Green Party leader Zack Polanski has faced scrutiny over his widely recounted story of his ancestors fleeing the Nazis, as family history research indicates his grandparents were all born in Britain well before World War II. Polanski shared the narrative, which includes his Jewish heritage and the ancestral journey from Latvia to Ukraine, then Poland, and finally to Britain, in his keynote speech at last year's Green Party conference and in subsequent media interviews.
On his father's side, Benny Polanski was born in Manchester in 1916, and Ethel in Barrow-in-Furness in 1925. His mother's parents, Maurice and Shirley, were born in Manchester in 1931 and Heywood in 1934, respectively. Public records suggest these recent ancestors settled in the UK in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
This timeline raises questions about which of his ancestors fled the Nazis, as Germany invaded Poland in 1939. Polanski himself has offered conflicting details. In a podcast with Iain Dale, he stated his great-grandparents arrived in the UK long before World War II and that the family name was changed to evade antisemitism in the UK. However, in other accounts, he spoke of ancestors fleeing pogroms and then the Nazis.
When approached for clarification, the Green Party declined to comment directly on the specifics of Polanski's family history, with a spokesman stating that Jewish family history can be 'confusing and muddled.' The spokesman added that it was 'astonishing' that the party leader's family history was being scrutinized in an 'attempt to discredit him.'
Polanski, who legally changed his name from David Paulden, has spoken of reclaiming his Jewish identity. He noted that he was initially told the name change was to evade the Nazis, but later learned it was to escape antisemitism in Britain, a discovery he found more poignant.
The questions surrounding his ancestral narrative emerge as Polanski prepares to contest a by-election for the Holborn and St Pancras seat, a traditionally Labour stronghold. This scrutiny follows previous instances where Polanski faced public questions, including an apology for not paying council tax on a houseboat and admitting to not voting in local elections despite earlier statements.