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Holocaust survivors from Haifa, who live in the hot house of Yad Ezer Chevre, demonstrated today, Thursday, 08/02/2018, in front of the Polish Embassy in Tel Aviv. The demonstrators protested against the Polish government, which passed a law denying the Polish people's involvement and responsibility for the murder of Polish Jews during World War II.
Shimon Sebag, CEO and founder of "Yad Ezer Heber", said today to Lahi Fe:
As I remember, about 3.4 million Jews, who lived in Poland, were murdered by the Germans and with the (very) active cooperation of the Polish people. That is, over half of the number of Jews murdered in the Holocaust were Poles. The land of Poland is saturated with Jewish blood. The Polish law is a serious act by the Polish government against the memory of the Holocaust, Sebag added.
| Watch a video from the demonstration:
| The parliament in Warsaw denies Polish collaboration in the murder
The parliament in Warsaw tonight approved the "Polish Extermination Camps Law", which prohibits the claim that the Polish people were involved in the crimes of the Nazis.
| The Holocaust survivors' protest will expand:
Already today, a protest tent will be set up in front of the Polish embassy and in front of the charity center of the Yad Ezer association, where Holocaust survivors and other citizens will be able to sign a petition calling on the Poles to repeal the law. "We are here to express our protest and we promise that it will not be silent" concluded Shimon Sabeg. Dozens of media from Israel and the world came to cover the event. Two Polish diplomats tried to calm the spirits, but when they left, one of the survivors was heard screaming. "You made soap out of us in three colors. Shame on you!!!! Now you say you are not responsible. You made soap out of us!!!!".
| The language of the Polish law - Hebrew translation:
For the first time in Hebrew, a full translation of the law and its explanatory notes - section a 55 of the "National Memorial Institute - IPN" law:
Whoever attributes to the Polish people or the Polish state, publicly and contrary to the facts, responsibility or complicity in responsibility, for the Nazi crimes committed by the Third Reich, as defined in the International Military Tribunal Convention in the Annex to the International Understandings Regarding the Persecution and Punishment of the Principal War Criminals from the Axis Countries in Europe, signed in London on August 8, 1945 (London Convention - Law Journal of 1947, Article 367), or for other crimes against peace, against humanity or war crimes, or blatantly reduces the responsibility of the real perpetrators of these crimes, is liable to a fine or imprisonment for up to 3 years. The verdict will be made public.
If the perpetrator of the acts specified in section 1 acted without prior intention, he is likely to be fined or have his freedom restricted.
Whoever committed the acts defined in sections 1 and 2 as part of his artistic or scientific activity will not be considered a criminal.
reasoning
For many years we have been encountering in the public sphere, in Poland and abroad, terms such as "Polish death camps", "Polish extermination camps" or "Polish concentration camps". More than once these terms are used again and again by the same people, they appear in the same radio and television stations. There are also publications or programs that knowingly distort history, especially the most recent one.
There is no doubt that expressions of this kind, expressions that contradict the historical truth, bring significant results and directly harm the good name of the Polish state and the Polish nation. They have a negative impact on the country's image, especially outside its borders, because they give the recipients the impression that the responsibility for the crimes of the German Third Reich rests with the Polish people and the Polish state.
Accumulated experience shows that Polish citizens, even those outside its borders, as well as non-governmental organizations react to statements of this kind. Mainly they usually report such cases to state bodies in anticipation of taking quick and effective steps to correct this incorrect information, which is not based on historical truth, but penetrates the public sphere. They are also trying to take legal action against people and institutions that published this type of content. These actions were mostly ineffective, not only due to the lack of financial means but also due to legal obstacles.
The practice in such cases was to resort to pure diplomatic intervention only, that is, the submission of letters of protest by the Polish ambassadors. It should be noted that as a result of this diplomatic activity, certain publications and news agencies have committed to no longer use definitions such as "Polish camps". However, in a broader view, it seems that this diplomatic activity is not enough. Statements that indicate the participation, organization or responsibility of the Polish people and the Polish state for the crimes of the German Third Reich still appear in the public discourse, which provokes justified protests in the Polish public opinion.
