Accessibility links

Breaking News

Poland Says Obama 'Regrets' Death Camp Error


The office of the Polish presidency has said that U.S. President Barack Obama had expressed regret in a letter to his Polish counterpart for having referred to a Nazi death camp as a "Polish death camp."

Obama's remark on May 29 while awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously to Jan Karski, a Polish resistance fighter during the World War II Nazi occupation of his country, has caused uproar in Poland.

Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski wrote a letter to Obama complaining about the remark.

In his reply letter, Obama noted "there simply were no 'Polish death camps,'" and that facilities like Auschwitz and Treblinka were "built and operated by the Nazi regime."

Komorowski said he "accepted with satisfaction" Obama's quick response to his letter.

Based on reporting by AFP and dpa

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.

To find out more, click here.

XS
SM
MD
LG