My dearest sweethearts,
A while back I was writing an article on my former blog page about the fact that we should not use the wording “Polish Death Camps”. I still stand by this idea and I firmly believe that the people referring to concentration camps run by Nazis should refer to them as “German Death Camps in Poland”.
Warsaw VS Krakow – Whom to spare?
When the German Occupation hit Poland and the Nazis were searching for places to build their Death Camps they choose Poland, as Poland is the heart of Europe – DEAD CENTER on the map. Back when the occupation started in 1939, the borders of Poland were very different than they are now and the closest city to the border with Germany was actually Krakow, a couple of hours away.
When the Polish Government looked upon what could be spared and whatnot, they agreed that they should first allow the Nazi to take over Krakow, so the city and its inhabitants would be safe – not as much can be said about Warsaw, that put up a great fight and was torn to the ground approximately 90%, no stone being unturned.
Polish Army barracks turned into slaughtering houses…
Krakow manages to maintain its old-time beauty, though it also faced horrible horrors in its wake. When the Nazis build Auschwitz – the most well known Death Camp of the Holocaust – they chose Oswiecim. Oswiecim was a remote village, so they would do their horrible deeds without being watched. It was previously a Polish Army barracks but nowadays nobody mentions that anymore…
Nazi Germany wanted to destroy Poland
The purpose of the Nazis was to destroy Poland, enslave it’s people and take the land – make Germany bigger and stronger in the process. They did not plan the same as they did in France or Norway where they created governments that would collaborate with the German one.
By the end of World War II, 6 million Polish people have been murdered, including 3 million Jews (almost half of the Jews killed during the Holocaust). In February 2018, the president of Poland signed legislation making it a crime to suggest that Poland bore any responsibility for the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany. This has infuriated certain historians and the Israeli government.
The law has 2 parts:
1) outlaws the phrase “Polish Death Camps” – even scholars agree the term is very misleading, considering the fact that the camps were built and controlled by Nazi Germany;
2) it is a crime – punishable by a fine of up to 3 years in prison – to accuse “the Polish nation” of complicity in the Holocaust and other Nazi atrocities.
What do Israeli people think of the law?
Naftali Bennett, Israel’s education minister, criticized the law: “The blood of Polish Jews cries from the ground, and no law will silence it”.
On another hand, Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, formally recognized more than 6700 gentiles in Poland as “righteous among the nations” because they risked their lives to save the Jews – more so than ANY other country in Europe! The estimates suggest that up to 35000 Polish Jews may have been saved through their efforts. The Center made an official statement saying that the term “Polish Death Camps” was without a doubt a historical misinterpretation, but they cannot agree with the second part of the law, erasing all blame from Poland.
What do I believe?
I believe that the Polish state was not complicit to the horrors of the Holocaust, yet that many Polish people are to blame for the acts that they carried out. Each story has its light and dark side, it’s heroes and it’s foes. We do have righteous people who have saved many Jews, yet we also have Polish people that blew covers, picked on Jewish people out of the darkness of their heart, or simply by trying to protect their lives, family, or their assets. They chose themselves over others, but whom are we to judge – would we have done the same, given the situation? You can’t know for a fact, can’t you?!
#DidYouKnow that Poland was the only country where if you would have hidden a Jews and you would be found out, both the Jews, yourself, and your family would be immediately executed? Also, Poland has sustained the heaviest losses during the Second World War with up to 17% of its entire population vs. Russia – 14% and Germany – 10%. Not to mention Poland bring the only occupied country that had it’s government immediately liquidated, it’s army disbanded and schools and universities closed (their professors and “grey minds” being the first ones taken away and locked up/executed).
If you will blame the individuals, the Polish people that acted against the Jews, than why would you not blame the Jews that acted against the Jews? You would then be implicitly blaming the Jewish community for the Holocaust. I know that sounds horrible and absurd, but is it not what people are doing when they say Poland is to blame?
*** This article is the redone of the original article that can be found here, on my previous blog page***
Yours very much truly,
The Twisted Red Ladybug That Loves Poland
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