This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS PARIS 003344 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FROM USMISSION UNESCO PARIS 
 
STATE PASS TO NPS - STEPHEN MORRIS AND PAUL HOFFMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SCUL PL UNESCO
SUBJECT:  MEETING WITH POLISH AMBASSADOR TO UNESCO REGARDING 
AUSCHWITZ NAME CHANGE 
 
¶1.  Guidance requested - see paragraph 6. 
 
¶2.  Poland's Ambassador to UNESCO, Maria Wodzynska-Walicka, met with 
Ambassador Oliver this morning, May 18th at the US Mission, to 
request USG support in Poland's efforts to formally change the name 
of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp on the World Heritage 
List to "Former Nazi German Concentration Camp Auschwitz-Birkenau." 
 
¶3.  The Polish Ambassador explained that the world press and, in 
particular, American and German news articles, often refer to 
Auschwitz as the "Polish concentration camp," a term which is 
extremely offensive to the Polish people.  She said that the name 
change would help rectify the problem, ensuring that the name be 
consistent with historical reality.  Ambassador Wodzynska-Walicka 
said that her initial contacts with UNESCO officials and her 
counterparts in Paris, including the German ambassador, have been 
very supportive of her request. 
 
¶4.  Ambassador Oliver said that requesting the name change makes 
sense, and that the change is justified, given the need to be 
accurate, honest, and faithful to the past. 
 
¶5.  The Polish ambassador said that her government had, in March, 
made a formal request to the World Heritage Committee regarding the 
name change.  The next meetings in preparation for July's World 
Heritage conference in Vilnius are scheduled to take place at UNESCO 
headquarters in Paris on June 13. 
 
¶6.  US UNESCO requests that the Department provide formal guidance 
on this matter prior to the June 13 meeting. 
OLIVER