Polish League Against Defamation
Interventions
Reduta Dobrego Imienia-Polish Anti-Defamation League has been analysing the issue of defamation about Poland and its history and observing Polish historical policy since 2012. Our activities show that the awareness of historical truth about World War II among young people is relatively low, hence the need to highlight and draw attention to the truthfulness of the message. The most frequent intervention undertaken by Polish Anti-Defamation League in recent years has been the so-called 'faulty memory codes’. For this reason, we have repeatedly (more than 500 times) intervened in situations of the use of false terms such as „Polish concentration camps”, „Polish death camps”, „Polish ghetto”, „Nazi Poland”. Such slanderous phrases appeared mainly in the virtual space. The most frequent defamation of Poland was with the use of the slanderous phrase 'Polish camps’ (death, extermination, concentration camps). Among our calls for intervention,more than 250 were responses to articles containing the term „Polish camp”. This phrase is still the most popular slanderous expression used against Poland. „Polish camps” in various languages constitute about 81% of the number of interventions that we, as the Polish Anti-Defamation League, undertake in connection with untrue expressions, but there are many more such expressions, such as „Polish ghetto”, „Polish Nazis” or „Nazi Poland”, which is why the activities of the Foundation and interventions in such situations are so important for the truthfulness of the message and the rectification of information about Polish history.
The map below shows countries where defamation has occurred through the use of faulty memory codes.
Our activities in the field of combating faulty memory codes require very intensive work to eliminate the use of terms such as „Polish concentration camps” and other slanders against Poland. This activity, however, requires numerous actions on a daily basis and daily monitoring of media from all over the world in order to guard the historical truth about Poland and our history.
Polish Anti-Defamation League also intervenes, however, in more personal situations, when studies or publications affect individuals, presenting them in an untrue and often very hurtful way. In such cases, we pursue the truth in order to protect the good name of Poles as well, or we help to recover it, often years later.
Continuously counter false information
In public space, online and press publications invariably contain untrue statements about German Nazi concentration camps located during World War II in occupied Poland, but referred to, for example, as "Polish concentration camps" or "Polish death camps." The topic...
Thousands of emails for the truth! Editors around the world received a letter pointing out the correct naming of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp
Dear All, since 2014, the Polish League Against Defamation has been systematically providing information, to editors and journalists around the world before the International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27th), regarding the correct naming of German Nazi...
Notice Regarding the Liberation of Auschwitz
Polish League Against Defamation issues a notice and a warning in connection with the upcoming anniversary of the Red Army entering Auschwitz: In the past, anniversary articles appallingly frequently used the phrases “Polish death camp Auschwitz” or “Polish...