"Polish death camp" controversy

During World War II, German Nazi concentration camps were located in many European countries including Poland , Germany , Austria , Czechoslovakia , Belarus , France , Denmark , Belgium , the Netherlands , Italy , Latvia , Lithuania , Estonia , Norway , Hungary , Serbia , Croatia , Slovenia , Bulgaria and Macedonia ; nevertheless, death camps of Operation Reinhard were built by Nazi Germany only in occupied Poland for logistical reasons Auschwitz, Nazi German death camp built in a part of pre-war Poland that was annexed by Nazi Germany . "The Mass Extermination of Jews in German Occupied Poland", note of Republic of Poland addressed to United Nations , 1942 Polish death camp and Polish concentration camp are terms that have been used in international media , and by public figures, in reference to concentration camps built and run by Nazi Germany in the General Government and other parts of occupied Poland during the Holocaust . The use of these terms has been described as insulting by the Polish foreign minister Adam Daniel Rotfeld (himself a Jewish Holocaust survivor) in 2005, who also alleged that – intentionally or unintentionally – it shifted the responsibility for the construction or operation of the camps from the German to the Polish people. The use of these terms, explicitly mentioning "Poland" or "Polish", has been discouraged by the Polish and Israeli governments, Polish diaspora organizations around the world, and Jewish organizations such as the American Jewish Committee .

Term in reference to concentration camps built and run by Nazi Germany in Poland In World War II , German concentration camps were sited in present-day Austria , Belarus , Belgium , Bulgaria , Croatia , Czech Republic , Denmark , Estonia , France , Germany , Hungary , Italy , Latvia , Lithuania , the Netherlands , North Macedonia , Norway , Poland , Serbia , Slovakia , Slovenia , and Ukraine . Germany built Operation Reinhard death camps only in occupied Poland . " Polish death camp " and " Polish concentration camp " are misnomers that have been a subject of controversy and legislation. Such terms have been used by news media and by public figures in reference to concentration camps that were built and run during World War II by Nazi Germany in German-occupied Poland . When used in relation to the Holocaust or to the murder of Poles and other nationalities in German-operated facilities, these phrases refer to the camps' geographic location in German-occupied Poland. However, the expressions have also been seen as undermining Germany's responsibility for the Holocaust , and can be misconstrued as meaning "death camps set up by Poles" or "run by Poland". Polish officials and organizations have objected to such terms as misleading. In 2018 an Amendment to the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance was signed into law by Polish President Andrzej Duda . It criminalized false public statements that ascribe to the Polish nation collective responsibility in Holocaust -related crimes, crimes against peace , crimes against humanity , or war crimes , or which "grossly reduce the responsibility of the actual perpetrators". Exempted from such strictures were scholarly studies, discussions of history, and artistic activities. It was generally understood that the law would have criminalized the use of the expressions "Polish death camp" and "Polish concentration camp". The legislation was controversial; it led to Israeli-Polish consensus-building, cooperation in rewriting the legislation four months later, and a joint statement condemning both antisemitism and anti-Polish sentiment . In Fracapane, Karel; Haß, Matthias (eds.). Holocaust Education in a Global Context . The Times of Israel .

Term in reference to concentration camps built and run by Nazi Germany in Poland This article is about the controversy over the use of the term. All of the Nazi extermination camps operated on the territory that is now Poland, although Nazi concentration camps were built in Germany and other countries. The terms " Polish death camp " and " Polish concentration camp " have been controversial as applied to the concentration camps and extermination camps established by Nazi Germany in German-occupied Poland . The terms have been criticized as misnomers . The terms have occasionally been used by politicians and news media in reference to the camps' geographic location in German-occupied Poland. However, Polish officials and organizations have objected to the terms as misleading, since they can be misconstrued as meaning "death camps set up by Poles" or "run by Poland". Some Polish politicians have portrayed inadvertent uses of the expression by foreigners as a deliberate disinformation campaign. While use of the terms was widely considered objectionable by Poles, an Amendment to the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance in 2018 generated outrage, both within and outside Poland. The law criminalized public statements ascribing, to the Polish nation, collective responsibility in Holocaust -related crimes, crimes against peace , crimes against humanity , or war crimes , or which "grossly reduce the responsibility of the actual perpetrators". It was generally understood that the law criminalized use of the expressions "Polish death camp" and "Polish concentration camp". The amendment also prohibited use of the expression "Polish concentration camp" in relation to camps operated by the Polish government after the war on sites of former Nazi camps. In a court case in January 2018, Newsweek.pl was sentenced for referring to the Zgoda concentration camp , operated by Polish authorities after World War II, as a "Polish concentration camp". In 2019, the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland ruled that the fragments of the amendment relating to the terms "Ukrainian nationalists" and "Eastern Lesser Poland" were void and non-binding. And it's a convenient and expedient issue because everybody can agree that the term "Polish death camps" is a misnomer; that it's incorrect. In Fracapane, Karel; Haß, Matthias (eds.). Holocaust Education in a Global Context . The Polish government continues to fan a metaphorical fire each time the foreign media or a politician – like President Barack Obama in 2012 – inadvertently refers to 'Polish concentration camps'. This misnomer has been heralded by politicians as a purposeful disinformation exercise and a pretext for new legislation which, as is clear from its formulation, extends beyond the prohibition of 'Polish death camps'. There is, however, a second layer in this debate, as the incrimination of "Polish camps" can also be referred to halt the debate on Polish post-war camps, which have been discussed already since the 1990s for instance regarding detention and labour camps in Potulice or Łambinowice. Recently, the journalist Marek Łuszczyna has called them "Polish concentration camps" with the intention to challenge the right-wing discourse. His argument is based on the fact that these camps used the infrastructure of earlier German camps. A highly problematic trend has emerged just recently, creating a precedent in the Polish legal doctrine. In January 2017, the Polish edition of Newsweek magazine published an article by Paulina Szewczyk entitled "After the Liberation of Nazi Camps, Did the Poles Open Them Again? 'The Little Crime' by Marek Łuszczyna". The author of this article stated that after 1945 Poles reopened the Świętochłowice-Zgoda camp, a branch of the former Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. A lawsuit against Newsweek's editor-in-chief was brought by Maciej Świrski, the president of the Polish League Against Defamation (RDI), based on the press law provisions. In January 2018, the court decided in his favour, ordering the editor-in-chief to publish a corrigendum admitting that the assertion of the existence of "Polish concentration camps" created by Poles is false. This initial ruling was subsequently upheld by the Court of Appeal and eventually the Supreme Court, the latter finding Newsweek's last resort appeal (cassation) to be unfounded. Znając badania IPN, trudno się z nim zgodzić" . wyborcza.pl . "Ekspert: orzeczenie Trybunału Konstytucyjnego ws. nowelizacji ustawy o IPN może otworzyć drogę do dyskusji" (in Polish).

