HOLOCAUST LAW
Polish president apologises to Jews driven out 50 years ago
Andrzej Duda says his generation is not responsible, but seeks forgiveness for communist-era Poland's actions
Warsaw — Poland’s president apologised on Thursday to Jews chased out of the country 50 years ago during the communist regime’s anti-Semitic campaign, as Warsaw faces criticism over its new Holocaust law. "The free and independent Poland of today, my generation, is not responsible and does not need to apologise. But … to those who were driven out then … I’d like to say please forgive the republic, Poles, the Poland of that time for having carried out such a shameful act," Andrzej Duda said. The 50th anniversary of the anti-Semitic campaign, which caused at least 12,000 Jews to leave Poland, comes amid heightened tensions with Israel over Warsaw’s controversial new Holocaust law. Meant to defend Poland’s wartime image abroad, the law sets fines or up to three years in jail for anyone who ascribes Nazi German crimes to Poland. But Israel sees it as a bid to deny that certain Poles participated in the genocide of Jews during the Second World War, while the US has also expressed concern...
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