This is the third installment of our series about errors that occur again and again (see our post about James Dobson and this one about Edgar Allan Poe). This time we look at the litany of corrections printed by newspapers, wire services and magazines who refer to WWII Nazi concentration/death camps as "Polish concentration/death camps." We’ve found over 30 corrections from recent years. Have a look.
Boston Globe
July 8, 2006
A story in the June 26 City & Region section on parishes closing in Brighton and Lynn referred to a “Polish concentration camp." The concentration camps in Poland, which was occupied by Germany during the war, were created and controlled by Nazis.The Hamilton Spectator (Ontario, Canada)
July 7, 2006
A June 29 story in The Spectator referred incorrectly to Polish death camps during the Second World War. The story should have said Nazi death camps in occupied Poland.
We apologize for the error and any upset it has caused.San Francisco Chronicle
May 17, 2006
Clarification: A story in some editions Sunday referred to events at "Polish death camps" during World War II. The concentration camps in Poland, which was occupied by Germany during World War II, were created and controlled by the Germans.Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
April 27, 2006
The Snapshots column Tuesday about a Holocaust survivor referred to "a Polish death camp." It was a Nazi death camp that was in occupied Poland.Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette
April 21, 2006
A story on Page 1C of Wednesday’s editions about Holocaust survivor Philip Bialowitz stated that he was sent to Sobibor, a Polish prison camp. While the concentration camp was in Poland, it was run by Nazi soldiers from Germany.Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
December 15, 2005
A story on Page 3B Wednesday about a Holocaust survivor visiting students at Churchville-Chili High School incorrectly located the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. It was in Poland, not Germany.Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
May 5, 2005
An article about a Holocaust survivor on Page 1B of Tuesday’s Local section incorrectly described Treblinka, which was a Nazi death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland.Saint Paul Pioneer Press
January 26, 2005
Local News: A story Monday that appeared on Page 1B gave the incorrect location of Auschwitz. The Nazi death camp operated in Poland.Tucson Citizen
January 25, 2005
Concentration camps referred to in a story on Page 2A Saturday were run by Nazi Germany. Tucsonan Sol Rosner shared his story of surviving World War II-era Nazi camps in Poland and Austria.The Washington Post
December 14, 2004
A Dec. 11 Religion Page article referred to Jews who were killed in "Polish death camps" during World War II. The camps were in Poland but were run by Nazi Germany.The Washington Post
May 12, 2004
In a May 1 article about a federal court upholding the decision to strip former Nazi death-camp guard John Demjanjuk of his U.S. citizenship, the Associated Press referred to Poland’s Treblinka death camp. The story should have specified that Poland was occupied by Nazi Germany in World War II, and that death camps in Polish territory were operated by the Germans.The Record (Bergen County, NJ)
May 7, 2004
An Associated Press article in Saturday’s edition of The Record about a former Nazi referred incorrectly to Poland’s Treblinka death camp. The story should have specified that Poland was occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II, and that death camps in Polish territory were operated by the Germans.Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
May 5, 2004
An Associated Press article Sunday about a federal court upholding the decision to strip former Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk of his U.S. citizenship referred to Poland’s Treblinka death camp. The article should have specified that Poland was occupied by Nazi Germany in World War II and that death camps in Polish territory were operated by the Germans.The Associated Press
May 3, 2004
In one version of the April 30 story about a federal court upholding the decision to strip former Nazi death-camp guard John Demjanjuk of his U.S. citizenship, The Associated Press referred to Poland’s Treblinka death camp. The story should have specified that Poland was occupied by Nazi Germany in World War II, and that death camps in Polish territory were operated by the Germans.Orlando Sentinel
February 27, 2002
An article on Page A5 Sunday about Germany paying reparations to a former prisoner of the Nazis mistakenly described a concentration camp in which he was held. It was a German concentration camp in Poland.Baltimore Sun
March 25, 2000
An article in yesterday’s editions of The Sun inaccurately described Pope John Paul II, as a young priest in Poland, caring for a woman who had been liberated from "a Polish concentration camp." This implied that the camp was run by Poland. In fact, the camp was a Nazi German concentration camp in Poland, which was invaded by Germany at the outset of World War II.New York Times
January 14, 2000
A television review on Dec. 29 about "Investigative Reports: The Survivor," an A&E program about Binjamin Wilkomirski, whose claim to being a Holocaust survivor has been challenged, referred incorrectly to Majdanek, where Mr. Wilkomirski said he had been confined. It was set up and run by the German occupiers of Poland; it was not a "Polish death camp."The Guardian (London)
October 21, 1999
In an article headed Auschwitz bestseller a fraud, page 9, October 15, we referred to ‘the terror of the Polish concentration camps". We should have referred to the terror of the German or Nazi concentration camps in Poland. Our apparent failure to recognise the difference offended a number of people to whom we apologise.Sarasota Herald-Tribune (Florida)
April 22, 1998
The concentration camp at Auschwitz was established and operated in Poland by Nazi Germany after the German occupation of Poland in World War II. A phrase in a story published Monday on Page 1A may have implied otherwise.The Denver Post
March 1, 1997
Friday’s editorial on ‘Schindler’s List’ should have referred to a German concentration camp in occupied Poland. The camp was not operated by Poland.Charlotte Observer
August 2, 1996
An editing error was made in "German, Polish, or Jewish death camps?" (July 30 Forum). Krzysztof Mielczak’s letter should have read, " . . . why not use a more practical description of those places and call them Jewish death camps,’ as most of the victims were Jews?"Buffalo News
April 16, 1996
The concentration camp Wolf Tombak was imprisoned in during World War II was run by Hitler’s Third Reich in Nazi-occupied Poland.
A story in Friday’s Buffalo News referred to it as a Polish concentration camp.Palm Beach Post
February 21, 1995
The Palm Beach Post Sunday incorrectly referred to ”Polish concentration camps” in a story about Holocaust survivors. The Nazis operated the camps during World War II.The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario)
November 24, 1994
An Oct. 15 Second Opinion column erroneously referred to the "notorious Polish concentration camps." The camps were operated by SS troops in Nazi-occupied Poland during the Second World War.The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario)
April 30, 1994
A story in Thursday’s Record about a Holocaust survivor referred to a Polish concentration camp. The camp should have been described as a German concentration camp in occupied Poland.The Houston Chronicle
March 29, 1994
A Sunday Newsmakers item on the movie Schindler’s List referred to the German Nazi concentration camps in Poland as “Polish death camps.” The item should have referred to the “death camps in Poland.”Orange County Register
February 18, 1993
Auschwitz, the infamous World War II concentration camp, was operated by the German forces occupying Poland. Because of a wire-service error, the forces operating the camp could have been misunderstood in an article in the Show section of Feb. 7 edition of the Register.The Washington Post
June 16, 1992
The death camp at Treblinka was misidentified in a June 6 story. It was located in Nazi-occupied Poland and operated by the Nazis.The Toronto Star
February 5, 1992
A wire service report on Monday about Argentina’s secret files on Nazis who hid there after World War II failed to specify that wartime death camps were set up in Poland when it was occupied by Germany.Time Magazine
January 13, 1992
In our 50th anniversary special on Pearl Harbor [Dec. 2], an article describing World War II in Europe incorrectly used the phrase "Polish death camps" to refer to the Nazi death camps in Poland. We regret the error.Wall Street Journal
May 2, 1991
Buchenwald was referred to incorrectly as Polish concentration camp in April 16 article; Buchenwald was in Germany.
