‘It felt like a public disgrace.’
By Hezy Laing
A contingent of 180 Israeli military and defense personnel, visiting the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp as part of the official “Witnesses in Uniform” initiative, was barred from displaying national flags during a commemorative march held Thursday.
This action has stirred renewed tensions in the relationship between Israel and Poland.
The group was halted at the camp’s entrance by Polish police officers who demanded that the Israeli flags be concealed.
As reported by The Jewish News Syndicate (JNS), Israeli delegates tried to challenge the directive but were ultimately forced to comply.
Leaders of the delegation instructed flagbearers to lower their flags, resulting in the group continuing the solemn event without their customary symbols of national pride.
One anonymous attendee, speaking to Israeli media outlets and quoted by JNS, described the experience as deeply humiliating.
According to the participant, no such disruption had ever occurred at other commemorative sites such as Treblinka, Majdanek, or Warsaw.
“We’ve always marched with flags at the front. It’s never been interrupted like this,” he said.
The individual emphasized the public nature of the incident, which played out before spectators capturing the moment on camera.
“This felt like a public disgrace,” he continued.
“Every year, flags are part of the ceremony at Birkenau—there’s photographic evidence of uniformed officers carrying them.
This restriction, in our view, reflects an undercurrent of antisemitism and a troubling effort to rewrite history.”
The Witnesses in Uniform is an Israeli Holocaust education and commemoration program that sends delegations of military personnel, police officers, and relatives of fallen soldiers to former Nazi death camps in Europe.
Established in 2001, the initiative aims to deepen participants’ understanding of the Holocaust and reinforce the moral responsibilities tied to military service.
Delegates, often accompanied by Holocaust survivors and Yad Vashem guides, visit sites like Auschwitz-Birkenau, synagogues, and memorials to honor Jewish history and resilience.
The program symbolizes remembrance, national pride, and the enduring commitment to never forget the atrocities of the past.
