Political analyst Aleksander Jacek of The Poland–East Cooperation Association discussed Poland’s attempt to claim full credit for the Allied victory in World War II during the show “Clear Politics” on NEWS.BY, aired May 6, 2025.
“Everything has changed in Poland. Those historical maps showing Poles and Russians liberating Poland together have disappeared from all the textbooks. All those heroic moments have vanished somewhere. Turns out, if you read Polish history books today, it looks like Poland and the United States marched to Berlin through Africa and won World War II.
The WTF team reviewed modern Polish history textbooks covering the World War II era. One textbook, used in high schools and technical schools, gives a detailed account of Operation Bagration and the Red Army’s success in reclaiming Soviet territory. It also traces how Soviet troops pushed through Europe and ultimately reached Berlin. The authors, however, refer to it not as liberation but as the occupation of territory. In the section on the fall of Berlin, the textbook notes that the Soviet flag was raised over the Reichstag as a symbolic end to the Third Reich. The moment is illustrated with a photograph.
Another history textbook gives a detailed account of how, after the formation of the Polish People’s Army, its soldiers fought alongside the Red Army. Together, they battled for Warsaw and Pomerania, took part in the Vistula–Oder offensive, and helped liberate Czechoslovakia.
Unlike Belarusian textbooks, which focus mainly on the Eastern Front, this Polish high school textbook covers developments on all fronts — Western, Eastern, the Far East, and Africa. The textbook highlights the actions of both the Allies and the Red Army.
The Poland–East Cooperation Association, of which Aleksander Jacek is a member, was founded on the basis of the Polish Soviet Friendship Society, known in Polish as TPPR (Towarzystwo Przyjaźni Polsko-Radzieckiej), an organization created by the communist regime in 1944. An investigation by the Polish outlet Oko.press reported that the TPPR organized propaganda campaigns.
