The newly elected President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, has said that an acknowledgement by the former head of state of Polish involvement in massacres of Jews during the Holocaust was "an attempt to destroy Poland's good name".
Mr Duda, of the right-wing Law and Justice party, was criticising comments made by former president Bronislaw Komorowski during the final pre-election debate last week.
Discussing Poland under the Nazis, Mr Komorowski had said: "The nation of victims was also the nation of perpetrators."
Following the attack from Mr Duda, Mr Komorowski replied: "Difficult and painful episodes in our history must not be hidden. Those who do not see them are closing their eyes before historical truth."
Mr Komorowski, known for his positive attitude towards Israel and Poland's Jewish community, has apologised several times over the years for the role some Poles played in the murder of Jews during the war. He has often referred to the massacre in Jedwabne in 1941, when farmers herded their Jewish neighbours into a barn and set it on fire.
‘Difficult and painful episodes must not be hidden’
Amid fears that Poland will veer too far right under Mr Duda, Jewish leaders said they expected a productive relationship with the new president.
"I hope that after taking the presidential office, there will be time for reflection and thoughtful dialogue with the Jewish community, which is an integral part of the Polish state.
"The issues important to us, such as a common historical memory, restitution and the protection of monuments, will be perceived, discussed and supported by the president, as should be done in any democratic state," said Leslaw Piszewski, President of the Union of Jewish Religious Communities.
Although polls had predicted a neck-and-neck result, Mr Duda surprised everyone and won the election by a margin of nearly three per cent.