Battle for the Narrative: The War between Russia and Poland on World War II Remembrance

The West redefined the spotlight on the Soviet Union's role in the Nazi invasion of its neighbor, and Putin blamed Warsaw. Poland, for its part, believes that Russia's campaign is preventing its willingness to weaken its influence in the EU. Now, the controversy could overshadow the memorial ceremonies: "The past serves politics"

Battle for the Narrative: The War between Russia and Poland on World War II Remembrance

In the coming days, world leaders will gather twice to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Extermination Camp, the most notorious Nazi extermination camp. One ceremony was held Thursday in Jerusalem, and a competing ceremony will take place in the camp itself in southern Poland this Monday.

The two separate events show how political the issue of World War II remains, with nationalist governments in Russia and Poland trying to exploit their narrative for political needs. The dispute between the states could overshadow the memorial ceremonies attended by leaders and survivors and the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust.

More in Walla! NEWS

World leaders at Yad Vashem World Holocaust Forum (Photo: Reuters)

World Holocaust Forum, Yad Vashem, January 23, 2020 (Photo: Reuters)

"I'm afraid it doesn't help the memory of the Holocaust," said Dariusz Stola, a Polish historian and former director of the Museum of Polish Jewish History. He said such memorial ceremonies should be a moment when "the present serves the past." However, he told the Associated Press that "the past now serves the goals of contemporary politics."

At a dinner hosted by President Reuben Rivlin last night at his residence in Jerusalem, he called on world leaders to "leave history to historians." He stressed: "The role of political leaders, of us all, is to shape the future."

The question of guilt

The Soviet Union liberated Auschwitz on January 27, 1945, but it also signed a non-attack agreement with Nazi Germany shortly before the war began in 1939, in what is known as the Molotov-Riventrop Treaty. It included a secret annex, in which the two dictators agreed to divide Eastern Europe between them.

Two years later, Adolf Hitler turned against Soviet leader Yosef Stalin and invaded the Soviet Union, forcing her to join the Allied ranks in the war. Millions of Red Army soldiers were killed in the war against Nazi Germany, until its surrender.

Recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to blame the outbreak of the war on Poland, because of anger in Russia that historical memory in the West began to focus more on the role of the Soviet Union in the outbreak of war and less on its role in defeating the Nazis.

The Holocaust Forum's Main Ceremony: "Standing Together For Unforgetable"

Fury in Poland. Putin, today (Photo: Amos Ben Gershom, GPO)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the inauguration ceremony in Jerusalem in memory of the Leningrad siege. January 23, 2020 (Photo: Amos Ben Gershom, Government Press Office)

The Russian campaign boils down to the Polish government, which believes Putin's main motive is to weaken Warsaw's influence in the EU. Poland is one of the most prominent supporters of the subsequent sanctions imposed on Moscow for the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine, and it opposes a Russian gas pipeline project in Europe. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Murawicki blames Putin for lying to divert attention from his political failures, such as removing Russian athletes for drug use.

At the same time, Poland itself is increasingly criticized for trying to reduce the share of its citizens in assisting Nazis in the murder of Jews. Putin and other Russian officials claim that Poland, conquered in 1939 by German and Soviet forces, is to blame for the opening of the war. Western historians see these accusations as a cynical attempt to minimize Soviet war, at a time when Moscow seeks to glorify the "Great Patriotic War," known as World War II in Russia, and, more generally, the Stalinist era, which included mass killings of Eastern regime opponents and enforced tyranny. Decades of Communist rule.

In recent days, the Polish government has defended the nation's history, reminiscent of how its government in exile during the war tried to save Jews, citing the cultural and economic damage suffered by Poland after Soviet forces seized its territory at the end of World War II.

Thousands march in Warsaw against US pressure to reimburse Holocaust victims, 2019 (Photo: Reuters)

Thousands take part in extreme right march in Warsaw, Poland's capital against US pressure to reimburse Holocaust victims on May 11, 2019 (Photo: Reuters)

Israel hoped to present a united front in commemoration of the annihilation of European Jewry and to warn of the dangers of modern anti-Semitism by attracting dozens of world leaders to the World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem. Instead, Polish President Andrzej Aunty boycotted the event at Yad Vashem because, unlike Putin, he was not invited to speak. Putin, for his part, was not invited to the ceremony in Auschwitz.

In addition, Lithuanian President Gitana Naosda canceled his participation in the event on Tuesday, two days before his scheduled arrival. His office said he was busy with the Davos Economic Forum and that the Lithuanian parliamentary representative represented the government in Jerusalem. However, the Lithuanian government expressed solidarity with Poland last week and said it would cooperate with Warsaw against Russia's "lies." Naosada will attend the ceremony next week in Auschwitz Led by Duda.

Boycott the event at Yad Vashem. Aunt (Photo: AP)

Polish President Andrzej Aunt during a Vilna massacre, Lithuania, November 21, 2019 (Photo: AP)

Israel said it did not propose to Auntie to make a speech because his country, whose soldiers fought the Germans at home and on other fronts, was not among the liberating countries in World War II. She also said that the German president was given permission to speak to take responsibility for the Nazi crimes.

However, the deeper explanation seems to lie in Israel's sensitive relationship with Russia. The event in Jerusalem was organized by Moshe Kantor, President of the European Jewish Congress and an oligarch close to Putin. In addition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs good relations with Russia because of Israel's fear of Iran's presence in Syria, and also hopes that Russian President will release Naama Issachar imprisoned in Russia for drug offenses - a development that will be an achievement for Netanyahu before the March 2 election.

During Putin's visit, Netanyahu inaugurated a monument in memory of the Nazi siege that lasted nearly 900 days on Leningrad, St. Petersburg today. She is Putin's hometown.

The storm of Polish law

Relations between Israel and Poland have remained in crisis since the approval of controversial Polish law in 2018, according to which the accusation of Poland in the Holocaust is a criminal offense. The legislation is part of widespread efforts in Warsaw to introduce the Poles first of all as rescuing Jews during World War II, and an attempt to silence the fact that there were Poles who spurred the Germans to persecute and murder Jews.

Jan Grabowski, a Polish-Canadian historian at the University of Ottawa, recently argued that Putin "cynically distorts history", but added that Polish authorities "for years distorted history, lost all credibility and legitimacy to argue the issue."

The introduction of politics into this weighty issue is troubling historians and Holocaust survivors. But Yad Vashem historian Robert Rosette said he hopes the image of more than 45 world leaders who come together to commemorate the Holocaust will help transcend what he described as "unfortunate background noise." "Using history for all sorts of things is part of the world today, and we as historians are protesting against it. However, if we were to wait for all the stars to work out and everyone to be in one opinion, we would never be able to hold this kind of event."