date=27 January 2018|access-date=2019-05-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/27/israel-criticises-poland-over-draft-holocaust-legislation|title=Israel criticises Poland over draft Holocaust legislation|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=The Guardian|date=27 January 2018|access-date=2019-05-16}}</ref>
Other Israeli officials such as Education and Diaspora Affairs Minister [[Naftali Bennett]] have termed the expression a "misrepresentation", although Bennett said of the proposed law "This is a shameful disregard of the truth. It is a historic fact that many Poles aided in the murder of Jews, handed them in, abused them, and even killed Jews during and after the Holocaust."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42848842 |title=Israel criticises Polish Holocaust law |date=28 January 2018 |website=BBC News |access-date=28 January 2018}}</ref> Israeli president [[Reuven Rivlin]] said in Auschwitz that historians should be able to study the Holocaust without restrictions. He also stated "There is no doubt that many Poles fought against the Nazi regime, but we cannot deny the fact that Poland and Poles lent a hand to the annihilation".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/israeli-polish-presidents-to-take-part-in-march-of-the-living-1.5993292 |title=Israeli President to Polish Counterpart: We Cannot Deny That Poland and Poles Participated in Holocaust |first=Ofer |last=Aderet |date=12 April 2018 |newspaper=Haaretz |access-date=11 November 2018}}</ref>
Israel's official memorial to the victims of the [[Holocaust]], [[Yad Vashem]], has opined: "There is no doubt that the term 'Polish death camps' is a historical misrepresentation ... . However, restrictions on statements by scholars and others regarding the Polish people's direct or indirect complicity with the crimes committed on their land during the Holocaust are a serious distortion."<ref name="Teleg-28Jan">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/01/28/fury-israel-poland-proposes-ban-referring-nazi-death-camps-polish/ |title=Fury in Israel as Poland proposes ban on referring to Nazi death camps as 'Polish' |date=28 January 2018 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=28 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.yadvashem.org/press-release/27-january-2018-18-43.html |title=Yad Vashem Response to the Law Passed in Poland Yesterday |date=27 January 2018 |website=Yad Vashem |access-date=11 November 2018}}</ref> Israeli political scientist [[Shlomo Avineri]] said young Israelis unintentionally associate the Holocaust with Poland, sometimes far more than with Nazi Germany. Writing in ''[[Haaretz]]'', he called for a reappraisal of Israeli Holocaust education policy, to more greatly emphasize German culpability and Polish resistance during the [[March of the Living]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-holocaust-trips-to-poland-for-israeli-youth-should-start-in-germany-1.5870844 |title=Opinion: Holocaust Trips to Poland for Israeli Youth Should Start in Germany |last=Avineri |first=Shlomo |date=5 March 2018 |newspaper=Haaretz |access-date=14 March 2018}}</ref>
=== Other countries ===
In the U.S., Secretary of State [[Rex Tillerson]] expressed "disappointment" in the bill, adding: "Enactment of this law adversely affects freedom of speech and academic inquiry."<ref name=noack>{{cite news|last=Noack|first=Rick|date=6 February 2018|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/02/06/polish-president-to-sign-holocaust-bill-despite-international-concerns/ |title=Polish president signs Holocaust bill, drawing rare U.S. rebuke|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=2019-05-16}}</ref>
While the [[American Jewish Committee]] (AJC) has stated that it "has been for decades critical of such harmful terms as 'Polish concentration camps' and 'Polish death camps,' recognizing that these sites were erected and managed by Nazi Germany during its occupation of Poland", AJC has also said that, "while we remember the brave Poles who saved Jews, the role of some Poles in murdering Jews cannot be ignored", and that the AJC is "firmly opposed to legislation that would penalize claims that Poland or Polish citizens bear responsibility for any Holocaust crimes".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ajc-opposes-polish-effort-to-criminalize-claims-of-holocaust-responsibility-300589241.html |title=AJC Opposes Polish Effort to Criminalize Claims of Holocaust Responsibility |date=27 January 2018 |website=American Jewish Committee |via=PRNewswire |access-date=11 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/as-poland-s-holocaust-law-causes-storm-tillerson-says-never-again-1.5767938 |title=As Poland's New Holocaust Law Causes Storm, U.S. Urges 'Never Again' on Holocaust Remembrance Day |last=Tibon |first=Amir |date=27 January 2018 |newspaper=Haaretz |access-date=11 November 2018}}</ref>