Misnomer for concentration camps established and operated in Poland by Nazi Germany This article is about the controversy over the use of the term. Nazi German concentration camps operated on now Polish territory. Germany also built concentration camps in Germany and elsewhere. In historical discussions of World War II , " Polish death camp " and " Polish concentration camp " are ambiguous expressions which, while accurately describing camps located in Poland, are misconstruable as indicating that there were Nazi concentration and extermination camps —established by Nazi Germany in German-occupied Poland during World War II—established or operated by Poles or by Poland. Some Poles, including politicians, have viewed use of the expressions "Polish death camp" and "Polish concentration camp", by careless speakers, as having been deliberately intended to disinform . Poland's subsequent 2018 Amendment to the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance prompted objections within and outside Poland. The law criminalized public statements ascribing, to the Polish nation, responsibility in Holocaust -related crimes, crimes against peace , crimes against humanity , or war crimes , or which "grossly reduce the responsibility of the actual perpetrators". It was generally understood that the law criminalized use of the expressions "Polish death camp" and "Polish concentration camp". The amendment also prohibited use of the expression "Polish concentration camp" in reference to camps operated by the Polish government after World War II on sites of former Nazi camps. In a January 2018 trial, Newsweek.pl was sentenced for referring to the Zgoda camp , operated by Polish authorities between February and November 1945, as a "Polish concentration camp". In 2019 Poland's Constitutional Tribunal ruled that the portions of the amendment relating to the expresions "Ukrainian nationalists" and "Eastern Lesser Poland" were null and void. And it's a convenient and expedient issue because everybody can agree that the term "Polish death camps" is a misnomer; that it's incorrect. In Fracapane, Karel; Haß, Matthias (eds.). Holocaust Education in a Global Context . The Polish government continues to fan a metaphorical fire each time the foreign media or a politician – like President Barack Obama in 2012 – inadvertently refers to 'Polish concentration camps'. This misnomer has been heralded by politicians as a purposeful disinformation exercise and a pretext for new legislation which, as is clear from its formulation, extends beyond the prohibition of 'Polish death camps'. There is, however, a second layer in this debate, as the incrimination of "Polish camps" can also be referred to halt the debate on Polish post-war camps, which have been discussed already since the 1990s for instance regarding detention and labour camps in Potulice or Łambinowice. Recently, the journalist Marek Łuszczyna has called them "Polish concentration camps" with the intention to challenge the right-wing discourse. His argument is based on the fact that these camps used the infrastructure of earlier German camps. A highly problematic trend has emerged just recently, creating a precedent in the Polish legal doctrine. In January 2017, the Polish edition of Newsweek magazine published an article by Paulina Szewczyk entitled "After the Liberation of Nazi Camps, Did the Poles Open Them Again? 'The Little Crime' by Marek Łuszczyna". The author of this article stated that after 1945 Poles reopened the Świętochłowice-Zgoda camp, a branch of the former Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. A lawsuit against Newsweek's editor-in-chief was brought by Maciej Świrski, the president of the Polish League Against Defamation (RDI), based on the press law provisions. In January 2018, the court decided in his favour, ordering the editor-in-chief to publish a corrigendum admitting that the assertion of the existence of "Polish concentration camps" created by Poles is false. This initial ruling was subsequently upheld by the Court of Appeal and eventually the Supreme Court, the latter finding Newsweek's last resort appeal (cassation) to be unfounded. Znając badania IPN, trudno się z nim zgodzić" . wyborcza.pl . "Ekspert: orzeczenie Trybunału Konstytucyjnego ws. nowelizacji ustawy o IPN może otworzyć drogę do dyskusji" (in Polish).