Polish-Jewish Relations: 1,300 Keyword-Phrase-Indexed Book Reviews (by Jan Peczkis)

Holocaust Education in Polish Public Schools, by Boguslaw Milerski. 2010. Prospects: Quarterly Review of Comparative Education 40:115-132

Holocaust Narrative: The Standard Holocaust Messaging is Forced on Poland and Her Schools

The author is soft-spoken. But then he makes various revealing comments.

HOLOCAUST EDUCATION IS TOP-DOWN: HOLOCAUST SUPREMACISM IS PROMOTED INTERNATIONALLY

Milerski candidly writes, “In the Polish educational system, the Holocaust is a compulsory element of history teaching.” (p. 124). Also, “Poland has also adopted international approaches to teaching about the Holocaust.” (p. 125).” He adds that, “As a member of the European Union, Poland also respects decisions made by the Union, including the resolution the European Parliament adopted on 27 January 2005 on the Holocaust, anti-Semitism and racism. In 2005 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs published additional guidelines for teaching about the Holocaust developed by an international taskforce.” (p. 125).

That says it all. Holocaust education in Poland is not in accordance with Poland’s best interests. It is an imposition of foreign interests.

HOLOCAUST EDUCATION IN POLAND: AGGRESSIVELY PUSHING HOLOCAUST SUPREMACY

WARNING: The Holocaustspeak comes thick and fast:

Milerski comments, “The Holocaust was a singular and unique act of barbarism: the systematic slaughter of about 6 million European Jews. As an act of exceptional cruelty, it should be an irremovable part of the collective memory of the 20th century.” (p. 116).

What’s more, “The Holocaust was undoubtedly a series of events in which nearly 2.8 million Jews–Polish citizens–were killed. At the same time, however, the Holocaust is a unique act of barbarism against one specific nation, the Jews. Its understanding must not be reduced to a crime against the ‘Polish nation’.” (p. 123). When discussing the results of a survey, Milerski offers these remarks, “This result may indicate that the Holocaust is underestimated as a phenomenon that is fundamental and exceptional, not only to the Jewish nation, but also to the whole world.” (p. 127).

Quite a Judeocentric earful! The Holocaust supremacism is ostentatious to the point of vulgarity. Holocaust narrative expansive! No other genocide, other than the Jews’ Holocaust, can possibly be singular. Only the Holocaust is exceptional. What’s more, no non-Jewish genocide can possibly be as barbaric as the Jews’ Holocaust. No other genocide was ever directed against a specific nation. Even better, non-Jewish genocides are all local, commonplace events, having no significance to the world as a whole. Only the Jews’ Holocaust has this property. Is this racism, or what? To top it all off, Jewish and Polish victimhood cannot validly be juxtaposed with each other.

The message is loud and clear: The Holocaust sits squarely on the throne, and won’t share the throne with anybody else. Once again, Poles don’t count. And they are supposed to put up with this in their own schools!

The author repeats the canned argument on the planned annihilation of all Jews. (p. 129). This oft-repeated contention is, at best dubious. See:

https://www.jewsandpolesdatabase.org/2019/11/04/holocaust-supremacism-a-zero-sum-game-churchill/

HOLOCAUST EDUCATION ITSELF IS NOT ENOUGH: IT MUST ADHERE TO A SPECIFIC HOLOCAUST NARRATIVE

Author Milerski laments about how the Holocaust used to be taught in Poland, “During classes in history and Polish literature, students would learn in detail about the Nazis’ crimes. Almost every school in Poland would organize a school trip to war memorials. However, the extermination of the Jews would be presented as just one manifestation of the barbaric Nazi policy. The Holocaust was a subject of reflection, but it was not portrayed as something singular or unique, something that cannot be reduced to a historical event and educational topic. At that time the Holocaust was perceived as an element of the Nazi crimes against the Jews, who were a part of the Polish nation.” (p. 121).

To his credit, Milerski does not repeat the common canard, said in the West, about Poland initially ignoring Jewish deaths, or mixing-up Polish deaths and Jewish deaths. But that is not enough. Poland must not dare to teach the Holocaust in her own way! The Jews’ Holocaust must scrupulously remain absolute. Once again, Jewish victimhood and Polish victimhood cannot be juxtaposed. That is the legacy of Holocaust supremacism, and Poles suffer from it. Holocaust narrative expansive!