The evidence continues to arrive – however minor the gaffe may seem to Americans – that Poles have been deeply wounded by President Obama’s comment referring to ‘Polish death camps’ – when he really meant to say ‘Nazi death camps.’ These articles from Poland’s press give a sense of how raw the nerves of Poles are when it comes to the near decimation of their nation by the Nazi onslaught of WWII.:
The first article from Rzeczpospolita headlined Prime Minister Tusk Tells Obama: ‘These Words Very Deeply Hurt All Poles’, offers the comments of Poland’s Prime Minister and other Polish leaders about why these three words sting so badly, and some of the contents of a letter to Obama written by the Polish president:
“We cannot accept such words, even if spoken by the leader of a friendly power. … We always react the same way when ignorance, a lack of knowledge, or ill-will lead to such distortions of history, which are so especially painful for us in Poland, a country that suffered during World War II like no other in Europe. For Poles … this is something that we cannot remain indifferent to.” — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk
In the second article, Rzeczpospolita columnist Bartosz W?glarczyk counsels his readers to remain calm, pointing out that one mistake like this made by a U.S. president will result in a more thorough airing of Poland, Poles, and how they really are, than anything else possibly could.
“Obama’s blunder has been widely circulated – and not only in American media. Because of all this, the matter of ‘Polish camps’ will be effectively aired. … And that is a very good thing. One speech from Obama and the reaction has more of a beneficial impact than a hundred letters of protest from the Polish Foreign Ministry.”
Finally, in an interview headlined ‘Polish’ Concentration Camps: ‘A Major Blunder for Obama’ conducted by Gazeta Wyborcza’s Mariusz Zawadzki, Wes Mitchell, president of the Center for European Policy Analysis, explains what he thinks the ramifications are for Polish-American relations, and why President Obama should personally apologize quickly.
“I don’t know whether the president and his advisers know that the camps were German. But I know that they should know. And they should know how important this is for the Poles. It is not a minor error – but a major blunder.” — Wes Mitchell, president of the Center for European Policy Analysis
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