Open letter in defense of Prof. Krzysztof Jasiewicz

The interview given by Prof. Krzysztof Jasiewicz of the Polish Academy of Sciences to the magazine "Focus Historia" (No. 2/2013), concerning Jewish collaboration with the Soviet occupiers after September 17, 1939, and their attitude toward Poles, has caused a significant stir. The scientist is accused of anti-Semitism, and parts of the academic community are distancing themselves from his views. His superior at the PAN compares this statement to the content published in the Third Reich.
Even a superficial knowledge of the realities of Soviet occupation of Polish lands in 1939-1941 allows one to responsibly state that Professor Jasiewicz is simply writing the truth. Jewish collaboration was massive and did not only involve self-declared communists, who were indeed a minority. On the side of Soviet power, masses of ordinary Jews who were not previously associated with communists stood, which allows us to infer that their option was an expression of a kind of "ethnic policy", enabling the realization of their own goals under the guise of Sovietism. Regardless of motivation, the anti-Polish cooperation between Jews and the Soviets had a mass character - and, given their knowledge of the terrain and local relations, it was extremely significant. The deportations of the Polish population and mass arrests and extermination of elites were, of course, organized by Soviet authorities, but the role of Jews as informants, members of Soviet militia, or lower-ranking officials in the occupying apparatus is widely noticeable in sources and obvious to anyone interested in this topic. Cases of Jews loyal to the Republic of Poland, in which they enjoyed civil rights, did exist, but they did not define the general image of the situation.
This reality, and not any prejudices, determined the attitude of the Polish population (but also Belarusian, Lithuanian, or Ukrainian) in the area under discussion towards Jews, who were universally perceived as allies of the genocidal communist regime. The local population's attitude towards them during German occupation resulted from the experiences of Soviet occupation, and under the described conditions, it could not have been different from what it was.
We remind people of these obvious truths because in recent years we have been dealing with the systematic distortion of many pages of our history in order to create an unjust sense of guilt through the pedagogy of shame. Unfortunately, even Poles are involved in this - either blindly believing in European internationalism or being cynical careerists. In spite of their efforts, lies will always be lies, even if they are repeated a million times.
The greater the respect is due to historians who are not afraid to remind the truth, even when it hurts the eyes of influential lobbyists. And yet the Jewish lobby is one of the most influential within Western civilization.
The statement discussed beyond the reference to facts also contained an opinion - namely that dialogue with the Jewish side is senseless (at least for now) because they understand it not as an exchange of arguments, but as our surrender to their imagined grievances. In our view, this is a valid opinion, as all the information reaching the Polish public opinion in this matter testifies to it. It is the Jewish side that should now prove that such dialogue makes sense - by, for example, stopping the flood of anti-Polish statements flowing for years from media directed by Jews in the USA and academic centers in this country. Or by stopping the defense of communist war criminals who have Polish blood on their hands, for whom the alleged accusation of anti-Semitism was just a curtain allowing them to escape criminal responsibility.
We view the attack on Prof. Jasiewicz as an attempt to silence not only one scholar but also potential followers. This is an attempt to introduce censorship through backdoors, which a free nation should not allow.

ZG of the Association for Tradition and Culture "Niklot"
W-wa 9 IV 2013