Politics
How Poland Is Losing Powerful Friends
A Holocaust law is just the latest action by the Warsaw government to upset its allies.
Far-right protesters hold a banner during a demonstration to support the law.
Photographer: Janek Skarzynski/AFP via Getty Images
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The protesters gathered outside the grand neo-classical presidential palace in Warsaw on a freezing Monday evening had a clear message for Andrzej Duda: don’t kowtow to Jews.
The following morning, Duda delivered what the government and far-right groups wanted. He signed legislation making it a criminal offense to suggest Poland was responsible for any role in the Holocaust, angering the U.S. and outraging Israel. The president declared his countrymen shouldn’t be “slandered” over Nazi atrocities on their soil.