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Unite against Holocaust denial, Ezra Cappell says
On a summer day in 1941, a massacre took place in Jedwabne, Poland. The story of the brutal murder of Jedwabne’s Jewish inhabitants by their Polish neighbors is powerfully told by Jan Gross in his 2001 book, "Neighbors." The publication of Gross’ book led to a major effort by Poland to uncover its complicated history during the Holocaust. Since the publication of the book, Poland has been a leader in Europe in confronting its own difficult and dark past during the Nazi era.
Next month, I will take a group of University of Texas at El Paso students to Germany and Poland as part of an educational travel course titled, "Confronting the Holocaust in Germany and Poland."
Last year, while in Krakow, Poland, our UTEP students met with a Polish Catholic woman, Mirosława Gruszczyńska, who as a young girl risked her own life and the lives of her extended family to hide her Jewish friend, Anna Allerhand, in their home, thereby saving her young life.
Our UTEP students, so moved by Gruszczyńska’s story of bravery and selflessness, asked her: “How did you find the courage to take on this risk?”
Gruszczyńska responded: “It wasn’t courageous at all. I just did what was necessary. How could I not help my friend whose life was imperiled?”
The story of Polish-Jewish relations stretch back over a thousand years and it is as complicated as any long-term relationship can be. It is a deeply important story that needs to be told by historians and writers. Yet today a law is being debated in Poland to outlaw any mention of Polish complicity in the crimes of the Holocaust. The law reads in part: “Whoever accuses, publicly and against the facts, the Polish nation, or the Polish state, of being responsible or complicit in the Nazi crimes committed by the Third German Reich … shall be subject to a fine or a penalty of imprisonment of up to three years.”
I believe this law will have a chilling effect on the important work of journalists and historians trying to uncover the truth of what occurred in Poland during the Holocaust. As was made evident during the events last summer in Charlottesville, Va., this isn’t just a European issue: There is clearly a rising tide of Holocaust denial occurring in the United States as well.
That is why UTEP’s Inter-American Jewish Studies Program has partnered with the El Paso Holocaust Museum and Study Center to bring world-renowned Holocaust historian Dr. Deborah Lipstadt to UTEP. We invite the entire community to come to UTEP to participate in a two-part event, "Confronting Holocaust Denial," featuring Lipstadt and a screening of the 2016 motion picture, "Denial," based on the successful legal battle Lipstadt fought against notorious Holocaust denier David Irving. In her 1993 book, "Denying the Holocaust," Lipstadt had this to say about Irving: “He is one of the most dangerous spokespersons for Holocaust denial. Familiar with historical evidence, he bends it until it conforms with his ideological leanings and political agenda” ("Denying the Holocaust," p. 181).
I urge you to come out to the UTEP campus and take a stand against Holocaust denial. The showing of "Denial" is scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday in UTEP’s Undergraduate Learning Center, Room 106, followed by Lipstadt’s lecture at 7 p.m. Parking will be free in the Sun Bowl Garage after 4 p.m. This event is made possible by grants from the Jewish Community Foundation of El Paso and the Jewish Federation of Greater El Paso.
We look forward to welcoming you to the UTEP campus Thursday evening.
Ezra Cappell, Ph.D., is an associate professor of English and the director of the Inter-American Jewish Studies Program at the University of Texas at El Paso.