In this state of affairs, effective legal tools must be created that will allow the Polish authorities to conduct a strong and consistent historical policy against the falsification of Polish history and to preserve the good image of the Polish Republic and the Polish nation.
In light of the above and within the framework of the protective measures provided by the criminal law, it is hereby proposed to add a new section to the law of December 18, 1998 - "The Institute of National Remembrance - The Committee for the Prosecution of Crimes Against the Polish People" (Diary of Laws from 2016, entry 152 with later changes) (hereinafter "The Institute of Remembrance" national"). The proposed section, to be designated a55, would introduce a new type of offense whose main purpose is to attribute to the Polish nation or the Polish state, publicly and contrary to the facts, responsibility or shared responsibility for the Nazi crimes committed by the German Third Reich.
These are crimes as defined in Article 6 of the "Convention of the International Military Tribunal" annexed to the "International Understanding Regarding the Persecution and Punishment of Major War Criminals from the Axis Powers in Europe", signed in London on August 8, 1945, or other crimes that harm peace, humanity and war crimes, or The little one is blatant in another way on the part of the real culprits of these crimes.
The idea of punishment for behavior defined in the proposed article 55 a derives from the fruits of the legal work of the European Union - Council Framework Decision 2008/913 of November 28, 2008 regarding the fight against certain forms and phenomena of racism and xenophobia through the criminal law (UE L of December 6.12.2008, 55, p. 2008; hereinafter "framework decision 913/XNUMX).
According to Article 1 subsection 1d of this resolution, the member states must ensure punishment for intentional acts that are a public approval, negation or significant reduction of the crimes defined in Article 6 of the Convention of the International Military Tribunal annexed to the "International Understanding Regarding the Persecution and Punishment of the Principal Criminals of the Axis Countries the European" signed in London on August 8, 1945, subject to the jurisdiction of the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg.
According to Article 6 of the Charter of the International Military Tribunal, the crimes in question are: crimes against peace, which include planning, preparing, initiating or conducting an aggressive war or a war that is a violation of agreements, understandings or international guarantees, or participating in planning or plotting to commit one of the above acts ; War crimes, namely: violation of laws and practices of wartime which will include, but not be limited to, murder, ill-treatment or deportation to forced labor or for any other purpose of civilians in occupied territory or such territory, murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war or seafarers; murder of hostages; Looting of public or private property; Casual destruction of neighborhoods, cities or villages or destruction not required by the war; Crimes against humanity, namely: murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation and other inhumane acts against any civilian population before or during a war, or political, racial or religious persecution while committing crimes included in the jurisdiction of the court or related to its jurisdiction, regardless of whether the acts were are defined as a crime in the country where they were committed or not.
The proposed section 55a will be a functional complement to the implementation within the Polish procedure of that framework decision 2008/913. This section also fulfills the general objectives of the proposed law, since in the proposer's opinion, statements that distort historical facts related, for example, to mass crimes in concentration camps distort the true nature of such events and thus constitute acts whose content corresponds to the discussed section of the framework resolution 2008/913. Misleading public statements regarding the true nature of criminal acts while attributing responsibility for such acts to the citizens of another country reflect on the perception of these acts by the recipients while distorting their true nature and scope of historical facts and while reducing the responsibility of the real perpetrators of these acts.
Liability under proposed Article 55a would also apply to other statements that blatantly reduce the responsibility of the actual perpetrators, for example those that radically minimize the intent or scope of the crimes referred to.
In order to maintain the cohesion of the legal system, the proposed section 55a refers to the terminology appearing in section 55 of the "National Memorial Institute" law, which also defines "public and contrary to facts" activity.
