On the momentous occasion of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of KL Auschwitz, an essential dialogue took place at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw. The international conference, titled “Denial, Distortion, and Misinformation: The Truth About the Holocaust 80 Years After the Liberation of KL Auschwitz,” brought together over 200 participants, including state representatives, international organizations (EU Commission, UN, OSCE), and leading scholars to address the critical issues of Holocaust denial and distortion.
Speaking on a panel devoted to the use of law and legal instruments to counter Holocaust denial and other forms of antisemitism, IJL President Adv. Meir Linzen emphasized the personal and collective stakes of Holocaust denial, stating:
“Holocaust denial, beyond its legal implications, is also an identity-harming phenomenon. To deny that numerous members of my closest family were murdered by the Nazis, to deny the fact that my mother was in Auschwitz, is to deny my identity.”
The panel, moderated by Prof. Aleksandra Gliszczyńska-Grabias, a member of the IJL Board, featured distinguished speakers, including Prof. Angelika Nussberger (Venice Commission), Yfat Barak-Cheney (World Jewish Congress) and Prof. Michał Balcerzak (UN CERD Committee).
This conference, organized by the Polish Ministry of Justice in partnership with the Institute of Law Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, and the POLIN Museum, served as a powerful reminder of the ongoing need to safeguard truth and justice in our collective memory.
You can watch the full discussion and gain deeper insights into the panel’s deliberations here (in Polish):