WE AND THE GERMANS IN THEIR OWN WAY
KRZYSZTOF CZABAŃSKI
The TV historical series ‘Our mothers, our fathers’, releasing the Germans from responsibility for the cruelties of the Second World War, and also slandering the Poles and the Polish National Army, was awarded a few weeks ago during the Prix Europe Festival. This festival was invented in 1987 by the Europe Council and since then it has been organized by state German institutions, with cooperation of institutions from various countries, including the European Broadcaster Union (EBU), gathering European public media. This festival is also supported by the polish public television. The same one, which broadcast the film ‘Our Mothers, our Fathers’ a few months ago, explaining that it was doing it in order to blame the Germans for falsifying historical facts. I do not think that the Germans took this ‘blame’ seriously. Whereas, for sure, as organizers, they took care of granting the film a reward of the Prix Europe Festival.
This year’s Europe Prix Festival was held at the end of October in Berlin. However, Polish media did not hesitate about the reward for ‘Our Mothers, our Fathers’. Sorry, the short mention was placed by portal press.pl on the information margin, that during this festival Polish Radio SA had been awarded for the programme of Krzysztof Czeczot. The Polish Radio, boasting about the radio program, there was no information about the reward for the German series.
Finally, the Association of Polish Journalists gave a statement expressing their indignation about the reward for the producers of this series: ‘It is a shame, that the film promoting and perpetuating the historical lie received the reward in a contest being a business card of, among the others, the European Union. The basic criteria of serious journalistic rewards should be the truth’.
It is an accurate and exhaustive evaluation. But very few people in media were interested in it. Polish public media keep silent in this issue. And it is a pity because either directly, like the Polish Television, or indirectly, because through the European Broadcaster Union, like the Polish Radio, are co-organizers of the Europe Prix Festival.
I can understand why do the Germans falsify history, which does not mean we have to accept. But it is difficult to understand or justify why are some Poles and some Polish institutions helping them in it. We should demand consistently a suitable and effective! – action in the international forum from the Polish Foreign Ministry and the National Broadcasting Council and from the public authorities. In the name of Polish mothers and our Polish fathers. Emphasis always makes sense!
(AA)
"Niedziela" 48/2013