We need to talk
A new law in Poland, threatening to jail those who imply the country had a role in the Holocaust, will likely have a wider chilling effect on free expression.
The law, signed by Polish President Andrzej Duda, makes it a crime punishable by up to three years imprisonment to claim that the Republic of Poland or the Polish nation was responsible for, or participated in, Nazi crimes during the Second World War.
Under the law, the Institute of National Remembrance, a state body tasked with establishing an official historical narrative and prosecuting Nazi and Communist-era crimes, will now also be able to claim compensation from anyone “damaging the reputation” of Poland.
How very Turkish. Turkey throws people in jail for “insulting Turkishness” by talking about the Armenian genocide.
Duda is consulting with the Constitutional Court.
Some observers worry that the Polish government’s motivation goes beyond solely trying to suppress discussion about Poland’s role in crimes committed in the Second World War. Critics argue the government may be able to use the civil remedies in the law to curb broader public criticism of its track record.
While the use of the term “Polish death camps” may obscure the responsibility of the Nazis for those camps on Polish soil, the government has failed to convincingly prove that the harsh measures under the law are necessary to prevent the “falsification of Polish history” and of “slandering” Poles.
Laws that criminalize historical discussion – whether denial of, or responsibility for, genocide – have a chilling effect on free expression even if no one is prosecuted under them.
Imagine a US law making it a crime to talk about the Japanese internments in WW2 or Jim Crow laws or slavery or the genocide of Native Americans…my we have a lot to talk about, don’t we. Imagine a UK law making it a crime to talk about The Empire or the Irish famine or the Amritsar massacre. Imagine it and then say No.
Don’t dismiss the possibility, Ophelia. Remember, we have a president who believes it is treason not to clap when he speaks. That is even less of a thing than speaking against him. If he were to get his way, he might make such things a crime, but he would focus mostly, I am sure, on his own precious self, on Dear Leader.
The question is, could he get enough in Congress to go along that Mike Pence could cast the deciding vote? I’m pretty sure that would be a hard sell for Collins, and probably for McCain. But we’ve been degrading the freedoms of the people for so long now (in the guise of protecting our freedoms) that I wouldn’t rule it out.