===Scholars and historians===
In February 2018, the [[American Historical Association]] released a statement calling the law "a threat both to historians' freedom of speech and to the future of historical scholarship". Their statement was later endorsed by 50 scholarly associations.<ref>{{cite news |title=Advocacy Briefs: AHA Condemns Polish Law Criminalizing Public Discussion of Polish Complicity in Nazi War Crimes {{!}} Perspectives on History {{!}} AHA |url=https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/april-2018/advocacy-briefs-aha-condemns-polish-law-criminalizing-public-discussion-of-polish-complicity-in-nazi-war-crimes |access-date=3 January 2021 |work=www.historians.org}}</ref> The [[Polish Center for Holocaust Research]] called the law an "unprecedented (and unknown in a democratic system) intrusion into the debate about the Polish history".<ref>{{cite news |title=Historians fear 'censorship' under Poland's Holocaust law |url=https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/historians-fear-censorship-under-polands-holocaust-law |access-date=3 January 2021 |work=Times Higher Education (THE) |date=21 February 2018 |language=en}}</ref>
[[Dovid Katz]] wrote that the law was "an overreaction to some common mischaracterizations of Poland's role in the Holocaust", including "the myth that Hitler chose to build concentration camps there because Poland was so antisemitic". However, he judged other Eastern European memory laws to be worse, including laws in Hungary, Lithuania, and Latvia which criminalize disagreement with the idea that there was a Soviet genocide in these countries with a prison sentence and Estonian and Ukrainian laws which criminalize negative interpretations of those countries' collaborationist nationalist movements. What he found truly outrageous was the international silence to these non-Polish "legislative acts that criminalize truth-telling about the Holocaust".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Katz |first1=Dovid |title=Poland's New Holocaust Law Is Bad, But Not the Worst |url=https://jewishcurrents.org/poland-s-new-holocaust-is-bad-but-not-the-worst/ |access-date=26 October 2020 |work=Jewish Currents |date=25 April 2018}}</ref>
[[Jeffrey Kopstein]] of the [[University of Toronto]] and [[Jason Wittenberg]] of the [[University of California, Berkeley]], authors of the book, ''Intimate Violence: Anti-Jewish Pogroms on the Eve of the Holocaust'', about anti-Jewish violence in occupied Poland after the Nazi invasion of Soviet Union, opine that the purpose of the new bill "is clear: to restrict discussion of Polish complicity." They also suggest that "Poland's current government will likely face the unpalatable prospect of enforcing an unenforceable law and denying what the mainstream scholarly community has increasingly shown to be true: Some Poles were complicit in the Holocaust."<ref name="KopsteinWittenberg" />
American jurist [[Alexander Tsesis]] criticized the law for being ambiguous, for limiting dissemination of knowledge and for being vague.<ref>Tsesis 2020 pp. 117–118</ref>
==Response to Article 2a==
{{main|Poland–Ukraine relations}}
In 2019, the [[Constitutional Tribunal of Poland]] ruled that Article 2a was void and non-binding.<ref name="PR24"/>
