First, let me apologize for the brevity of this answer and for the likely spelling and autocorrect errors. I am on my mobile rather than at a computer.

I would first point to Jan Gross’ work Neighbors and, to a lesser extent, Fear as works worthy of reading. Do not avoid them because they are often criticized by the Polish media and even some Polish academics. Neighbors is a solid historical work that describes the complicity of some Poles at their very worst. I want to be clear that it describes the complicity of SOME Poles. A very large number in a particular city, but not the whole. The same is true of the post-war pogroms like that describes in Fear.

Gross has become, as you likely know, the primary target of Polish nationalists who accuse him of being an “anti-Polish,” academic. Here is their problem. Even if he is anti-Polish (he isn’t any more than a non-German writing on the Death camps is anti-German) his work holds up academically.

He should be read with a critical eye (as one should read all history), but this doesn’t mean an eye for rejection. Instead it means making sure his sources line up and his conclusions line up with those. They do. I don’t completely agree with all his conclusions, but they are all reasonably inferred from the sources. Further, none of my quibbles are about the basic outline of his thesis.

In other words, he is right that in some locations and situations, broad swathes of Polish society found it within their own interests to take part in the Holocaust. At best such Poles ignored the plight of the Jews or took advantage of the newly available property and at worst actively initiated mass murders without German coercion or sought to disposes Jews of their property by turning them over to the Germans.

However, there were also numerous reasons for inaction regarding the plight of the Jews. Primarily, in Poland, unlike in most other areas occupied by the Germans, ethnic Poles had no government to protect them. They also faced the brunt of Germany’s brutal occupation policies. They were more likely to face imprisonment or death for helping Jews (at least in regard to official policy). They faced greater threat to their own lives than many other areas. This does not excuse murdering or informing on Jews, but it does contextualize it.

That Poland had no government of its own is key. This meant that unlike France or Denmark, where those states maintained self-rule to some extent, There is no official Polish response. Every act was that of individual decision taken for individual reasons. No defiance or compliance to state policy existed. In this situation, we ought to even more thoroughly analyze individual action.

Many Poles chose, some upon receiving payment others for free, to save Jews. Others chose to murder them. Still others to turn them in out of fear of reprisal. And others to gain their property. Different localities and social strata acted differently.

Were Poles more likely to greater monsters than the Germans or than other occupied nationalities? They acted under a completely different set of circumstances.

My own thoughts on the Polish engagement with Holocaust memory? The Polish people would do well to more honestly engage with the part many of the Polish people played in the Holocaust. Whenever a group (nation or part of a nation) ignores the negative parts of their history, there is great danger. The prevalent attitude in Poland is to highlight Polish heroism and suffering while ignoring the failures and villainy. To look only at the positive aspects is to leave unexamined the causes of the failures. Left unexamined, these issues are likely to occur again.

Finally, I leave you with this. There is a tendency of Polish society and academia (not all but many) to use the Jewish deaths of WWII when beneficial to their point (such as the percentage of Polish citizens who were killed during the occupation), but not to truly recognize that the Polish Jews who were killed were Polish citizens. Poles often exculpate Poles who didn’t help the Jews because they were just trying to save themselves and that Poles were in danger too. What this demonstrates is that Catholic Poles did not think of their Jewish neighbors as Poles. They were other. Somehow not a part of the society that was worth protecting.

Polish organizations overwhelmingly fought to save Catholic Polish lives. They sometimes did so for Jewish Poles. When Catholic Poles chose to let a huge portion of their citizenry be separated and murdered, they evidenced their own propensity to see those killed as not Polish and not worthy of fighting for. That must be examined and considered. Why were Jewish citizens of Poland NOT deemed worthy of protection?

EDIT: The above statement has drawn some criticism. I will openly admit that it is a broad statement and cannot do justice to specifics. Further, the example that I gave later (The ghetto uprising in Warsaw) is fraught with differences of opinion. Certainly Armia Krajowa did give arms and some aid (the amount is debated). Other examples, such as when the commander of AK ordered aid to Jewish ghettos that wished to resist and the commanders of individual regions failed to do so, would have been better. Nevertheless, that the arms given the Jews only came after they proved their worth and that they were of lower usefulness (mainly pistols) suggests that the Jews were not a priority.

I know this has been scattered, but I hope it helps. Feel free to ask any follow ups you need. Also, if you ever visit Osweciem, go to the Auschwitz Jewish Center and talk to Maciek or Tomasz if they are there. Ask them your questions and you will have a great discussion. Or visit the museum at 9 Planty street in Kielce. Or watch Bogdan’s Journey.

EDIT: Some have pointed to the important actions of AK’s branch Żegota in rescuing Jews. It was an official organization established to rescue Jews and is fairly unique in that respect. It was also successful in a number of its operations.

/u/commiespaceinvader has previously answered the similar question How complicit were the Polish people in the Holocaust during the German occupation?