Statement on recent Russian attempts to rewrite history of the 2nd World War

Coalition of Polish Americans is very troubled by the array of recent statements by high Russian officials that aim to rewrite history, put blame for the outbreak of the 2^nd World War on Poland and hide the fact that Soviet Union was an ally of Nazi Germany when both countries ignominiously attacked Poland in September of 1939.

Subsequently, these two totalitarian states attacked much of continental Europe.  Soviet Union’s aggression did not end with helping Germany conquer Poland in September 1939, but later it also attacked Finland, Romania and the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The close economic and political cooperation between Nazi Germany and Soviet Union is well documented.  For example, England seriously considered bombing the Baku oil fields in spring of 1940 because Soviet oil from these fields was seen by the Allies as crucial for the German war effort against France and England.

The accusations of anti-Semitism against Poland is also a long-standing Soviet tradition. In 1946 the pogrom of Jews conveniently happened in Kielce, and was used to blame the local Poles, despite that Soviet Army units were stationing there and did nothing to help.  There are virtually no known examples of Jewish pogroms on Polish soil when Poland was under self-rule.  To the contrary, the two ethnic groups peacefully coexisted for centuries and Jews found save heaven in Poland when other European countries persecuted them.

In fact, this is also directly in contrast with the fate of Jews in Poland under Russian rule in 18th-20th centuries when pogroms happened frequently, often abated by the local Russian authorities.  For centuries Poland was the best place in Europe for the Jews to live.  We strongly protest the Russian attempts to blemish the Polish nation with accusations of anti-Semitism.

If Russia is sincerely planning to be regarded as a trustworthy member of the family of nations and cooperate peacefully with the world, it cannot reverse back to the Stalinist era propaganda.  We demand a retraction of the defamatory statements about Poland made recently by high Russian officials, including President Putin.

Respectfully,

Coalition of Polish Americans

December 28, 2019