Spanish 'El Pais' left-wing journalist blames Poland for Holocaust (Poles respond: It's ridiculous)

Polish Radio External Service ^ | March 21, 2007 | Joanna Najfeld

[JoAnka]

In her article published in the large Spanish El Pais daily, Pilar Rahola, left-wing politician and journalist accused Poland of participation in the Holocaust. Poles are taken aback.

Poland is responsible for mass genocide of two-thirds of the European Jewish population, the current Polish government oppresses the people by making them come clean about their communist past and discrimination of all sorts flourishes in the heart of Europe, claims a radical leftist journalist and politician in a controversial article published in the Spanish El Pais daily. It's ridiculous, judgmental and totally at odds with facts, responds the Polish side.

Paweł Zalewski, head of the Parliamentary Committee for Foreign Affairs, suggests that the El Pais article author, Pilar Rahola might want to take an educational trip to Poland to see how absurd her accusations are:

'All the theses presented in the article are absurd. It's very difficult to discuss with them. The only reaction could be to invite the author of this article to Poland. I think that this lady has never been to our country. Probably visiting it personally she would realize that the actual situation here is totally different that what she described in her text.'

Polish MEP and history professor Wojciech Roszkowski shares Paweł Zalewski's reception of Rahola's claims:

'To quote some of the theses of Ms. Rahola would be enough to show what kind of quality of journalism she presents. She wrote that Poland played a key role in these operations that led to the extermination of 2/3 of the whole Jewish population in Europe and I ask her how could Poles exterminate Jews in Europe while they were occupied by the Nazis.'

One of the other issues in Rahola's article was the juxtaposition of the accusations of anti-semitism and the so-called 'homophobia'. Professor Roszkowski finds this intentional and symptomatic:

'It's very fashionable today to compare the so-called "homophobia" with anti-semitism. I strongly reject these accusations. Homophobia is a term invented by the gay and lesbian community to present this community as an oppressed community. And this is absurd. It's a result of a long series of promotion of the gay and lesbian style of life. It's already twenty years that this manifesto of the gay and lesbian movement was designed: first, to speak as often as possible about this community, to always present them as victims, and to present those who stick to the traditional values and traditional moral standards as oppressors, to present them in one line with the Nazis, with war criminals and so on. It's absolutely unacceptable.'

The article in El Pais also attacked Poland's recent vetting, or 'lustration' law. History Professor Wojciech Roszkowski was stunned at the level of what he evaluates as factual ignorance displayed in that accusation:

'Ms. Rahola presents our new vetting law as a violation of human rights. You know, she doesn't know what she's talking about. She hasn't read the law and she doesn't know at all what vetting is all about. And also, she has no idea whatsoever about what the former communist security apparatus was. So, I would prefer that she simply kept silent on things that she has no idea about whatsoever.'

Pilar Rahola is a former deputy for the Spanish parliament where she represented a radical left-wing party. She has also worked as a reporter and is just a contributor, not a full time employee of El Pais. But it's not the first time that El Pais gives voice to these kinds of radical attacks on Poland, says Professor Roszkowski:

'It has already been many times that El Pais published articles criticizing not only this or that Polish government but Poland as a nation, Poland en bloc. And now Ms. Rahola exceeded all limits of ignorance, bad will and prejudice. My conclusion is that although it's a daily of the largest circulation in Spain, the quality of journalism in this paper and the control of these articles by the editor in chief, puts it in one category with the worst tabloids.'

The El Pais daily defends the publication saying that the paper presents many opinions. It also promises to publish letters questioning Pilar Rahola's beliefs.

[JoAnka]

We are a problem. Oh, yes. And we intend to keep it that way ;)

[JoAnka]

I fully intend to get back there and hopefully to spend quite some time in your country.

When you finally get down to it, don't forget to advertise your intention on FR, if you want the right people to show you around the place :)

[APRPEH]

Victims speak

During the War Jews were appalled by the lack of aid they received from their neighbors and what they took to be avariciousness as some Poles usurped Jewish property now suddenly become available. The small number of Poles who preyed on Jews by turning them in for rewards made every Pole a risk to Jewish confidence. Jewish partisans were attacked and killed by Polish right wing nationalist groups who instead of making common cause against the Germans regarded the Jews as their enemies also.

It is hard to know how many Poles had sympathy for their Jewish neighbors but were paralyzed into inaction by fear. Yet incidents described above were frequent enough that it was a common Jewish perception of Polish attitudes that they were either indifferent to Jewish suffering or positively glad that the Jews were being removed. {snip}

Following WWI when the newly constituted Polish state emerged from the Versailles peace conference there began a period of civil conflict. The resulting bloodshed led to pogroms against Jews. Prior to this time anti-Jewish violence had been rare in Poland. Jews were identified with the Communists.

During Pilsudski's rule anti-Semitism moderated somewhat. However, in the 4 years between his death in 1935 and the beginning of WWII there was an increasing tide of anti-Semitism in national life.

During the 1930's when Poland was hit by massive unemployment as a result of the worldwide depression anti-Semitism became rampant. National policy was such that jobless Jews were excluded from welfare benefits. The Endecja party promoted a national boycott of Jewish merchants that so radical as to advocate the confiscation of Jewish businesses.

