In an X post describing the Nazi German legal practices that included wearing the so-called David star badges for Jews in public spaces, the Yad Vashem Institute wrote that first such laws were introduced in… Poland. The post lacks crucial context by mentioning the country was then partitioned between Germany and USSR and governed by an occupation administration. The X community, foreign and Polish internet users were quick to create a community note on the post. 

The post was published by Yad Vashem on the 23rd November: 

The post was also commented by the Auschwitz Memorial Museum: 

Other X users provided context for the antisemitic regulations introduced by the Nazi German administration: 

Although the community note shows a clear mistake of the Yad Vashem, some users say that not using any word regarding Germany or Nazism was a deliberate distortion of history. The Yad Vashem Institute did not respond to any of the comments. 

Photo: X/@yadvashem

Tomasz Modrzejewski

From the editor: Read about Jadwiga Waszczuk, the late grandmother of the editor-in-chief of British Poles. Like many Poles, she risked her life to help persecuted Jews. She knew that the Germans had imposed the death penalty on any Pole who offered shelter to Jews in German-occupied Poland, yet she did not hesitate for a moment. Her wartime story is a powerful reminder that humanity can prevail even in the darkest times: Polish Heroine’s act during the darkest days of Holocaust – Story of Jadwiga Waszczuk.