絳

rewrite history
so Poles were only victims, never perpetrators
Almost all of them were murdered in the death camp’s gas chambers;
after that routine day in
have long railed against
But the term reflects clumsiness, not historical revisionism
should feel scared to give personal testimony.
In that case, why legislate? 
may now hesitate before bringing up,
A closer reading of the law provides a clue
are bound together by a history of occupation, pogroms and deportation, 
are part of a broader history of
sometimes as allies, more often as foes.
wants history pressed into
to a degree that many westerners struggle to understand. 
against the treaty of
have passed laws on the interpretation of history
the “name problem” of
But disturbing the earth of history can exhume all manner of nasties.
are a common sight on
Relations with allies have suffered, too. 
the reaction from Ukraine was equally hostile. 
seems to be legislating its way towards the cynical definition of
A group of people united by a mistaken view about the past and a hatred of their neighbours”.
It need not be like this
have been recounting the details of
Ukraine’s motives are more complicated;
alienated from allies, 
preserve historical truth and defend the honour of
was only now beginning to emerge from the dependence on outsiders that had marked the decades after communism. 
Amid the recent burst of
spots an “opportunity to step out from the trenches of history”.
With luck, it will be taken
But other countries are digging further in.