The plot of the book by Canadian writer Tilar Mazzeo «Irena's Children» revolves around the story of Irena Sendler, a Polish Resistance activist who saved 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto. As stated in the annotation to the work, this woman was «compared to Oscar Schindler and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize shortly before her death».
«The publishing house «Eksmo» thanks readers for drawing attention to a phrase in the book «Irena's Children», — says a message on the publisher's website. — Currently, Tilar Mazzeo's book «Irena's Children» has been withdrawn from sale and is not supplied to bookstores. An internal disciplinary investigation is underway in the Eksmo publishing group. The book has been sent for additional examination».
In January, authors of the pro-government Telegram channel «Cultural Front Z» complained about the book, stating that the writer was disrespectful to the Red Army. The reason for such a conclusion was a quote from the book, which was highlighted in the description on «LitRes»: «Later, locals told her that in 1945, at the very end of the war, the Red Army was pursuing retreating Germans. However, the arrival of Soviet troops brought no particular joy to Poland. Only a few women in Krakow — from schoolgirls to the oldest babcia — escaped rape. And very few Germans who encountered Soviet troops managed to return across the border to Germany. There were thousands of places like this all over Poland».
The channel called on «competent authorities» to pay attention to the publishing house «Eksmo» and bookstores where the book by Tilar Mazzeo «Irena's Children» is sold. In their complaint, the authors of the publication referred to the Federal Law «On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation» from 2014, which introduces criminal liability for «disseminating knowingly false information about the activities of the USSR during the Second World War».