Among the guests of honor is Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has already given a speech about the war. In reality, of course, the business of Holocaust remembrance has never been entirely free of sordid political calculations. The speaker of the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, called on Poland to “apologize” for facilitating the Holocaust. In September, the government pointedly refrained from inviting Putin to ceremonies marking the start of World War II. The Polish government, he said, is engaged in “Holocaust distortion” rather than outright denial.

Source: Washington Post January 23, 2020 19:41 UTC