Dumb Moments in Government Part I

[Txjake]

"US President Barack Obama's description of a Nazi German Holocaust site as a "Polish death camp" shocked Poland, whose leaders insist the record be set straight 67 years after World War II.

Obama on Tuesday labeled the Nazi facility used to process Jews for extermination as a "Polish death camp."
"

Duh.... Who writes this stuff?


Obama Nazi death camp gaffe 'hurt all Poles': PM - Yahoo! News

[MS Fowler]

"The Amateur" strikes again.

[JB3]

seems like more of a poor choice of words than a misunderstanding or what really went on there.

without the actual text of the speech, and the article that just cites his saying "polish death camp", its hard to get an idea of meaning, or what he really was referring to.

Like it says, could be geographical, could be he meant that Poles died there, ect.

As the article states, the Poles are extremely sensitive to having these Nazi sites on their land misdescribed like that, for whatever reason, however genuine, and it is insulting that the President of the United states would have been one to make that kind of gaffe. Sounds more like faulty staff work for than anything else to me.

[Honus]

Originally Posted by dropnosky

...Like it says, could be geographical, could be he meant that Poles died there, ect...

I think he meant that the camps were located in Poland. Pretty serious gaffe, IMHO.

...Sounds more like faulty staff work for than anything else to me.

Disagree there. Everyone, including Obama, knows who ran those camps. His slip of the tongue is not surprising, but he should have clarified his remarks right away. I put this in a similar category as his comment about 57 states. It is no reflection on his knowledge of the world, just a brain freeze, IMHO.

[elchivito]

We can only hope that Part II will be a bit more, um, significant.
z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z......

[spdrun]

Originally Posted by Honus

I think he meant that the camps were located in Poland.

No, they were located in Germany (and the USSR in some cases). Poland didn't exist in 39-45 -- it wasn't a Vichy-type puppet state.

[Txjake]

Originally Posted by elchivito

We can only hope that Part II will be a bit more, um, significant.
z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z......

I think insulting 38 million people is a fairly significant deal, sorry you don't

[Dudesky]

Originally Posted by spdrun

No, they were located in Germany (and the USSR in some cases). Poland didn't exist in 39-45 -- it wasn't a Vichy-type puppet state.

Poland regained independence in 1918 until invaded by Russia and Nazi Germany in 1939.

• Location: Oswiecim, Poland
• Established: May 26th1940
• Liberation: January 27th, 1945, by the Soviet Army.
• Estimated number of victims: 2,1 to 2,5 million (This estimated number of death is considered by historians as a strict minimum. The real number of death is unknown but probably much higher, maybe 4 millions)
• Sub-camps : 51 (see The List of the Camps for a complete list of those sub-camps)

Auschwitz-Birkenau Extermination Camp (Poland)

[spdrun]

Originally Posted by Dudesky

Poland regained independence in 1918 until invaded by Russia and Nazi Germany in 1939.


Auschwitz-Birkenau Extermination Camp (Poland)

None of this disagrees with my assertion that Poland didn't exist as a country from 1939-45. Technically, there was a gov't in exile in London, but the camps obviously weren't set up in its name.

[Dudesky]

Originally Posted by spdrun

None of this disagrees with my assertion that Poland didn't exist as a country from 1939-45. Technically, there was a gov't in exile in London, but the camps obviously weren't set up in its name.

Republic of Poland or Commonwealth of Poland existed from 1918 until 1939.
And there were a couple of camps in Poland .
Here's a list of a couple:

Poland

Note: the German names of the camps are followed by the actual Polish names.

