Polish marchers on Polish Independence Day in 2017. Image by Getty Images

BUENOS AIRES (JTA) — A right-wing Polish group sued a newspaper in Argentina under the country’s new Holocaust law for using a photo of Polish partisans to illustrate an article about the Jedwabne pogrom of 1941.

The lawsuit was filed on Friday by the Polish League Against Defamation, or the Reduta Dobrego Imienia (RDI), hours after the controversial new law took effect. It is the first lawsuit filed that invokes the new law.

The League complained about a story published in the Argentinean newspaper Pagina/12 in December 2017, about the Jedwabne pogrom, a 1941 massacre of more than 300 Jews by their Polish neighbors during the Nazi occupation. The article was written by psychologist Federico Pavlovsky.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

According to RDI, the Argentinean news outlet accompanied the story with an image of Polish resistance fighters who had nothing to do with the massacre. The article was trying to “confirm Polish anti-Semitism to its readers,” showing a “huge ignorance about history, for which it should officially apologize to all Poles,” Radio Poland reported.

“If successful, this attempt at international censorship could threaten freedom of expression worldwide,” the newspaper said in a statement.

Pagina/12 republished the article referenced in the lawsuit on Sunday.

According to its website, RDI was established in 2012 to initiate and support actions aimed at correcting false information on Poland’s history, in particular World War II, such as the role of Poles in the war, Polish people’s attitude to Jews, and German concentration camps.

Under the controversial new Polish law, violators could face up to three years in prison, though government officials have said that prosecution under the law is unlikely. Critics of the law include Israeli leaders, Yad Vashem, the U.S. State Department and Jewish groups.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount