Under the controversial Holocaust law, it is now considered a crime for anyone, apparently anywhere in the world, to accuse “the Polish Nation” of complicity in crimes committed by the Nazis during World War II. In addition to mandating how people will be allowed to talk about Poland’s past, the law also has dangerous ramifications for Poland’s future.
The initial aim of the law, which is contrary to Poland’s obligations under international human rights law, was to prevent people from describing Nazi German death camps in occupiedPoland as “Polish camps”. But its scope actually goes much further. The issue at stake is not about the events surrounding the Second world war but about freedom of expression and the excessive use of the law to crackdown on dissenting opinions. By outlawing any utterance or written statement or image that is seen to damage “the reputation of the Republic of Poland and the Polish Nation”, or that suggests Polish responsibility for or complicity in “Nazi crimes”, it further restricts the right to freedom of expression and will have a wider damaging effect.
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