Polish Falcons Of America Seeking Apology For Remarks Made By President Obama

President Obama stated that Karski, known for his attempts to stop the Holocaust, was smuggled into a "Polish death camp." The use of this phrase is both inaccurate and offensive as the camp was a German death camp in the Nazi-occupied country of Poland.

Obama made the comment while awarding America's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Jan Karski, a resistance fighter against the Nazi occupation of Poland during World War II. Karski died in 2000.

In the past two years, major media outlets including the Associated Press, Wall Street Journal and New York Times have modified their stylebooks to eliminate use of the phrase "Polish death camp" in reference to Nazi established concentration camps in occupied Poland. Over 300,000 people signed a petition, started by the Kosciuszko Foundation, to request the change.

Polish Falcons of America National President Timothy Kuzma stated, "President Obama's use of the phrase was very disappointing, especially considering the nature of the event. We join with Polish Prime Minister Tusk, the Polish government and other Polish American organizations across the United States in demanding a correction of this distortion of history. We expect President Obama to issue an apology to Poland and to the more than 10 million Polish-Americans living in the United States."

Established in 1887, the Polish Falcons of America has over 21,000 members throughout the U.S.

For additional information, please contact National President Timothy Kuzma at tkuzma@polishfalcons.org

Polish Falcons of America
381 Mansfield Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15220
www.polishfalcons.org