The punishments proposed in section 55a are a fine or three years in prison and they correspond to the degree of public damage of this offense and correspond to what is accepted today within the framework of punishment for acts of a similar nature, especially in section 55 of the "Institute of National Remembrance" law and section 133 of the criminal procedure.
However, as part of the expected punishments, an alternative punishment is also proposed - a fine - which not only guarantees the court greater flexibility in sentencing, but also fulfills one of the important goals of the proposed law, which is that the sentence will cause the offender real distress, and such a role should be fulfilled First of all, financial responsibility in the broadest sense (also within the protection measures of the criminal law).
It should be added that the penalties indicated in the proposed section 55a - fine or imprisonment - are not the only choices available to the court in case of guilt. As in any criminal procedure, in this case too the court has at its disposal a wide range of tools, which allow the defendant to take less severe punishment measures. For example, if the conditions in the law have been met, the court can sentence the defendant to a sentence of restriction of freedom instead of a prison sentence (Article 37a of the Code of Criminal Procedure), waive the imposition of a sentence (Article 59 of the Code of Criminal Procedure) or impose a suspended sentence (Article 66 of the Code of Criminal Procedure ).
In subsection 2 of section 55a it is proposed to increase the criminal scope for similar acts that are done without prior intention. The duty to maintain the necessary caution in these cases as well as the threat of consequences for using false claims determine the appropriate standards for publications both in the media and in scientific publications.
A fine or restriction of freedom for a prohibited act defined in subsection 2 of the proposed section 55a corresponds to the degree of public damage of such an offense and is in line with the punishments expected for acts described in subsection 1 of section 55a. As in the case of 55a, subsection 1, here too the court will be able to activate the mechanisms that appear in the order of procedure in order to give a lenient sentence.
The addition of an offense not intended first is essential for the effective implementation of the principles of protection according to the civil law in the proposed sections 53o -53r of the "National Memorial Institute" law. Jurisdiction in these matters will be defined first and foremost according to European Parliament and Council of Europe Regulations No. 1215/2012 of December 12, 2012 regarding jurisdiction and recognition of court decisions and their execution in civil and commercial matters. According to section 7, subsection 3 of this regulation, a person residing in the territory of a member state can be prosecuted in another member state in matters relating to claims within the framework of the civil law demanding compensation or restoration of the situation to normal, arising from an act for which punishment is expected before a court where the indictment was filed, if a This court may, according to the law in force in this country, hear claims within the framework of civil law.
Regarding the execution of fines imposed on those found guilty of the acts specified in section 55a of the law, subsections 1 and 2, it should be noted that the criminal law instruments of the European Union guarantee broad possibilities for the collection of interstate fines imposed on citizens of another member state (framework decision 2005/214 of 24 in February 2005 regarding mutual recognition of financial penalties).
In section 55a subsection 3 of the "National Memorial Institute" law, a regulation is proposed that excludes criminal liability when the person who committed an act defined in subsections 1 and 2 did so as part of an artistic or scientific activity. The legal structure proposed here largely accepts the solution that now appears in Article 256 § 3 of the Criminal Procedure Code regarding perpetrators of the public offense of spreading a fascist or other totalitarian regime or calling for hatred due to national, ethnic or racial, religious or non-religious differences (Articles 256 § 1 and 2 of the criminal procedure). Contrary to Article 256 § 3 of the Criminal Procedure Code, Article 55a subsection 2 proposed here contains no reference to collecting or educational activities. In the case of collecting activity, the assumption is that the nature of the prohibited acts appearing in sub-sections 1 and 2 of section 55a negates the very possibility of these offenses while managing a collecting activity. Educational activity presupposes, on the other hand, the faithful performance of tasks related to the fulfillment of didactic-educational roles that include the transfer of knowledge about concrete historical events. Therefore, the possibility of excluding criminal responsibility in the event that the offender conducts an educational activity would be in clear contradiction with the basic goals of education and science, i.e. ensuring adequate education and training
- So much for the language of the Polish law -
Photos from the demonstration
