Is it any wonder Poles are sensitive about the phrase ‘Polish death camps’?
Poland’s new government, which is described as right-wing and nationalistic, is in the news again. This time it wants to make it a criminal offence, punishable by up to five years in prison, to implicate Poland in the atrocities committed by Nazi Germany on Polish soil. Uproar has ensued: the Law and Justice party is suppressing freedom of speech again. First the courts, then the media, now this! And while I agree that reference to ‘Polish death camps’ should not be made a criminal offence – people should be allowed to say what they want – I do, however, understand what lies at the root of this proposal. It is not, as