History: Written By The Victors, Edited By The PC Police

Poland has prevailed upon the United Nations to rename the notorious concentration camp located at Auschwitz. It seems that someone in Poland's Ministry of Culture felt that it was insufficiently clear that Nazi Germany was responsible for the atrocities that occurred at the camp. The former "Auschwitz Concentration Camp," where 1.5 million people lost their lives, will henceforth be known officially as the "Former Nazi German Concentration Camp of Auschwitz."

Apparently there is some confusion over which group gets to be considered the greater victim, Poles or Jews. Six million Jews were executed by the killing regime of Nazi Germany, of course, as were most of those at Auschwitz. Three million Poles were also killed by the Nazis, however, some at Auschwitz. Some Jewish factions accuse Poles of collaberation in the activities as Auschwitz, while Poles, whose country's sudden and total defeat at the hands of the Nazi war machine gave the world the very definition of "blitzkrieg," consider themselves to be victims of war as well.

It turns out that someone who is paid to care about such things "objects to references to 'Polish gas chambers' at the 'Polish concentration camp' in foreign media." This is what happens when countries have Ministries of Culture. Does the Culture Minister or the U.N. really think this will keep the "foreign media" from reporting that Auschwitz is, indeed, in Poland? Does any rational person with even passing knowledge of history believe that Poland ran death camps during World War II? No, this is about image, about sharing in the pity. As the article reports, "Poles see themselves as victims of the war. Because of this image, the role of Poles in the deaths of millions of Polish Jews, and at Auschwitz, is a sore topic."

This dispute over the right of victimhood is far from the noble effort to be sure the world will "never forget." The tussle over who gets to be remembered as a victim denigrates the memory of the millions whose lives were unjustly and cruelly snuffed out, and the millions more whose families have gaps and voids to this day.

The camp happens to be located in Poland. So be it. The fact that the Nazis established such a place within the territory of one of its conquests simply adds to the detestable policy that it represented. Were some Poles conscripted by the Nazis to carry out their schemes? Yes. Did they have free will to accept that gruesome task? Undoubtedly not. However, only the most uninformed person could possibly conclude by its location that the camp was created or run by Poles, and any such misguided thought could be corrected within seconds of conducting basic research or visiting the place.

Simple location markers should not be reworded to provide instant backstory out of a latter-day concern that some ignorant person might confuse Poland with Nazi Germany and in so doing forget to count Poles among the victims. Context is fine, of course, but hand-wringing over who gets to share in martyrdom is unseemly.