Poland's Senate approves controversial Holocaust bill, clearing it for presidential signature

Poland criminalizes some Holocaust speech

(Image credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

published 1 February 2018

Disregarding objections from the U.S. and Israel, Poland's Senate passed a controversial bill on Thursday that criminalizes some speech about the Holocaust, setting jail sentences of up to three years for people who falsely attribute Nazi crimes during World War II to Poland or Polish people. The 57-23 vote sends the bill to President Andrzej Duda, who says he will sign it. Poland's conservative Law and Justice Party proposed the measure, saying it will defend Poland's good name; Israel says it is an attempt to whitewash the role some Poles played in the mass murder of Jews during the Holocaust.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.