Whitewash: Poland and the Jews

In Whitewash, Jan Grabowski brings to light the dangerous practice of Holocaust distortion through the lens of the Polish political landscape. Of the three million Polish Jews who found themselves under German occupation during World War Two, no more than 1 per cent survived the war. Poland was left with a singular burden: the responsibility to safeguard the memory of this immeasurable tragedy. Instead, Poland has emerged as a global leader in Holocaust denial and distortion, all in service of preserving the myth of an unblemished national identity.

Deeply personal and brutally honest, this extended analysis intertwines Grabowski’s experiences and those of his family in Poland with a sharp critique of the state’s long-standing policy of Holocaust distortion. Carried out over decades by successive political parties, this campaign has become a powerful unifying force in Polish society. To protect the narrative of “political innocence” during the Holocaust, Poland has enacted criminal and civil laws designed to silence independent scholars, including Grabowski, who was sued for defamation in Polish court. In Whitewash, Grabowski examines Holocaust envy, distortion, denial, and de-Judaization in a searing call to protect the integrity of Holocaust memory.

Whitewash effectively weaves together the history and politics of Holocaust distortion, grounding them in Grabowski’s own lived experience to underscore the immediate need for collective reckoning and action.

Jan Grabowski is a distinguished professor of history at the University of Ottawa and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.