Poland's new culture minister wants Poles to be 'proud' of their history

Gliński told the Polish Press Agency that this could be “accomplished through the creation of an institution, and by giving support to programmes, and finally by making films on Polish history and identity.”

He revealed that his socially conservative Law and Justice party aims to finance Hollywood-style movies on Polish history.

He mentioned in particular Colonel Witold Pilecki, who helped bring knowledge of the Holocaust to the West by deliberately getting himself sent to the Nazi German Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, and then escaping.

He likewise referred to the Ulma family, who were martyred during the war for sheltering Jews.

Despite a renaissance in Polish film in recent years, Law and Justice and right-wing media outlets have regularly criticised movies funded by the Polish Film Institute.

A notable example was the film 'Ida', which won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2015 Academy Awards.

Despite garnering numerous awards in Poland, several right-wing publications claimed that the film presented an 'anti-Polish' view of Polish-Jewish relations during World War II.

Gliński has claimed that Law and Justice “is not planning to take revenge” but that in terms of funding, “the division of the public cake will certainly be different than before.

“That does not mean that any alternative or left-wing institutions will be immediately deprived of funding, but I think the proportions will significantly change,” he said.

The minister's own brother Piotr Gliński, who served as the rector of Poland's esteemed Łódż Film School between 2008 and 2012, has himself directed films that appear to be out of key with the new minister's vision. Robert Gliński's 2009 movie 'Piggies' explores how a young Polish teenager living near the German border gets drawn into the world of gay prostitution. The film won several Polish and international awards. (nh/rk)