POLIN Museum Statement on Media Campaign Against Prof. Barbara Engelking

Redakcja, 10 May 2023

Barbara Engelking – a humanities professor, psychologist and sociologist, co-founder and Director of the Centre for Holocaust Research at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Chair of the International Auschwitz Council (2014–2018). Curator (together with Prof. Jacek Leociak) of the “Holocaust Gallery” of POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews Core Exhibition, curator (together with Zuzanną Schnepf-Kołacz) of the temporary exhibition “Around Us a Sea of Fire – the Fate of Jewish Civilians During the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising”. She is the author of historical studies published on the Polish Righteous portal, e.g., on the attitudes of Poles towards the uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto. In connection with the media campaign against Prof. B. Engelking, we publish here a statement by the management of POLIN Museum and the Board of the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute in Poland.

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On 19th April, Professor Barbara Engelking gave an interview about the situation of Jewish civilians during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Answering questions, thoughtfully and with great empathy she outlined a panorama of the fate and experiences of Polish Jews who, deprived of any hope for survival and isolated, fought against the hell prepared for them by their German tormentors. Professor Engelking stressed, among other things, the role of those Poles who, under extremely difficult conditions, tried to aid their Jewish neighbours burned in the Warsaw Ghetto. There were not many, because there never are many heroes. All the more, they deserve to be honoured and respected for all time.

Professor Engelking also talked about the disappointment. She spoke of the feelings of the Jews, which are factual – they appear in almost every account by those who survived the Holocaust, as well as by those who managed to document their fate, but did not survive. These feelings can be found in many diaries, eyewitness accounts and even poetry. They were a common phenomenon.

Professor Engelking, as one of the few Polish authorities, endeavours to look at the Holocaust through the eyes of Jewish victims. Her words were much needed on the 80th anniversary of the Ghetto Uprising.

As the management, staff and community associated with POLIN Museum, as well as the team and Board of the Association of the Jewish Historical Association in Poland, we express our indignation and strong protest against the media campaign against Professor Barbara Engelking – co-creator of the opened exhibition – “Around Us a Sea of Fire – the Fate of Jewish Civilians During the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising”.

The essence of academic research is to challenge, but a brutal personal attack on an academic and an outstanding authority in her field cannot be called a “challenge”. We express our solidarity with the professor and with the Centre for Holocaust Research and we appeal for respect and the observance of the elementary priciples of public debate.