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A prominent Polish diplomat has been fired after he made comments during an interview regarding a law that was intended to block claims that Poland was responsible for any wrongdoing during the Holocaust.
U.K. newspaper Jewish News published an interview with Polish plenipotentiary Jaroslaw Nowak last week where the diplomat discussed a new amendment to the country's Act on the Institute of National Remembrance. The law, which is meant to prevent Poland from being held responsible for any contributions made by the government during the Holocaust, was called "one of the stupidest amendments ever to appear in the law" by Nowak. He also said that the country would have to admit to their wrongdoings "at some point" in the future.
"There are a number of ideas being discussed in Poland right now," he told Jewish News. "Maybe it will be a very symbolic compensation like it was in the Czech Republic or Hungary, maybe it will be something else."
It was not long before the Polish government took action. Nowak was fired on Saturday by Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, according to ministry spokesman Lukasz Jasina. No reason was given for his firing, although his comments to Jewish News are likely a contributing factor.
The development comes days after Poland recalled its new ambassador to Prague after that diplomat criticized his own country in an interview — in that case, in relation to Poland's approach to a dispute with the Czech Republic over a state-run coal mine. Ambassador Miroslaw Jasinski spoke of "arrogance" on the Polish side, something the government spokesman called "extremely irresponsible."
The legislation sought to fight back against claims that Poland, a victim of Nazi Germany, bore responsibility for the Holocaust. The law outraged Israel, where many felt it was an attempt to whitewash the fact that some Poles did kill Jews during the German occupation during World War II.
The legislation originally called for prison terms of up to three years for falsely attributing German crimes to Poland. It was later amended to remove the criminal provisions.
Last year, Poland also approved a law that sharply restricts the rights to reclaim property seized by the country's former communist regime. Among those affected are Holocaust survivors and their heirs.
That law provoked a serious diplomatic dispute with Israel which still remains unresolved.
Nowak has been involved in Polish-Jewish dialogue since the 1980s. He became the plenipotentiary for contacts with the Jewish diaspora in July.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
