The 'August Trials', Polish Witnesses, and Social Relationships in Poland after the Holocaust

• In Event: The Initial Findings from USHMM's Database of Holocaust Trials for the Lublin Region in Poland

Abstract

At the end of World War II, Poland’s socialist provisional government developed special legislation and legal architecture to punish individuals and groups for their “treasonous cooperation” with the Nazi occupiers. Trials held under the auspices of this special legislation known as the “August Decree” have been used by scholars to explore various aspects of the Holocaust. In these studies, Poles figure prominently as perpetrators of crimes against Jewish victims. What happens when we shift our analytical focus toward Polish witnesses who appear in cases investigated and prosecuted under the auspices of the August Decree? What can their testimony tell us about the microsocial interactions that structured daily life during the occupation? How did witnessing crimes against Jews perpetrated by fellow community members shape social relationships after the war?

Author

• Louisa McClintock, Independent Scholar