WJC Calls for Holocaust Survivors to Lead Discussion
on Polish Request to Rename Auschwitz
The Polish Government has recently made a request to UNESCO to have the
official name of Auschwitz changed from 'Auschwitz Concentration Camp'
to 'Former Nazi German Concentration Camp Auschwitz-Birkenau'.
The World Jewish Congress has always maintained that preserving history
as it happened is a fundamental principle. The shock of the memories of
Auschwitz and the Holocaust can never be altered, and as those memories
fade with the passing of so many witnesses, commitment to that principle
must remain steadfast.
The name of Auschwitz does not belong to anyone but those who perished
there. In considering this it is most important to try to understand what
the victims would have felt.
The WJC has historically stood by the fact that the name Auschwitz has
become synonymous with the tragedy of the Holocaust. That remains the
position of the WJC today.
The Polish government's request to change the name of the site is a sensitive
issue. The WJC is very sensitive to the views of the Polish people. Poland
should not be blamed for the Holocaust, a tragedy perpetrated by the Nazis
and those supporting them during World War II. The question is how to
deal with this reality in a historically correct manner.
For this reason, the WJC believes that serious consideration of this
issue is required to preserve history and the memories of those who perished
and is calling for a small committee, with a core comprised of Holocaust
survivors, to deal with this sensitive issue and make recommendations.
Read the WJC
letter to the President of the International Auschwitz
Committee (
57Kb)
