Green Party Leader's Holocaust Ancestry Story Questioned

Zack Polanski, the leader of the Green Party, has faced scrutiny over his public accounts of his family's history, particularly his narrative of ancestors fleeing the Nazis. Polanski has spoken at party conferences and in media interviews about his Jewish heritage, describing his ancestors as being "on the run" and having fled persecution from Latvia and Ukraine, ultimately escaping the Nazis before arriving in the UK. He has stated that his family faced pogroms and later encountered the Nazis.

However, family history research and public records suggest a different timeline. While Polanski's great-grandparents originated from Latvia and Russia, census records from the late 1800s and early 1900s indicate they settled in Britain before the Second World War. Records also show that Polanski's four grandparents were born in the north of England between 1916 and 1934, years before Germany invaded Poland in 1939, the event that initiated the Nazi occupation of Poland.

Polanski himself has spoken about changes to his family name, explaining that his paternal grandfather anglicised the name to Paulden. Polanski, born David Paulden, later changed his surname back to Polanski and his first name to Zack to honor his heritage. He has stated that he was told the name change was to evade the Nazis, but later discovered the original reason was to avoid antisemitism within the UK. This discovery, he said, made the act of reclaiming his name more poignant.

The Green Party has responded to the questions by calling the press inquiries an attempt to "discredit" Polanski, highlighting that Jewish family history can be complex. A party spokesman noted that it was "astonishing" that the only current Jewish leader of a British political party was having his family history scrutinized.

Polanski is currently standing as the Green Party candidate in a by-election for the Holborn and St Pancras seat, a constituency historically held by the Labour Party. This scrutiny of his family history comes as he campaigns to become a Member of Parliament.

This is not the first time Polanski's public statements have drawn attention. Earlier this year, he apologized for an "unintentional mistake" regarding unpaid council tax on a houseboat, which was investigated by the Greater London Authority. He was cleared after the investigation cited financial hardship and he pledged to pay any outstanding taxes. Additionally, he admitted to not voting in local elections despite publicly assuring a candidate of his support, a situation his team attributed to miscommunication and a failure to be registered to vote.