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Obama criticised for Poland concentration camp mistake

May 30, 2012 16:44

ByJennifer Lipman, Jennifer Lipman

1 min read

President Obama has found himself embroiled in a diplomatic spat after he referred to Treblinka as a "Polish death camp" rather than noting that it was located on Nazi-occupied land.

The US President, addressing guests at an event marking the contribution of the Polish resistance hero Jan Karski, spoke of how Mr Karski had been smuggled "into the Warsaw Ghetto and a Polish death camp to see for himself" what was happening.

Tommy Vietor, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, explained after that the president had "misspoke".

"He was referring to Nazi death camps in Poland," he said. "We regret the misstatement, which should not detract from the clear intention to honour Mr Karski and those brave citizens who stood on the side of human dignity in the face of tyranny."