Poland approves bill outlawing phrase 'Polish death camps'

The Guardian ^ | August 16, 2016 | AP

[Trump20162020]

The Polish government has approved a new bill that foresees prison terms of up to three years for anyone who uses phrases like “Polish death camps” to refer to Auschwitz and other camps that Nazi Germany operated in occupied Poland during the second world war.

[MacMattico]

I was good friends with our school's foreign exchange student from Japan back in the 1980’s. We were learning about WWII and watching video of the Bataan Death March and even the attack on Pearl Harbor and although she had heard about Pearl Harbor, she had no idea and had never seen any video about what really happened and no idea about the Bataan Death march at all. I thought she was going to cry. She just looked at me and said, “I'm sorry.” She was a HS grad in Japan. Being me at 16, I just said, “It's not your fault, but we got you back later.” She had met my Uncle and I told her how he was in the Pacific in WW II. She couldn't believe that my uncle, who was so nice to her, had been shot at by people in her grandfathers generation. She told my uncle she was sorry. He gave her a hug and said “the wars over”. And she said, “but I was never really taught that it began”.

[agere_contra]

Yes ... I guess I agree. You’ve convinced me.

The battlefield of ideas should be a flat playing field. Indeed: the banning of free speech helped Hitler get into power in the first place.

Poland would be far better off *not* doing this. It’s a toxic thing to do.

But let us temper our criticism by saying that we don’t have to deal with the horrendous societal wound that Poland carries.

We are in a happy place: a world where 60 million Americans haven’t been murdered in ‘American death camps’. Though if Hillary gets in, who knows? (shudder).

[MAexile]

A few years back I visited Poland, and got to see Awschwirz. The locals I spoke to wanted me to know in no uncertain terms that these were Nazi death camps, NOT Polish.

I can understand them doing this. The only objections I have are the obvious free speech ones.

[Ethan Clive Osgoode]

Obviously you’ve never heard of the war in the Pacific..........

I have, of course. They haven't.

[Vermont Lt]

Polish Death Camp. Polish Death camp. Polish Death camp.

Does that get me 9 years in a polish death camp?

[Vermont Lt]

Count me as one of them. I just bookmarked the search, so I can read up.

[glock rocks]

bookmark for later study. thanks.

[cynwoody]

The Polacks think they are three times as important as they really are.

[IC Ken]

Re>Polish Death Camp. Polish Death camp. Polish Death camp. Does that get me 9 years in a polish death camp?

No it gets you 12 years. LOL

[Trump20162020]

We’re just going to have to disagree. These laws are completely stupid, and I am grateful our Founding Fathers were wise beyond their time to write the First Amendment.

[Ouderkirk]

The usage is because of the intellectually lazy, especially among jounalists.

It’s easy to say “Polish Death Camp”, as opposed to “Nazi death camp in Poland”.

Yes, the law is a bit odd, but the term implicates them as collaborators. The evidence demonstrates they were not.

[Freelance Warrior]

But let us temper our criticism by saying that we don’t have to deal with the horrendous societal wound that Poland carries.

Sure. Their suffering deserve compassion, and they are worth to hear words of it.
Still, the conservative Americans need to gently advocate free speech when speaking to Poles just because sticking to it is a right thing to do, while it's not easy because of the wound, but still right anyway.

Old Europe has authority in the eyes of Poles, as well as of many others, and its criminalising of certain ideas must be countered by the USA.

[JimRed]

“Nazi death camps in Poland” is a more accurate description, so I don’t blame them.

[dfwgator]

There are some who knowingly used the term “Polish Death Camps” to allege Polish Anti-Semitism. Not to say that there wasn’t anti-semitism in Poland, but of course, every European country was guilty of this to a degree.

I would retort to them, that not one single Pole was used as a guard at the camps, while Ukrainians and Lithuanians were extensively used as guards.

[Scrambler Bob]

Someone shines the death camps?

[Leep]

Hush,Hush,Aweet Charlotte.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac8Lc_vF6G0

[Leep]

Sweet that is.

[SaraJohnson]

There were Nazi death camps in Poland. That is what is true.

[dfwgator]

There was no Poland.

Parts were annexed to Germany, other parts were the “Generalgouvernement” that was administered by the Germans. There was no “Vichy Poland.”

[SaraJohnson]

They were Nazi death camps.