The Polish government has sparked controversy by prodding the UN to rename the 'Auschwitz concentration camp' (as it is currently listed), 'Former Nazi German Extermination Camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau.' The request comes after repeated references in the international press to 'Polish death camps'.
It might appear that the Poles are being rather over zealous in their bid to rename the sites. Journalistic slips often referred to the geographical location, rather than ascribing blame to the Poles.
However, a recent BBC poll revealed that knowledge of Auschwitz is not as thorough as many historians would hope. In last year's BBC poll, it was disclosed that 45% of all Britons had not even heard of Auschwitz. Of those that did know what Auschwitz was, it is likely that few knew that Auschwitz was initially created as a holding camp for the Polish intelligentsia, or that approximately 145,000 Polish Catholics were imprisoned at Auschwitz during the war, half of whom perished. This figure represents a small proportion in relation to the colossal number of European Jews that died, but it is not an insignificant loss on behalf of the Poles.
From the Polish point of view, this is just the tip of the ice-berg. Poles recall that 1 in 5 citizens died in the war, half of them Polish Gentiles, half Polish Jewish. Unlike many other occupied countries, the Poles remind us that there was no collaborative Polish government in Nazi occupied Poland. And that the very whistling of the Polish national anthem was often enough to merit the death penalty. At Auschwitz itself, a zone was created around the camps to seal them off from the world at large.
Do occasional references to Polish death camps make an impact? Judging by some recent postings on a popular English-language news portal, many people do believe that the Poles are at least in part culpable:
'The Polish too are responsible for Auschwitz' wrote one reader,' it does not come from anywhere that these horrible sites of murder were build up in Poland. It always takes the cooperation of the locals! '
A second reader added: "Why were the camps put in Poland?...there would be less German soldiers needed because the Polish hated the Jews so much that they were willing helpers."
And a third: "What name you give the Auschwitz will not erase the stain that marks an uncivilized population who had no value of life. History will condemn them to the worst killers of mankind."
These remarks tally with a not uncommon view that the Poles collaborated en masse with the Germans during the Second World War. To suggest that these claims are hurtful to many Poles, let only Polish survivors of Auschwitz, is obvious.
In the overall picture, Polish/ Jewish relations remain complicated. Whilst there was no 'quisling' Polish government, many Poles did betray Jews to the Nazis. On the other hand, Israel's Yed Vashem Institute records that more Poles saved Jews than any of other listed nation. Indeed, Yed Vashem has declared its support for the name change. The legacy is a complex one, with much bitterness remaining on either side. However, in spite of this, relations between the Polish and Israeli Governments have consistently improved since the collapse of communism.
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