The Jewish Historical Institute and the 1968 antisemitic campaign in Poland

This article analyzes the relentless attacks on the Jewish Historical Institute (Zydowski Instytut Historyczny; ZIH) in Warsaw in 1967-1968 against the background of two narratives. The first narrative, focusing on the murder of Jews during the German occupation by Polish antisemites, was utilized by German revisionists connected with the Gottinger Arbeitskreis in order to assuage German guilt for the Holocaust. It operated in a manipulative manner, selectively choosing and distorting Jewish testimony and combining this with elements of Cold War-style anti-Communism. The second narrative was embraced by the nationalist faction of the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) and offered the myth of the Polish nation as heroic saviors of the Jews. It, too, was based on selectively chosen Jewish testimony, with the goal of whitewashing Poles of involvement in antisemitic violence. ZIH was caught in the middle, forced to defend itself against attacks coming from proponents of both narratives.