How do the Poles face their recent history with the Jews, particularly during World War II?
A — [To] whatever extent Poles collaborated with the Nazi occupation, and we’ve had a huge discussion with [Polish authorities on] how many people collaborated, whatever the number is, most people think it’s much smaller than it was. So the popular belief is that very few Poles collaborated; therefore, trying to wipe out the memory of Poles’ collaboration [comes] only after the realization that it existed. You can only deny something if you believe in it. Q — Can you tell me how you and other Jewish leaders are working to preserve Jewish heritage in Poland? A — There’s a lot of multi-tasking and multi-level work that goes on when it comes to preserving Jewish heritage in Poland. The first challenge for the Jewish community is to reach out to those who have Jewish roots. It’s not about preservation of buildings. It’s not just about preservation of a culture. But it is about reaching out to the people who haven’t had the chance to learn about their Jewish heritage for 50 years. That’s
