From: lbs@neptune.phys.ufl.edu (Lech Borkowski)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.polish
Subject: Re: Nazi Camps
Date: 26 Aug 92 03:38:43 GMT
Organization: University of Florida Physics Department - CMT Group

In article <matthew.714485932@mugga> matthew@stats.mu.oz.au (Matthew Zalbiciewski) writes:
>
>maria@dnbf01.cdx.mot.com (Maria Swietorzeck) writes:

>>The North American media has often referred to Nazi German concentration and 
>>death camps in German occupied Poland as "Polish camps".

>>We have noted in recent years a trend in the media instead to refer to these 
>>camps as simply being camps of unspecified origin located "in Poland".  This 
>>trend has become alarmingly frequent in the Toronto Star over the past few 
>>months. 

>The same is happening in Australia. A few months ago, when I wasn't
>"slusznie myslacy", I dared to protest at the use of the term "Polish
>Death Camps" in TV news. I was told off. I then requested a written
>reply. Here is a quote from what I received:

>| 						14 February, 1992
>| ...
>| The item you refer to emanated from our London bureau. The phrase
>| "Polish Death Camps" was not used as such in either the reader's
>| introduction or in the story itself. The reader's introduction said
>| "New evidence has thrown doubt on the identity of Ivan the Terrible...
>| the notorious guard at Poland's Treblinka Death Camp",and the reporter
>| referred once to the infamous guard at the Treblinka death camp". The
>| Polish references in these phrases are clearly geographical, and
>| should be interpreted as such.
>| ...
>| 
>| Peter Munckton
>| National Editor TV News
>| Australian Broadcasting Corporation

>Next, the reply does not address the commentary that immediately
>*followed* the story, where the term "Polish Death Camp" *was* used.
>By the time the reply arrived, the tapes of the actual programme which
>the broadcaster is required to keep by law for 12 weeks had just been
>erased, and so it was not possible to check what wa said during this
>commentary.


You certainly have my support. I may add that few months ago
The Economist, the British weekly, published an article referring
to the last war and concentration camps and using only the word
"Nazi" when describing the killing of Jews etc. I was surprised
that a magazine with good reputation chose not to use
the word "German" in the whole article. I am not being anti-German,
I wish them all the best. I just think it is improper to replace 
"German" with "Nazi" everywhere. When you talk about concentration 
camps the way you phrase your statements is quite important.
Why? I was once invited to an elementary school here in the US
to talk about Poland. It was during a Geography Week in that school
and people from many countries were invited. At the end of my talk
children were asking questions. A 9-year old girl asked me:
"Why Poles killed the Jews during the Second World War?"

 I asked the teacher later where did this girl hear this 
kind of thing. The teacher didn't know, "Maybe her parents
told her". 

 Since the knowledge about the World War II is
much worse in the US than in Europe, it is important
what and how you write and talk in public about those times.
Millions of people were killed in concentration camps or executed 
and we cannot afford to be vague about that. 
 
 Lech Borkowski

Newsgroups: soc.culture.polish