Holocaust historians suffer antisemitic abuse at conference

Protesters allegedly called researchers ‘dirty Jews’ and ‘traitors’ in latest intimidation of scholars who emphasise Polish role in the Holocaust

March 5, 2019
YouTube screenshot
YouTube screenshot of the disrupted conference in Paris

Polish historians of the Holocaust were allegedly called “dirty Jews” and “non-Poles” by nationalist protesters who disrupted an academic conference in Paris last week.

The protest is a further sign that Polish nationalists are seeking to intimidate historians whose work argues that Poles were complicit in the Holocaust.

This latest incident occurred on 21 and 22 February, when about two dozen protesters descended on a conference titled The New Polish School of Historical Research on the Shoah, which was hosted by the School of Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS) in Paris.

Olga Byrska, a researcher at EHESS and one of the organisers of the conference, said that the protesters had tried to “shout down and interrupt” invited historians, causing so much disruption that the second day overran by 90 minutes.

The protesters also “chased” the historians after their presentations, calling them “nasty Jews”, “vicious Jews” and “non-Poles”, she said. Protesters filmed the talks, and footage appeared shortly afterwards on a Polish television programme that described the conference as a “festival of anti-Polish lies”.

In the run-up to the event, organisers had received anonymous phone calls and emails containing antisemitic slurs, Ms Byrska said. Someone had even come in person to EHESS and demanded to talk to the organisers, she added.

EHESS has condemned the incident as an attack on freedom of thought and academic research, and the institution’s president is set to demand an explanation from the Polish embassy.

Ms Byrska said that some of the protesters were Poles living in Paris, while others had come from London and Poland. They appear to have been organised by “extreme right-wing” figures and groups, she said.

Jan Grabowski, a professor of history at the University of Ottawa, confirmed that upon leaving the conference he had been surrounded by demonstrators and called a “stinking dirty Jew”. During the lectures themselves, protesters had shouted that the historians were “traitors” and “communists”, he said. In 30 years, “I have never been exposed to anything close” to this incident, he added.

“Two or three years ago, it would never have happened,” Professor Grabowski continued. Recently, however, discourse in Poland had changed, and antisemitism was now far more prevalent, he said.

Many in Poland emphasise the role played by ordinary Poles in protecting Jews from the Holocaust, and also object to the use of the term “Polish death camps” to describe sites such as Auschwitz.

Along with other historians, Professor Grabowski has sought to question this “triumphalist” attitude in Poland, and scholars have documented incidents of betrayal and collaboration.

Jan Gross, a professor of history at Princeton University who also spoke at the conference, said that the protesters “had no scholarly qualifications or intent”.

Professor Gross, whose work has also explored Polish complicity in the Holocaust, said that at one point during a break a protester handed him a leaflet that purported to expose the “lies” in his research, including a condemnation of his work by a fabricated “uncle”.

The Pilecki Institute, a Warsaw-based research centre that focuses on totalitarianism, put out criticism of the conference on Twitter, accusing Professor Grabowski of making “controversial and outrageous statements”. It did not respond to a request from Times Higher Education for further comment.

Last year, the Warsaw government proposed a law that threatened jail for anyone who suggested that the Polish “state” or “nation” was complicit in the genocide, although it contained an exemption for academic work, and the criminal aspect of the law was dropped after an international outcry.

david.matthews@timeshighereducation.com

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Print headline: Historians suffer antisemitic slurs

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Reader's comments (10)

When Europe shamefully kept silent, it was Poland who spoke up for their co-citizens, the Jews. While well-grounded and fair research is necessary into what happenned in a country under German and Soviet occupation, there can be no excuse for twisted and one-sided views, the kind of which were presented in Paris.
Yelling abuse has no place in academia: if these individuals feel that Poland is being misrepresented they need to do their own research and present it to the rest of the world.
I remember Jedwabne. Innocent Poles indeed. This sort of right-wing propaganda, such as complete Polish innocence, is very dangerous.
Neither wholesale innocence nor wholesale complicity can ever fit the known nature of man in such a historical event as the holocaust. There is bound to be sizable enough numbers on either side and any research is worthwhile only to the extent it gives an idea of the relative sizes.... but BTW must history continue to dwell in and around Pandora boxes ? Basil jide fadipe . Justin fadipe Centre.
The protesters, like those they attack, were all born empty of thought. They, again like those they attack, were taught by others who profit in whatever manner. And, without coincidence, the vast majority on both sides of this senseless debate are men who get paid to deliver the same invented message of death and destruction they have for millenia and we, poor saps, still accept and most often pay for it with our tax dollars. Irrational belief, rather than money, is the root of all evil. What about this is so hard to understand?
The protesters, like those they attack, were all born empty of thought. They, again like those they attack, were taught by others who profit in whatever manner. And, without coincidence, the vast majority on both sides of this senseless debate are men who get paid to deliver the same invented message of death and destruction they have for millenia and we, poor saps, still accept and most often pay for it with our tax dollars. Irrational belief, rather than money, is the root of all evil. What about this is so hard to understand?
Ian Macfarlane, Everything you say is hard to understand. Not much sense either, I'm afraid.
PROBLEM. The story is FAKE NEWS. Recordings made of the talks reveal no such anti-Semitic abuse took place. These recordings also reveal the "conference" theme was anti-Polish. The speakers known for being controversial and for engaging tendentious "research" which remains UNSUPPORTED by factual evidence or recognised research. Grabowski always attacks anyone who dares question his "work" whilst refusing to explain his manipulation of Datner's research. Gross got the number of victims wrong by a factor of nearly 4.5 and yet his book (not a scientific paper subject to peer review) is treated as sacrosanct. Those facts should set alarm bells ringing. The "conference" did not allow any debate. Microphones were removed from (or not given to) people asking awkward questions. Filming of the proceedings was banned. Is this how knowledge advances - through censorship. Unscientifically, several speakers attacked the Polish government (the same government that funds some of their institutions) giving the conference a political dimension. Again, not very scientific or academic. But, people believe any old rubbish they read and make ignorant and ill-informed comments about both the "conference" and the history.
It is no surprise history is under attack everywhere . This will continue until historians recognize their discipline suffers from an apparent inability to reach any reasonably broad agreement among historians about past events. Histories should have very wide authorship (about events , not causes) in order to minimize the possibility they will be regarded as mere propaganda. Until then history is simply "narrative" having no more function than fiction.
It is no surprise history is under attack everywhere . This will continue until historians recognize their discipline suffers from an apparent inability to reach any reasonably broad agreement among historians about past events. Histories should have very wide authorship (about events , not causes) in order to minimize the possibility they will be regarded as mere propaganda. Until then history is simply "narrative" having no more function than fiction.

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