A movie will fight with the “polish death camps” term

Today in Toronto there is a premiere of an educational polish movie „Upside down”, which was made against the case of very common statements about „polish death camps”.

The movie shows how popular is this term among especially young people in America and West Europe and that it has absolutely no connection with the historical facts.

But it can be found even in the professional media. The words such as „polish death camp” or „polish gettho” without any comment about the role of German nazis can be found in tv and internet. For example, on November 8, 2003, the CTV Television Network broadcast the story of a Holocaust survivor during the course of which the following statement was made: „He was five years younger than his audience when his family was forced into a Polish ghetto for Jews.” (#).

The Auschwitz gate, photo by vipeldo (CC)

Polish Embassy in Toronto is putting the movie to the every copy of the canadian newspaper „Toronto Star”. What is more, it would be distributed to the all embassies.

„Polish death camp(s)” and „Polish concentration camp(s)” are misleading terms that have appeared in the media in reference to World War II German concentration camps located in German-occupied Poland involved in The Holocaust. (#) Poland was occupied by the Nazis. From 1939 to 1945 there was no polish administration or political influence over territories captured by nazis.

Dawida Pelega, Izrael ambassador in Poland writes: We, being Jews and Israelis, with reject resolutely terminology such as „Polish concentration camps”. These prejudicial and erroneous phrases represent primarily testimony about ignorance and lack of understanding of fundamental historical truth. Every thinking man knows that it was the Nazis who selected Poland for central site for dreadful genocide of extermination of European Jews. On the Polish soil the Germans built terrifying camps where they systematically murdered 4.5 million Jews (including 3 million Polish Jews) and other nationalities including thousands of Poles. (#).

During its 31st session, in New Zealand on June 27, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee approved a change in the entry for the remains of the Auschwitz concentration camp. The previous name, “Auschwitz Concentration Camp,” has been changed to “’Auschwitz-Birkenau. The Nazi German Concentration and Extermination Camp (1940-1945).” (#)

New educational movie, released by the polish ministry of foreign affairs, is a chance to change the situation, when the fault of nazis is attributed to the victims.

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Kategorie: In english / Świadomość historyczna