Warsaw court ruled that German newspaper “Frankfurter Rundschau” has to apologise to Maciej Świrski, the head of the Polish League Against Defamation.
Mr Świrski sued the newspaper for its publication about the Polish history policy from June 2017, which – as “Frankfurter Rundschau” wrote – aimed to “present the Holocaust as an entirely German deed.”
The head of the Polish League Against Defamation argued in his lawsuit that presenting alleged complicity of Poland in the extermination of Jews is “violation of his national identity, heritage and good name of a Pole.”
The court ruled that “an average reader of the article could infer that Poles as a nation and Poland as a country took part in the Holocaust.” The verdict states that “Maciej Świrski, due to this social activities, profession and life experiences, has a right to demand an apology.
The Polish League Against Defamation wrote in a press release that the verdict is “groundbreaking.”
“On June 16, 2017, in an article ‘Right-wing reversing history in Auschwitz’ published on the website of “Frankfurter Rundschau”, there were untrue reports that the aim of Polish history policy is ‘to present the Extermination of Jews as a purely German deed – without Poland’s participation’.”
The court ruled that the newspaper has to publish the apology on its website for the period of one week. The ruling is not yet final.
The Polish League Against Defamation is pursuing around a dozen cases in which they demand apologies for insulting Poles by untrue statements, allegations and accusations.
In German: Sensationelles Urteil des Landgerichts in Warschau
