Poland not satisfied with White House "regret" over "death camp" comment
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk delivers on May 30, 2012 a statement to the press in Warsaw.
/ GRZEGORZ JAKUBOWSKI/AFP/GettyImages"We expect that America, in connection with this very statement, will join our efforts and help us eradicate such false and unjust phrases once and for all," said Tusk of the characterization, according to the Polish government's website. "We always react in the same way to ignorance, lack of knowledge and ill will which lead to the distortion of history. Such phrases are especially painful for Poland - Europe's most affected country by World War II."
On Tuesday, President Obama awarded a posthumous Medal of Freedom to Jan Karski, a Polish resistance fighter during World War II. In his remarks honoring Karski, who died in 2000, Mr. Obama described an incident in which Karski was smuggled "into the Warsaw Ghetto and a Polish death camp" to witness atrocities taking place there. Karski subsequently reported what he saw to Franklin Roosevelt, in what Mr. Obama called "one of the first accounts of the Holocaust."
Mr. Obama's characterization of the incident drew immediate criticism from Polish officials, who argued that he should have referred to the camp as a "German death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland," rather than a "Polish death camp."
Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski accused the president of reflecting a perspective of "ignorance and incompetence," and Tusk suggested that Obama's words reflected a "distortion of history."
The White House subsequently said the president had misspoken and expressed its regrets.
But Tusk, on Wednesday, made it clear he wasn't satisfied with that reaction.
"I am certain that our American friends are capable of a more explicit reaction than issuing a correction and the spokesperson of the White House expressing regret, and that maybe they will once and for all eliminate such errors," he said. "It is an issue to which we cannot be indifferent, for the sake of Poland, our country and our fellow countrymen. We cannot accept such words, even if they are uttered by the head of an ally superpower."
Tusk argued that referring to the camps as "Polish," was akin to suggesting "there had been no Nazis, no German responsibility, no Hitler."
In his daily press briefing Wednesday, White House press secretary Jay Carney reiterated that the president had misspoken, and that "he was referring to the Nazi death camps in German-occupied Poland."
"As we've made clear, we regret the misstatement," Carney said, highlighting the president's efforts to honor the Polish losses during World War II. He added that the error "should not detract from the clear intention to honor Mr. Karski" and other Polish citizens "who fought against the terrible tyranny of the Nazis."
Carney said he was not aware of any plans for the president or anyone else in the administration to call the Prime Minister.
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The Poles as a people were attacked by Hitler`s armies AND the Red Army.
BUT only the GERMANS built the Camps and began the Final Solution.
(Which to anyone who has never considered it as anything but a label), meant a Chilling decision by the Nazi Heirarchy to eliminate ALL of the Jewish people in the Europe that they conquered.
The peoples of Europe still REMEMBER that, still have survivors of that, and the antipathy towards Germany still exists.
Citizens of the USA apart from those in the US Forces in the War cannot possibly understand the hurt and memories stirred up by thoughtless comments. Administrations should make every effort to make sure they do not cause offence in Poland.
Remember it was only in 1989 that Russian Occupation forces left Poland with the fall of the USSR.
Mr Obama probably didn`t think. But as US President, he SHOULD HAVE!
Humility and sincerity are traits of strong leaders. If any dingbats want to continue to scream over this after making a sincere apology, *then* give them the finger.
Humility? Obama? Come on!!
all roads lead at the White House, sometimes even mistakes. is it really a mistake on the part of Mister Obama?
"au revoir"
As my high school Latin teacher might have explained many years ago, "Polish" in this context can mean either "in Poland" or "of Poland." "In Poland" is correct; the camp was located within Poland. "Of Poland" is incorrect, because Poland was then occupied by the Nazis and the camp was controlled by Germany. So, at worst, the statement was ambiguous.
But we all KNOW in which direction that ambiguity should be resolved. NOBODY thinks the Polish people set up death camps. (Some argue, here and elsewhere, that some Poles were complicit with their occupiers, but that's a much longer and more complicated discussion. And complicity is a claim that's at least partially true in virtually all occupied territories.)
If Tusk can't accept the apology he's been offered, he's playing politics himself.
we have troops stationed in Poland....news to me.....
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Doesn't matter if it's Poland or not. We have military bases in over 127 countries, thanks to fiscal libs like you, Empire.
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Educate yourself before posting, Empress.