In our opinion,  the regulations introduced at the beginning of this year and repealed on 28 June 2018 could result in restricting the freedom of speech, the freedom of academic research, the testimony and remembrance of the Holocaust. Criminal liability could have been imposed on people who shared their wartime experiences or family stories, journalists writing about them or scientists exploring the issue.

For these reasons,  we have received the current changes with relief and with the hope that they will contribute to the further improvement of Polish-Jewish relations. We are happy that the vast majority of the members of the Polish Parliament voted for this change. We hope that a calm, balanced and substantive debate about the common past will allow us to build bridges between our nations while not undermining  those we have already built.

Union of Jewish Communities in Poland

Jewish Community of Warsaw

Chief Rabbi of Poland Michael Schudrich