Maura
I'm sorry, but I can't agree with your reasoning. If I were to describe Guantanamo Bay as a Cuban prison camp, simply to 'save a few keystrokes', I'm sure that, quite justifiably, I'd receive complaints. Your 'Paris clinic' analogy doesn't hold water either - France is not currently under the occupation of another country, as Poland was between 1939 and 1945. Bear in mind that during WW2, Germany and the Soviet Union carved up Poland between themselves, and that to be strictly accurate, Auschwitz was to be found in the Generalgouvernement, an autonomous part of 'Greater Germany', and therefore not in Poland.
Many readers with little knowledge of WW2 history would therefore read such an article, and seeing the phrase 'Polish Camp', or 'a camp in Poland', conclude that, being located on current Polish soil, Auschwitz must have been run by the Poles!
You've
made certain assumptions in your article which can be easily misconstrued. As someone who works with the media on a daily basis, I can see this ambiguity. This isn't the first, and it certainly won't be the last time, that such an ambiguity needs to be pointed out and corrected.
As my letter below was written for publication, I'd be grateful if you would forward it accordingly.
Sincerely
Janusz Marszewski
London, UK
Maura Lerner <mlerner@...> wrote:
Thanks for your note. I've certainly learned in the last few days the level of sensitivity in the Polish community on this subject.
As a writer, I was merely trying to save a few keystrokes in identifying the
location of the Auschwitz concentration camp. The context of the story made it clear that it was a Nazi German facility; I do not believe any reader would conclude otherwise. The sentence was accurate, just as I might describe a clinic in Paris as "the Paris clinic."
I understand the concerns raised. But after discussing them with my editor, we do not believe a correction is warranted.
However, you are welcome to send a letter to the editor for possible publication on our editorial page. To do so, send the letter to
opinion@....
Sincerely,
Maura Lerner
Maura Lerner
Medical Reporter
Star Tribune
Ph: 612-673-7384
>>> Jan Marszewski <goldmaster26@...> 3/3/2008 9:03 AM >>>
Sir
The article "A new Science Museum exhibit explores how a flawed
science paved the way to atrocities" (25 February) contains one glaring error, describing Auschwitz as a "Polish concentration camp". As you are undoubtedly aware, this is a term deeply insulting to all individuals with a Polish background, such as myself. This implies that the camp was run not by the Nazis, but by the Poles. I appreciate that many people decribe it thus because Auschwitz is geographically within the borders of Poland, but if you want to describe it in that context, the correct term to use is "Nazi-occupied Poland". Auschwitz was established by the German Nazi regime, originally to house political prisoners. The Polish nation had nothing to do with its operation, and indeed, over 1 million Poles perished there until its liberation in 1945.
Would you describe Guantanamo Bay as a Cuban camp, simply because it is located on the island of Cuba? I think not!
Yours
sincerely
Janusz Marszewski
London, UK
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