The Simon Wiesenthal Center-Israel criticized the Polish newspaper Fakt on Thursday for refusing to run an advertisement submitted as part of its campaign to track down Poles who participated in the murder of Jews during the Holocaust.

The small ad offers a 10,000 reward for "information on Nazi war criminals" and gives a phone number to call as part of the "Operation: Last Chance" project to find collaborators before infirmity and death makes it too late for them to be brought to justice. It has been sent to several Polish newspapers, including leading tabloid Fakt, which was the first to respond to the submission.

Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the center's Israel director, called the ad's rejection "a transparent attempt to curry favor with those afraid of the truth about the participation of some Poles in the persecution and murder of Jews during the Holocaust."

He said the action "points to the difficulty of many Poles in dealing with the fact that among those who assisted the Nazis in the annihilation of Polish Jewry were some of their countrymen."

In a letter informing the center of Fakt's refusal to run the ad, advertising specialist Damian Woznicki cited a press law which states that "the publisher and the editor have the right to refuse to publish an announcement if its meaning or intent is against its program or the character of its publication," and that ads "cannot be against the law or societal standards."

Fakt advertising director Rafo Grudowski told The Jerusalem Post that he was unaware of the details surrounding the decision not to publish the ad and said he could see no reason not to run it. He said he would look into the matter, but never gave a response.
In Zuroff's opinion, the paper "doesn't want to take an unpopular step by publishing an ad like this."

He described the general Polish reaction to Operation: Last Chance, kicked off a year ago, as one of the harshest among the several Eastern European countries where it is taking place.

"Poland views itself almost exclusively as a victim of the Holocaust and not a participant," Zuroff said.

Other countries have responded hostilely to the project, but not all. In Romania, an advertising firm produced the ads virtually at cost, and many people who called the hot line with tips said they wanted no money and offered their support.

Since the campaign began, the center has received 314 names of suspects and is preparing to give out its first reward, to a Croatian, in the coming month.


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