Museum Alarmed About Holocaust Scholarship In Poland

June 01, 2023

UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM ALARMED BY PATTERN OF ATTACKS ON HOLOCAUST SCHOLARSHIP IN POLAND

WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is alarmed by the growing trend of attacks on Holocaust scholarship in Poland, which started with threats to historian Barbara Engelking, spread to include her defenders, and recently escalated into a violent assault on historian Jan Grabowski by a parliamentarian as Professor Grabowski attempted to deliver a lecture at the German Historical Institute in Warsaw. The physical attack follows threats to scholars’ ability to conduct free and open inquiry into Holocaust history and the weaponization of the Holocaust for political purposes. The Museum calls on all segments of Polish society to support academic freedom and free speech and to condemn all violence related to these pursuits. 

“For over three decades, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum has worked productively with successive Polish governments and many Polish institutions, historic sites, and individuals to preserve the history of Nazi Germany’s genocide of European Jewry and to educate people worldwide about its ongoing significance,” said Museum director Sara J. Bloomfield. “It is vital that these important efforts continue.” 

A nonpartisan, federal educational institution, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is America’s national memorial to the victims of the Holocaust dedicated to ensuring the permanence of Holocaust memory, understanding, and relevance. Through the power of Holocaust history, the Museum challenges leaders and individuals worldwide to think critically about their role in society and to confront antisemitism and other forms of hate, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity. For more information, visit ushmm.org.

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