She is forced to apologize for her research: "An attempt to deter"

Barbara Engelking and Jan Grabowski were convicted on Tuesday of libel in a Polish court.

The reason is that in their latest report they point out a now deceased mayor who reported Jews to the German army, which led to them being murdered.

The mayor's niece sued the researchers, and now a court has ruled that they are forced to apologize publicly to the niece.

She also claimed damages corresponding to approx.

SEK 250,000, which was rejected.

Thinking of appealing

The judge justified the decision to reject damages by saying that it would have a "cooling effect on academic research".

But Barbara Engelking thinks the court is sending a signal to the research world, with or without damages.

- There is no doubt that this is an attempt to deter, to show researchers that there are substances they do best in not touching, she says.

The two Holocaust researchers intend to appeal the verdict.

In the video, you can hear Barbara Engelking's thoughts that she is forced to apologize for her research.