perfidy

Ministry minions will no doubt recall that Lady Lethal, the lady who was kind enough both to marry me and be present at the creation of our offspring- the Li'lest Lethal- is from Poland.

One day over the course of casual discussion, I was talking about the lame places I went on school field trips as a kid. The places that a third rate city whose glory days- if ever there were any- died before Truman did. Places like the aquarium 100 miles away. The lame local museums. The big library. The park. And the "living history"-type faux town with the re-enactors who play colonial characters like tinsmiths and constables and milkmaids, the last of whom always seemed to be churning butter. I remember being there at 8 years old, and instead of being curious about the extraordinary cleverness of a water-powered log skinner was more curious about who ate all the flippin' butter they made.

So after rambling for awhile, I asked her where they went as kids in Poland. The lame museum? The big park? The aquarium 100 miles- whoops, kilomters- away?

"Mmm, not really", she answered, "We go to Auschwitz."

Uh-HUH.

Now it seems perhaps more yoots from outside Poland ought to make the trip or, failing that, pay more attention in school. It seems the gubmint is getting a little irritated about furriners seeing the words "concentration camp" with the word "Polish", and assuming ownership, not merely geography.

The Irish Examiner has a bit about efforts to change the formal name to The Former Nazi German Concentration Camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. If that's what it takes to educate people about it, well then that's what has to be done.

But isn't it sad that enough people were confused about the blackest patch on Earth that this move was even warranted?