The British website deleted the false phrase “Polish camp” from its report from Auschwitz after a wave of our reader’s protest emails and an article describing the mistake and its consequences for shaping historical narratives about the Holocaust. 

Again the change in Mirror’s text remained problematic, as now it says Auschwitz was located in “Nazi-occupied Poland” leaving no indication of the responsibility of the German states for the atrocities and annexation of Polish land. 

It is crucial to remember that Auschwitz was created in the territories incorporated into the German Reich that had no Polish administration at the time of the Nazi German camp’s functioning, therefore it is not precise to call it an occupation zone as the Polish state was completely erased. 

For some historians and journalists, that fact is sometimes hard to explain as the status of Poland differed from countries such as France or others occupied by the Germans. The difference was also the draconian laws for aiding Jews or any underground activity against the authorities. 

The strict occupation zone for Poles was named the General Government or General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (Generalgouvernement für die besetzten polnischen Gebiete).

We are reminded that the only phrase reflecting the historical truth in given circumstances to describe Auschwitz and other death camps is “Nazi German death camp”. 

Thanks to hundreds of our readers sending the protest emails to The Mirror, the change in the article was possible. We want to thank you for that and remind you that such help might be needed in the future, as manipulation regarding historical facts becomes increasingly a tool of political significance. 

Photo: Pixabay

Tomasz Modrzejewski