Article 2a was criticized because the law singled out "Ukrainians" as the only national group explicitly stated to have carried out crimes, while the only action qualified as "genocide" was the [[massacres of Poles in Volhynia]]. It also was worded in such a way as to criminalize Ukrainian attacks on Polish military targets, which were not illegal under international law.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Grzebyk |first1=Patrycja |title=Amendments of January 2018 to the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation in Light of International Law |journal=Polish Yearbook of International Law |date=2018 |volume=37 |pages=287–300 |doi=10.7420/pyil2017o |quote=As a result of the amendments, Ukrainians are the only national group directlymentioned in the Act as perpetrators of crimes, and the Act does not refer even toGermans or Russians but instead prefers to speak about crimes of the "Third Reich" or of the "communists." Not surprisingly, Ukrainians have felt offended by this "distinction."}}</ref> [[Klaus Bachmann]] states that "the discussion whether Ukrainian collaborationists committed genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity during the last years of the war in Wolhynia, which has been ongoing for several decades, can now be interrupted by a prosecutor at any time" because anyone who disagrees that the events were genocide is liable for prosecution.<ref>Klaus Bachmann
Civil Law and the Amendment of German and Polish Memory Laws p. 177 [https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/65139263/Grzebyk_Responsibility_for_negation_of_international_crimes_FINAL_9.12.2020.pdf]</ref>
The Amendment's passage worsened Polish–Ukrainian relations, already contentious on the questions of the prewar [[Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists]] and the wartime and postwar [[Ukrainian Insurgent Army]]. [[Stepan Bandera]] and [[Roman Shukhevych]] have been considered Ukrainian national heroes in Ukraine, and war criminals in Poland.<ref name=spears>{{cite web|editor-last=Baran|editor-first=Violetta|url=https://wiadomosci.wp.pl/byly-minister-obrony-ukrainy-ostrzega-ponad-milion-ukraincow-moze-chwycic-za-kopie-6217366961669761a|title=Były minister obrony Ukrainy ostrzega: ponad milion Ukraińców może chwycić za kopie|trans-title=Former Ukrainian Minister of Defense Warns: over a million Ukrainians may take up the cudgels|website=WP Wiadomości|publisher=[[Wirtualna Polska]]|date=6 February 2018|access-date=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://wiadomosci.wp.pl/spor-na-linii-polska-izrael-do-grona-komentatorow-dolaczyla-ukraina-6215619519198849a|title=Spór na linii Polska-Izrael. Do grona komentatorów dołączyła Ukraina|editor-first=Anna|editor-last=Kozińska|date=1 February 2018|website=WP Wiadomości|publisher=Wirtualna Polska|access-date=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref> In Ukraine, the Amendment has been called "the Anti-Banderovite Law".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wiadomosci.wp.pl/ukrainskie-media-o-oswiadczeniu-prezydenta-dudy-slowo-ukraina-nawet-nie-padlo-6217420400470145a|title=Ukraińskie media o oświadczeniu prezydenta Dudy: słowo Ukraina nawet nie padło|editor-first=Violetta|editor-last=Baran|date=6 February 2018|website=WP Wiadomości|publisher=Wirtualna Polska|access-date=2019-05-16|language=pl}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://dt.ua/WORLD/polski-deputati-vnochi-priynyali-zakon-pro-zaboronu-banderivskoyi-ideologiyi-267885_.html|title=Польські депутати вночі прийняли закон про заборону "бандерівської ідеології"|trans-title=Tonight Polish Parliamentaries Passed the Law on the Ban of the "Banderovite Ideology"|work=[[Dzerkalo Tyzhnia]]|date=1 February 2018|access-date=2019-05-16|language=uk}}</ref>
The Polish law has been compared to [[Ukrainian Law 2538-1]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://w1.c1.rada.gov.ua/pls/zweb2/webproc4_1?pf3511=54689|title=Проект Закону про правовий статус та вшанування пам'яті борців за незалежність України у ХХ столітті|website=w1.c1.rada.gov.ua|publisher=[[Verkhovna Rada]]|access-date=2018-02-10|language=uk}}</ref> passed in 2015.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Liphshiz|first=Cnaan|url=https://www.jta.org/2018/02/06/news-opinion/world/poland-isnt-the-only-country-trying-to-police-what-can-be-said-about-the-holocaust|title=Poland isn't the only country trying to police what can be said about the Holocaust|agency=[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]]|date=6 February 2018|access-date=2018-02-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Rudling|first1=Anders|last2=Gilley|first2= Christopher|url=http://ukraine.politicalcritique.org/2015/04/29/laws-2558-and-2538-1-on-critical-inquiry-the-holocaust-and-academic-freedom-in-ukraine/|title=Laws 2558 and 2538-1: On Critical Inquiry, the Holocaust, and Academic Freedom in Ukraine|website= ukraine.politicalcritique.org|date=29 April 2015|access-date=2018-02-10}}</ref>