At the universities Jewish enrollment was restricted and Jews had to sit in a segregated area of the classroom. The restrictions were so inclusive that while in 1921 Jews made up 24.6% of the student population by 1938 their share was down to only 8%. There was physical violence as well. Right-wing students assaulted their Jewish associates with canes and razors.

In the late 1930's the Polish government became increasingly concerned with the "Jewish Question." The favored solution was mass Jewish emigration. Under the guise of animal rights there was a national movement to forbid the Jewish ritual slaughter or koshering of animals.

It has been pointed out that anti-Semitism is not the same thing as mass murder. Polish anti-Semitism never envisioned wholesale murder.

[JoAnka]

Yeah, right.

[APRPEH]

Polish Jewry

[wodinoneeye]

Typical leftist lies/propaganda....

The Poles were killed by the millions and Hitler/Nazis had plans to depopulate all of Poland to make room for German peasantry and SS ruling class. It would have made the 'Holocaust' look like a minor atrocity by comparison.

Im sure this dishonest tard of a leftist intentionally omits ever mentioning the millions that Mao and Stalin killed (which DID make Hitler's exploits look small by comparison).

[MelonFarmerJ]

The article in El Pais also attacked Poland's recent vetting, or 'lustration' law.

What is this law?

[DTA]

Hitler's party was extremist Left - German National SOCIALIST Workers Party - NSDAP.

[JoAnka]

It's about outing former communist spies. Poland was under communism for half a century. Communist security services were executors of the brutal oppresion of the regime. Those security services employed spies, who helped uphold the regime.

Communism fell in Poland 18 years ago. But people who were responsible for communist crimes, functionaries of the regime and collaborators (spies) were never judged or punished. Their names remained a secret. Some of them remained present in the public life (journalists, priests, politicians) and have been blackmailed and manipulated by the former security services that KNEW that this person had been a spy and does not want this fact to come to light.

Now, after 18 years, we are trying to come clean about this past, and to reveal the names and past deeds of those former communist spies. It's not about punishing them, but just letting the public know, that this or that public figure (the 'vetting' law applies to public officials, journalists, academics) was a secret agent of the communist regime and spied on his or her family, friends, colleagues.

The vetting law is about transparency, about coming clean about the past, about cutting the ties that still hamper public life in Poland.

Hope this helps.

[lizol]

ZEGOTA: Council to Aid the Jews

Saving Jews: Polish Righteous

[lizol]

TRANSLATION:

Concerning the Sheltering of Escaping Jews

A reminder - in accordance with paragraph 3 of the decree of October 15, 1941, on the Limitation of Residence in General Government (page 595 of the GG Register) Jews leaving the Jewish Quarter without permission will incur the death penalty.
According to this decree, those knowingly helping these Jews by providing shelter, supplying food, or selling them foodstuffs are also subject to the death penalty.

This is a categorical warning to the non-Jewish population against:

1) Providing shelter to Jews
2) Supplying them with Food
3) Selling them Foodstuffs


Dr. Franke
Town Commander
Czestochowa 9/24/42

[Quick or Dead]

Well aware of the Nazis' Socialist ideology and the campaign of disinformation over the last 60 years to try and associate them with the Right. I just enjoy pointing how how in Russia alone the Communists racked up higher body counts than the Nazis did, to say nothing of the Communists in China and Southeast Asia.

[APRPEH]

Among the European Jews that escaped the German gas chambers were the Bulgarian Jews, some 48,000 persons. The price they paid for remaining alive was considerable. They passed through great moral and physical suffering, yet they never doubted that the Bulgarian people would not abandon them. An extraordinary epic, still in search of its narrator.... ...

The rescue represents a real miracle in war time, as the Nazis were present everywhere in the country and their military supremacy was still uncontested. The polemics that followed after the war about, for example, the questionable Communist participation in the rescue, and the role played by King Boris III, are important but not essential. They will be presented to the reader once the latter becomes acquainted with the events which took place during this human drama and with the persons that were part of it. Some day, when the Bulgarian people breathe freely again, may be a kind of a Nobel prize will be awarded them for the rescue of 48,000 innocent men, women and children - an act of humaneness, unprecedented in world history.

Bulgaria

[Pyro7480]

BTTT

[rmlew]

Huh?
6 million Polse died in WW2. 1/3 were Jewish.
Hitler wanted to kil 1/3 of Slavs, enslave 1/3, and expell 1/3.
The Spanish communist should be imprisoned.

[rmlew]

Yes, there were Polish anti-Semites on the right.
However, there were anti-Semites on the left. My father, who was a partisan, was captured and betrayed to the Nazis by communist partisans.

[APRPEH]

clearly on both sides. didn't mean to imply otherwise and in fact that is more the point. the problem is Europe (with notable exceptions both nationally and individually) for the most part not the political philosophy.

[lizol]

Yep, and in 15th century Jewish people had to escape from Spain, being persecuted by the Inquisition.

And they went to ... guess were :-)

[Grzegorz 246]

Type "Palestinian victims" into google and you will see that "victims speak" there too.

[APRPEH]

your comment speaks for itself...