Poland's president says he will sign a controversial Holocaust bill, despite criticism from Israel and the US.
ADVERTISEMENT'Poland is not complicit in the atrocities of the Holocaust': that’s the message from the nation’s President Andrzej Duda who says he will sign a controversial bill on the matter.
The measure will see prison sentences of up to three years imposed for the use of the term “Polish death camps” and a ban on most Holocaust accusations against Poles.
"The Polish state - which did not exist at the time of the Holocaust - and Polish institutions did not take part in the German industry of destruction. Polish institutions did not collaborate with Germans. In many countries, there were governments that supported Nazis, in many countries there were puppet governments appointed by Nazi Germany. No such situation happened in Poland. Poland struggled against Germany", he said.
Poland’s right-wing government argues the new law will be necessary to protect its citizens’ reputation. However, both Israel and the US have criticised it.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested it was an attempt to rewrite history.
"We will under no circumstances accept any attempt to rewrite history", he told his cabinet.