| 19th of April 2015, Editor of The Australian Re: Article published in The Australian on the 17th of April 2015 page 8 “Girl who defied the German machine three times". Dear Sir,
Polish Community Council of Victoria Inc., strongly objects to the use of the term “Polish death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau” in the above mentioned article in reference to concentration camps built and run by Nazi Germany on the parts of occupied Poland during the WWII. The use of the term “Polish death camp” is insulting and hurtful to the Polish people, whether the use of such term is intentional or unintentional it shifts the responsibility for the construction and operation of the camps from the German to the Polish people.
The killings, the atrocities, the death camps that took place on Polish soil were under Nazi German aegis, instigated and directed by Nazi Germany.
It is therefore important not only for historical accuracy, but also from a moral perspective, as well as promoting harmony among nations involved to accurately report and write about historical events. As beautifully stated by the President of the Australian Society of Polish Jews and Their Descendants Inc., Mr Bernard Brzegowski-Korbman OAM “Labelling a nation, all be it by implication, of being guilty of the most heinous crime imaginable, that of genocide, is a crime in itself”. Polish Community Council of Victoria Inc. is expecting public recognition of correct historical facts as well as an apology to the Polish community in Australia and abroad.
Marian Pawlik
President
Polish Community Council of Victoria
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