conducted in connection with the recent amendment to the Institute of National Remembrance Act
Poznań and Kraków, 21st February, 2018
We, the members and friends of the academic community assembled in the Academic Civic Clubs (AKO) in the cities of Poznań, Warsaw, Kraków, Łódź, Katowice, Gdańsk, Lublin and Toruń, hereby declare our full-hearted support for the President and Government of the Republic of Poland, and for the Polish Parliament.
Poland has an inalienable right to pass her own legislation independently, to present the history of our Country and Nation in compliance with well-documented historical facts, and to defend her reputation. We hold that truth means a concordance of opinion with reality, and we protest against the falsification of history and the dissemination of the fabricated lie that the people of Poland and the Polish State participated in the perpetration of the Holocaust on a systemic basis.
We believe that the Polish authorities should take a firm stand on the truth and not succumb to pressure from anti-Polish media, politicians, and malevolent persons who want to escalate an artificial conflict.
We support all the endeavours the authorities of the Republic of Poland are undertaking to present a good image of Poland to international public opinion, in accordance with the historical truth and the challenges of the present times. Moreover, we believe that it is the duty of the Polish authorities to conduct a national policy on Polish history. In today’s realities and the current situation that is Poland’s raison d’état.
We appeal to all who contribute to Polish public opinion to stand up in unison for the good reputation of Poland. This issue must not be a cause for political dispute, neither should it be debated on an international stage.
Professor Stanisław Mikołajczak, Chairman of AKO Poznań
Professor Artur Świergiel, Chairman of AKO Warsaw
Professor Bogusław Dopart, Chairman of AKO Kraków
Professor Michał Seweryński, Chairman of AKO Łódź
Professor Bolesław Pochopień, Chairman of AKO Katowice
Professor Piotr Czauderna, Chairman of AKO Gdańsk
Professor Waldemar Paruch, Chairman of AKO Lublin
Professor Jacek Piszczek, Chairman of AKO Toruń
This Declaration may be signed by anyone who wishes to add their name to the list of signatories. Please put your name on the list on the AKO Poznań website: https://ako.poznan.pl/8413