I would like to share a post from Jan David Niechwiadowicz in this age of media wars it serves as a reminder. I finish with a few Jewish voices ((titles correct at time of making statement)): Adolph Berman and Leon Feiner (Jews who were being sheltered by Poles in 1942): We want you ((Jan Karski)) to tell the Polish government in London and to the Allied governments and leaders that we are completely defend less in the face of the German criminals. We cannot save ourselves nor can anyone in Poland save us. The Polish resistance can save some of us but not the masses. American Jewish Committee: We would like to remind those who are either aware of the facts or careless in their choice of words, as has been the case with some media outlets, that Auschwitz-Birkenau and other death camps…were conceived, built and operated by Nazi Germany and its allies. The camps were located in German-occupied Poland, the European country with by far the largest Jewish population, but they were most emphatically not “Polish camps” Anti-Defamation League: As an organization devoted to nurturing Holocaust remembrance we share Polands concern over the frequent description of Auschwitz as a Polish camp, which suggests the object was built on behalf of the Polish nation, Abraham H. Foxman (National Director of the Anti-Defamation League): As Jews and Poles have joined together to remember and explore our histories, we have emphasized that the responsibility for the three million Jews who perished in Poland during the Holocaust lies with the Nazis. Dr Nahum Goldmann (Honorary president of the World Jewish Congress) stated: Poles suffered no less than we did ... We suffered greater losses proportion wise, but the Poles also suffered enormously Yisrael Gutman (Director of research at the Yad Vashem Institute in Jerusalem and editor in chief of The Encyclopedia of the Holocaust 1990): All accusations against the Poles that they were responsible for the Final Solution are not even worth mentioning. Secondly, there is no validity at all in the contention that Polish attitudes were the reason for the siting [sic] of the death camps in Poland. Todd Gutnick, the ADLs director of media relations and public information: The Anti-Defamation League has expressed full support for the efforts of the government of Poland to ensure that the official names of the death camps in Poland emphasize that the camps were built and operated by Nazi Germany David A. Harris (American Jewish Committee Executive Director): The camps were located in German-occupied Poland, the European country with by far the largest Jewish population, but they were most emphatically not Polish camps. This is not a mere semantic matter. Historical integrity and accuracy hang in the balance. Any misrepresentation of Polands role in the Second World War, whether intentional or accidental, would be most regrettable and therefore should not be left unchallenged. Bernard Korbman (President Australia Society of Polish Jews and Their Descendants): This is not about semantics, it is not about political correctness, it is about historical accuracy, it is about recognising the tragic loss of life, displacement and suffering by Poles during World War II. It is about not belittling or destroying the integrity and dignity of an entire nation through falsehood and innuendo. Walter Laqueur (Israeli Historian and Author): ((The Poles)) did what they could, usually at great risk and in difficult conditions” David Marwell (director of the Museum of Jewish Heritage Museum in New York, which focuses on the Holocaust): Although the phrase `Polish Death Camp may simply be shorthand to describe location, there are many who wrongly conflate the geography of the camps with those who ran them. When it comes to such important issues, absolute clarity and accuracy are essential.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 22:50:07 +0000
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