Poland has demanded an apology from the White House after President Barack Obama spoke of a "Polish death camp" while awarding a posthumous Medal of Freedom to Polish resistance fighter Jan Karski -- the man who alerted the world to the Nazi Holocaust in occupied Poland.
Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski wrote on his Twitter account that the White House should apologize "for the outrageous mistake."
A spokesman for Obama's National Security Council, Tommy Vietor, said the president "misspoke" while referring to "Nazi death camps in Poland."
Warsaw keenly watches global media for descriptions of former Nazi camps as "Polish."
It says the term -- even if used as a geographical indicator -- suggests Poland bore responsibility for Nazi Germany's World War II genocide.
Also receiving the Medal of Freedom were former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, astronaut and former Senator John Glenn, and musician Bob Dylan.
Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski wrote on his Twitter account that the White House should apologize "for the outrageous mistake."
A spokesman for Obama's National Security Council, Tommy Vietor, said the president "misspoke" while referring to "Nazi death camps in Poland."
Warsaw keenly watches global media for descriptions of former Nazi camps as "Polish."
It says the term -- even if used as a geographical indicator -- suggests Poland bore responsibility for Nazi Germany's World War II genocide.
Also receiving the Medal of Freedom were former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, astronaut and former Senator John Glenn, and musician Bob Dylan.