A press release on Andrew Higgins’ story, published by “The New York Times” on 8 February.
The IPN is the institution that for years has been uncovering all possible aspects of the history of our part of Europe, subjected to either German or Soviet totalitarianism. It is the organization that has released the largest number of publications on the Holocaust and terror in occupied Polish territory. We publish works on Poland as an Allied state from the very beginning of the war, fighting Adolf Hitler’s German Reich from 1939 to 1945. We publish works on the struggle for freedom against the Soviet totalitarianism in the years 1917-1989. Our publications have never whitewashed those who embarked on the path of treason against their country, common criminals, or people collaborating with the German or Soviet system of enslavement – regardless of their nationality. The allegations in Andrew Higgins’ text are a clear sign that he is not familiar with the scholarly achievements of the Institute of National Remembrance, or has been misled.
The Institute has always been a firm advocate of the freedom of research. Its value should always be measured by the quality of argumentation and honesty in the treatment of historical sources. Seminars and academic conferences are the field where debates ought to be held and diverse views on history confronted.
We firmly believe that each historical work is subject to evaluation by other historical researchers. The proper form of polemics and exchange of views are critical reviews. This is the way of correcting historical lapses and learning the truth more fully. The Institute – contrary to A. Higgins’ claims – does not deal with “denouncing books”. Each reader (including A. Higgins) can become familiar with the actual content of the historical review of the book “Night without an End”, authored by T. Domański, a renowned scholar. Each reader can independently assess the nature and substantive level of the argumentation contained therein (the text in English and three other languages is available here : https://ipn.gov.pl/en/news/7057,Correcting-the-Picture-Some-Reflections-on-the-Use-of-Sources-in-quotNight-witho.html).
In its current activity, the Institute of National Remembrance erects monuments to victims of totalitarianism (including the victims of the Holocaust), and renovates their graves. Our task is to preserve the memory of the innocently murdered and to name the perpetrators, who remain criminals regardless of their nationality, state and structure they had served.
We are convinced that such activities are of universal dimension.
DOWNLOADS
- Correcting the Picture, English-language version (pdf, 945.96 KB)09.02.2021 17:14
- Correcting the Picture, Polish-language version (pdf, 1.88 MB)09.02.2021 17:15
- Correcting the Picture, French-language version (pdf, 982.37 KB)09.02.2021 17:15
- Correcting the Picture, German-language version (pdf, 1014.83 KB)09.02.2021 17:16
