Obama apologizes to President Komorowski over ‘Polish death camp’ gaffe

On May 29th 2012 during a ceremony awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Jan Karski, President Obama mistakenly used a slur against Polish people by referring to Nazi concentration camps located in German-occupied Poland as “Polish Death Camps”.

Jan Karski was a member of the Polish resistance during WWII who witnessed the horrors of the Jewish Holocaust and made multiple effort to convey this information to the US and its Allies. He exemplifies the courage of many Polish freedom fighters who risked their lives to prevent Nazi war crimes.

The effort of these brave individuals should not be disregarded by the use of a common but misguided term which erroneously implicates Poles as collaborators in the murders of Jews and other prisoners; rather than victims of Nazi aggression.