===Controversy over mission statement===
Article 1 - the [[mission statement]] of the Institute - was changed to include "protecting the reputation of the Republic of Poland and the Polish Nation".<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-of-polands-controversial-holocaust-legislation/ |title=Full text of Poland's controversial Holocaust legislation |date=2018-02-01 |work=Times of Israel |access-date=2019-10-04 |language=en-US}}</ref> Prof. [[Havi Dreifuss]], head of [[Yad Vashem]]'s Center for Research on the Holocaust in Poland, noted that: "Since the law changed, the IPN's fundamental role has changed. Today their official mission statement is to defend Poland's reputation, and it is in that light that they{{clarify|date=October 2019}} should be viewed."<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-the-fake-nazi-death-camp-wikipedia-s-longest-hoax-exposed-1.7942233 |title=The Fake Nazi Death Camp: Wikipedia's Longest Hoax, Exposed |last=Benjakob |first=Omer |date=2019-10-03 |work=Haaretz |access-date=2019-10-04 |language=en}}</ref>
==See also==
*[[German-occupied Europe]]
*[[The Holocaust in Poland]]
*[[Law Against Rehabilitation of Nazism]]
*[[Polish law against Holocaust denial]]
==References==
{{reflist|31em|refs=
<ref name="KopsteinWittenberg">{{cite news| last1= Wittenberg| first1= Jason
| last2=Kopstein | first2=Jeffrey|author-link2=Jeffrey Kopstein
| title= Yes, some Poles were Nazi collaborators. The Polish Parliament is trying to legislate that away.
| date= 2 February 2018
| newspaper= The Washington Post
| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/02/02/yes-some-poles-were-nazi-collaborators-the-polish-parliament-is-trying-to-legislate-that-away/
|access-date=2018-02-02
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180202141921/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/02/02/yes-some-poles-were-nazi-collaborators-the-polish-parliament-is-trying-to-legislate-that-away/
|archive-date= 2018-02-02
|url-status = live}}</ref>
}}
==Further reading==
* {{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/10/polands-jews-fear-future-under-new-holocaust-law-nazi-atrocities |title=Poland's Jews fear for future under new Holocaust law |first=Christian |last=Davies |date=10 February 2018 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}
* {{Cite magazine |last1=Roache |first1=Madeline |last2=Waxman |first2=Olivia B. |date=2020-05-08 |title=World War II in Europe Ended 75 Years Ago—But the World Is Still Fighting Over Who Gets to Say What Happened |url=https://time.com/5832549/world-war-ii-memory/ |magazine=Time |language=en}}
==External links==
*[https://sip.lex.pl/akty-prawne/dzu-dziennik-ustaw/instytut-pamieci-narodowej-komisja-scigania-zbrodni-przeciwko-narodowi-16832221 Act on the Institute of National Remembrance], current version
*[http://prawo.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU19981551016 Act on the Institute of National Remembrance] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180124132743/http://prawo.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU19981551016 |date=2018-01-24 }}, the December 18, 1998 version
*[http://dziennikustaw.gov.pl/du/2016/749 April 29, 2016 amendment of the Act]
*[http://legislacja.rcl.gov.pl/projekt/12282660 Tracking of the draft of the amendment, 2016]
*[http://www.sejm.gov.pl/sejm8.nsf/PrzebiegProc.xsp?nr=806 Tracking of the draft of the amendment, 2016–2018]
*[http://orka.sejm.gov.pl/proc8.nsf/ustawy/771_u.htm Text of the amendment] by January 26, 2018 as passed by the Sejm to the Senate
*[https://www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-of-polands-controversial-holocaust-legislation/ Text of the amendment], translated to English on January 31, 2018 translation by the [[Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs]]
[[Category:1998 in law]]
[[Category:2016 in Poland]]
[[Category:2018 controversies]]
[[Category:2018 in Poland]]
[[Category:Controversies in Poland]]
[[Category:Freedom of expression law]]
[[Category:Historiography of Poland]]
[[Category:Israel–Poland relations]]
[[Category:Law of Poland]]
[[Category:The Holocaust in Poland]]
[[Category:Poland–Ukraine relations]]
[[Category:Memory laws]]
[[Category:Institute of National Remembrance]]
[[Category:Legal history of Poland]]
[[Category:Holocaust historiography]]