Two Polish Holocaust survivors and a World War II veteran have filed a lawsuit against a publisher who released books by a Holocaust denier in Poland.

The unprecedented civil lawsuit, which was brought to the District Court in Warsaw on Friday, is centered around the books “Hitler: Born at Versailles” and “Hitler Democrat”, authored by former Belgian Waffen-SS commander Leon Degrelle. The works were translated into Polish and published by publishing house Katmar.

A vocal Holocaust denier, Degrelle died in 1994.

“The publications glorify Nazism and Adolf Hitler,” said Wojciech Kozłowski from law firm Dentons, which is to represent the plaintiffs in court.

“The publisher denies history, which damages the survivors’ reputation,” Kozłowski told daily Gazeta Wyborcza.

The books “promote fierce anti-Semitism and directly deny the Holocaust and other Nazi crimes against humanity,” Kozłowski added.

The plaintiffs said the books violated their sense of dignity, national identity and the memory of their dramatic, life-threatening experiences, which were full of physical and emotional suffering.

The plaintiffs demand that the publishing house ceases the release, sale, distribution and promotion of Degrelle’s books. They also want the company to donate money to charity organisations for the victims of the Holocaust and World War II veterans. (aba)

Source: Gazeta Wyborcza, Rzeczpospolita