Polnische „Gerechte unter den Völkern“ zwischen Moral und Politik

Abstract

Polish Righteous Among the Nations – between moral and politics Since 1963 the Jewish Memorial Center Yad Vashem has honoured over 23,000 non-Jews with the title Righteous Among the Nations. These righteous civilians supported Jews and risked their lives during the period of National Socialism. Rescues occurring during that immediate time period have been the target of extensive research. Conversely, though, there have been almost no studies which closely examine the Post War period and the honouring of people during the Cold War. While attitudes in Eastern Bloc States were often hostile towards Israel’s post-war politics and even anti- Semitic, it is worth questioning if, and to what extent, e.g. the People’s Republic of Poland had an impact on the Israelis’ awarding their civilians. Notwithstanding, the main focus of this paper lies on the anti-Jewish campaign around 1968 and the subsiding of tensions in the 1970s. On the one hand, research was accomplished on the statistical rise in various years of honours and awards ceremonies. On the other hand, files of Yad Vashem have been analysed as well as articles of two Polish newspapers. In the 1960s it was feared that the Polish Righteous would suffer persecution through becoming well known for their commitment as rescuers of Jews. At the end of the 1960s these civilians could not even receive their honours because they were not issued with visas. Simultaneously, there were Polish press campaigns which, on the one side, celebrated Polish as rescuers of Jewish people, and on the other side portrayed “the Jews” as ungrateful. This double-edged use of highlighting the Polish helpers and at the same time suppressing the Israelis’ awarding is the central theme of this essay.