Historical revisionism as a factor of German-Polish relations (based on Erika Steinbachs case)

In this article the case of Erika Steinbach in the context of historicalrevisionism and historical policy in Poland is examined. The term historical revisionism was used in the meaning of re-examination ofhistorical interpretations as an element of public policy discourse. The case occurred in 2009 - 2010. Erika Steinbach is a German politician,the head of the Federation of Expellees. E. Steinbachs public pronouncements have been criticized for causing deterioration inGerman-Polish relations. Her controversy has led to Steinbachs negative reputation in Poland where she and the Centre against Expulsionsare sometimes associated with Nazism. One example of this was a 2003 cover montage of a Polish newsmagazine Wprost thatdepicted her riding Chancellor Gerhard Schroder while wearing an SS uniform. In 2007 Gazeta Wyborcza, a popular newspaper in Poland,reproduced a leaflet presenting Steinbach in the succession of the Teutonic Knights and the Nazis, and reminded of the full compensationsnever paid to Poland for losses caused by the Nazi Germany. A Polish ambassador to Germany, Marek Prawda, PolandsForeign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed unease with Steinbachs appointment to theBoard of the Centre against Expulsions in February 2009. The escalation of the dispute came after statements by Erika Steinbach aboutthe causes of World War II: Poland had mobilized its armed forces in March of 1939 - six months before Germany. This statementcaused a great resonance in Germany and Poland. It should be noted that this Erika Steinbachs thesis about the split responsibilitybetween Poland and Germany for the outbreak of World War II is a revisionist point of view, diverging with the official historicalpolicy of Germany and claiming the victimization of Poland. In the conclusion, we note that debates in media aroundthe Erika Steinbachs case contrast to the historikerstreit in Germany in 1980 where there was a broad scientific component. Discussionin media is characterized by the fact of using various negative and sometimes aggressive epithets against opponents. Polishhistorical policy should be subjected to a sufficiently serious adjustment, refusing to use their victim to external political and internalpolitical goals. The problem of historical policy in Poland becomes more and more topical for Russian politicians and historians inthe light of recent tragic events (Leh Kachinskis avia accident in April 2010). This event is also called Katyn 2 in some Russian andPolish media and Internet blogs.

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