I just wrote to the Swedish Press Ombudsman and Swedish Press Council about
"Singing Korczak (on die Himmelstrasse) on his way to the gas chamber in the death camp Treblinka" - a false story in Dagens Nyheter by Elisabeth Åsbrink that affects me and many others.
In the next sentence Elisabeth Åsbrink writes: Korczak was born in 1878 in a family of proud Polish nationalists, who neither followed Jewish faith or tradition,
Nationalism and patriotism both show the relationship of an individual towards his or her nation. The two are often confused and frequently believed to mean the same thing. However, Elisabeth Åsbrink should know that there is a vast difference between nationalism and patriotism. George Orwell said that nationalism is ‘the worst enemy of peace’. According to him, nationalism is a feeling that one’s country is superior to another in all respects, while patriotism is merely a feeling of admiration for a way of life. Both Korczak parents were born Jewish, died as Jewish and were buried Jewish at Jewish cemetery in Warszawa. They followed all the Jewish traditions. In Korczaks Orphanage Dom Sierot, all the Jewish traditions were followed. There was also a special room for them who wanted to pray.
I asked Åsbrink wherefrom she got all the inaccurate informations and she gave me the link to a page of University of Minnesota. However, I found there following. Janusz Korczak was born in Warsaw. His birthname was Hersz Goldszmit, but they all called him Henryk. The family was Jewish. His parents did not practice their religion; they considered themselves liberated Jews as well as Polish patriots.
The Press Ombudsman (PO) and the Press Council (PON) are independent self-disciplinary bodies which deals with complaints about the editorial content of newspapers, magazines and their websites. The complainant must be personally affected (i e identified in some way) by the publicity and the complaint should be made in three month time from the publicity. Companies, government authorities and organizations can also file complaints. The remedy for such institutional complaints is the right to reply or the right of a correction.
From the article above:
Janusz Korczak, en man som gick sjungande in genom de 7,5 centimeter tjocka trädörrarna till sin död i en av Treblinkas gaskammare, fast han hade kunnat fly. Och hans tankar lägger grunden till barns rättigheter, så som de formuleras i FN:s barnkonvention, vars grund lades på dagen för 26 år sedan.
Korczak föddes 1878 i en familj av stolta polska nationalister, som varken följde judisk tro eller tradition,
Google Translate
Janusz Korczak, a man who went singing through the 7.5 centimeter thick wooden doors to his death in the gas chambers of Treblinka camp, though he had been able to escape. And his thoughts lay the foundation for children's rights, as expressed in the UN Convention, which was founded the day 26 years ago.
Korczak was born in 1878 in a family of proud Polish nationalists, who neither followed Jewish faith or tradition,
