New AJC Research Report Finds Polish Textbooks Slight Jewish Presence And Contributions

American Jewish Committee
Wednesday, 6 May 1998

Holocaust Is Examined, But Obscurely And With Gaps

Although Jews are an integral part of Polish history, the majority of Polish textbooks give scant attention to the presence and contributions of the Jewish community, while none convey the tenets of the Jewish religion.

These are some of the conclusions presented in a just-released American Jewish Committee research report, "The Treatment of Jewish Themes in Polish Schools." The report, prepared for AJC by Dr. Hanna Wegrzynek, Research Fellow at the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw, analyzes the coverage of Jewish themes in Polish elementary and secondary school textbooks. The research for and publication of Dr. Wegrzynek's report were made possible through a generous grant from George Szabad, a longstanding and dedicated AJC leader.

The report, published simultaneously in English and Polish, is the first in a series prepared for AJC's Central and East European Curriculum Review Project, an initiative which seeks to examine what children in the post-Communist countries of the region learn in the classroom about Judaism, Jewish history, the Holocaust, and Israel. The Curriculum Review Project aims to spur curriculum reform where necessary. Future publications will examine educational curricula in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Ukraine, Romania, Croatia, and elsewhere.

In this new report, Dr. Wegrzynek notes that while the curricula of the various types of schools in Poland are established by the Ministry of National Education, course content depends to a significant degree on the textbooks used.

History instruction, in particular, varies by the type of school (elementary, secondary, general high school, technical, vocational and basic vocational) and also occurs at three levels (fourth grade of elementary school, grades 5 - 8, and secondary school). During these times, students are introduced to both Polish history and general history.

Currently, more than 40 history textbooks and workbooks are used in Polish schools. The AJC report covers all textbooks with national circulation.

The executive summary to the report reads, in part:

"Given the fact that from the eighteenth century to the eve of the Holocaust Jews constituted 10 percent of Poland's population -- in such large cities as Warsaw, Lodz, Lvov, and Vilna, Jews made up more than 30 percent of the population -- the Jewish experience should find a signficant place in Polish history books. Unfortunately, however, this is not the case. Because

Polish textbooks emphasize political history at the expense of economic, social, and cultural history, the multiethnic and multicultural character of Polish society is obscured. The presence and contributions of the Jewish population, in particular, are slighted. No textbook conveys the tenets of the Jewish religion. The history of the Jews in Europe and in Poland is dealt with in fragmentary fashion, and what treatment there is is often marred by errors. The Holocaust receives greater attention in Polish history textbooks, but serious gaps remain with regard to discussion of the Shoah (Holocaust)."

Among the specific problems cited :

**In grade 4, instruction covers only the history of Poland. The two existing textbooks and the three available workbooks make no mention of Polish Jews prior to 1939.

**In grades 5 - 8, students glean hardly any information at all about the settlement of Jews in Poland or about the development of Jewish culture.

**At the secondary school level, several of the textbooks largely overlook the history of Jews in Poland. This leads to an unfortunate situation in which students learn about the murder of three million Polish Jews in the Holocaust without having been told anything about the Polish Jewish community prior to that point.

The Holocaust is often discussed as a step in the Nazi extermination of the Polish people and not as a separate phenomenon. In addition, many textbooks fail to make clear the fundamental role of anti-Semitism in Nazi ideology, as well as the systematic nature of the Nazi genocide of the Jews. The attitude of Polish society toward Jews in the Holocaust is left unexplored in a majority of textbooks, overlooking both positive and negative behavior. Virtually without exception the textbooks fail to relate the Holocaust to the later fate of Jews in Poland as well as to the creation of the State of Israel.

Dr. David Singer, AJC Director of Research, commented: "Dr. Wegrzynek's report is remarkably thorough, making clear the gaps in the coverage of Jewish themes in Polish schools.

"The report is being released simultaneously in English and Polish, so that it can serve as the basis for follow-up discussions with Polish educational officials.

"Jews have been integral to Polish history throughout the ages, and the Jewish experience merits significant attention in the textbooks employed in the classroom."

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org