• Auschwitz - Birkenau (Oswiecim - Brzezinka) (click here for more information about this camp)
  • Altdorf / Stara Wies
  • Althammer / Stara Kusnia
  • Babice
  • Bauzug
  • Beruna
  • Bismarckhütte / Chorzow-Battory
  • Blechhammer / Slawiecice
  • Bobrek / Oscwiecim
  • Budy
  • Brunn / Brono
  • Charlottengrubbe / Rydultowy
  • Chelmek / Chelmek-Paprotnik
  • Chorzow
  • Chrzanow
  • Czernica
  • Ernforst
  • Ernfort-Slawecice
  • Eintrachthutte / Swietochlowice
  • Freudenthal / Bruntal
  • Furstengrabe / Lawski
  • Gleiwitz I, II, II, IV / Gliwice
  • Golleschau / Goleszow
  • Gunthergrubbe / ledziny
  • Harmeze
  • Hindenburg / Zabrze
  • Hubertushutte-Hohenlinde / Lagiewniki
  • Janigagrube-Hoffnung / Libiaz
  • Jawichowitz
  • Kobio / Kobior
  • Lagischa / Lagisza
  • Laurahutte / Siemianowice
  • Lepziny-Lawki
  • Lesslau-Wloclawek
  • Libiaz-Maly
  • Lukow
  • Monowitz / Monowice
  • Myslowice
  • Neu Dachs / Jaworzno
  • Neustadt / Prudnik
  • Sosnowitz I et II / Sosnowiec
  • Trezbinia
  • Tscechwitz / Czechwiece
  • Harmeze
  • Plawy
  • Rajsko
  • Rybnik
  • Rydultowy
  • Siemiennowice
  • Wloklawek-lesslan
  • Zasole
  • Zittau
• Belzec (click here for more information about this camp)
  • Izbica: Historians consider Izbica a "Holding camp for Belzec. A few hundred Jews from the towns of Furth,Nurnberg and nearby Jewish communities were on March 22, 1942 deported to Izbica. Many died or were murdered in Izbica, many more were shipped to Belzec.
    (Thanks to Willie Glaser for these informations)
• Gross-Rosen (Rogoznica)
  • Aslau
  • Bad Warmbrunn / Cieplice
  • Bautzen
  • Berndorf / Bernartice
  • Blechhammer
  • Bolkenhain
  • Breslau - Wroclaw
  • Brief / Brzeg
  • Brunnlitz / Bruenec
  • Brusay / Brzezowa
  • Bunzlau / Boleslawiec
  • Bunzlau-Rauscha
  • Christianstadt
  • Dornhau
  • Dyhernfurth
  • Erlenbush
  • Eule
  • Faulbruk
  • Gadersdorf
  • Gassen
  • Cellenau
  • Falkenberg
  • Frierland
  • Fürstenstein
  • Gebhardsdorf
  • Gorlitz
  • Graben
  • Granefort
  • Grulich
  • Grunsberg
  • Gruschwitz / Kruswica
  • Halbstadt / Mezimesti
  • Hartmanndorf
  • Hirschberg / Jelenia Gara
  • Buchwald Höhenwöse
  • Hohenelbe / Wrszlabi
  • Kamenz
  • Kaltwasser
  • Kittlitztrebben / Kotlicki Trebin
  • Kursbach Grunthal
  • Landeshut / Kamienogora
  • Langenblielau / Lielawa
  • Larche Ludwigsdorf
  • Lehmwasser
  • Leszno Lissa
  • Mahrisch
  • Markstadt / Laskowitz
  • Marzbachtal
  • Marzdorf
  • Mittelsteine
  • Neisse-Neusalz Oder / Nova Sol
  • Niesky
  • Niesky Klein
  • Niesky Wittischenau
  • Radisch
  • Oberalsstadt
  • Oberwustegiersdorf
  • Parschnitz / Porici
  • Peterswaldau
  • Prausnitz / Prusnica
  • Rauscha
  • Reichenau / Risznow
  • Reichenau Reichenberg Liberal
  • Reichenau Reichenbach
  • Schmiedenberg
  • Seuferwassergraben
  • Schotterwok
  • Striegau
  • Tannhausen
  • Waldenburg
  • Weiswasser
  • Wolsberg
  • Wustegierdorf / Giercze Puste
  • Wustegierdorf Station
  • Wusteweltersdorf
  • Zittau
• Majdanek (click here for more information about this camp)
  • Budzyn
  • Hrubieszow
  • Lublin
• Stutthof (Sztutowo) (click here for more information about this camp)
  • Bocion
  • Bromberg
  • Chorabie
  • Cieszyny
  • Danzig-Burggraben / Kokokszki
  • Danzig-Neufahrwasser
  • Danzigerwerf / Gdansk
  • Dzimianen
  • Elbing
  • Elblag (Org. Todt)
  • Elblag (Schinau)
  • Police / Szczecin
  • Gdynia
  • Gerdenau
  • Graudenz
  • Greendorf
  • Grodno
  • Gutowo
  • Gwisdyn
  • Heiligenbeil
  • Jessu
  • Kokoschken
  • Kolkau
  • Krzemieniewo
  • Lauenburg
  • Malken Mierzynek
  • Nawitz
  • Niskie
  • Obrzycko
  • Prault
  • Rosenberg / Brodnica
  • Scherokopas
  • Schiffenbeil
  • Serappen
  • Sophienwalde
  • Slipsk
  • Starorod
  • Pruszcz
  • Brusy
  • Torun (AEG, Org. Todt)
    

[Air&Road]

Sounds like Joe Biden's Foot in Mouth disease is contagious.

[Dudesky]

So in September 1939, what country did Hitler invade?
And tell those in Poland at the time they didn't exist.

[MTI]

It's too bad we don't have presidential blooper reels from the early days of the country. I bet they were hilarious.

[Dudesky]

Obama could play the blame card and pop the punk who wrote the speech, after all he was teleprompting.

[spdrun]

Originally Posted by Dudesky

So in September 1939, what country did Hitler invade?
And tell those in Poland at the time they didn't exist.

Poland. My point was that Poland didn't exist as a free state when the camps were set up -- i.e. AFTER the German/Soviet invasion. Are you being deliberately obtuse?