Stanisław Zalewski was 91 years old when he decided in 2017 to sue German media outlets — the publishing house Mittelbayerischer Verlag KG and broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk — over their use of the historically false term ‘Polish death camps’. As a former Auschwitz prisoner, he knew that remaining silent in the face of such distortions would be tantamount to accepting the falsification of World War II history. Today, as reported by Polsat News, the veteran is 101 years old and may never see a verdict in a case that has dragged on for nearly a decade.
Demands for compensation and apology
Zalewski, who serves as president of the Polish Union of Former Political Prisoners of Hitler’s Prisons and Concentration Camps, demanded a payment of 50,000 złoty to the organisation and a public apology from the defendant media outlets. However, the case has encountered formal and procedural obstacles from the outset, which have significantly prolonged the proceedings.
Legal battle between Poland and Germany
In 2021, the European Court of Justice ruled that Zalewski could not pursue his claim regarding ‘Polish camps’ before Polish courts — according to the ruling, German courts have jurisdiction. Subsequent years brought further decisions. In 2025, the Court of Appeal ruled that the veteran could pursue material claims before the Polish justice system, but not non-material ones.
This decision complicated matters even further. In January, Zalewski’s legal representatives, together with the ombudsman, requested the court to separate material and non-material claims, which could significantly expedite the consideration of at least part of the case. However, the Court of Appeal refused to grant this request.
Court inaction and lawyers’ appeal
The ombudsman has repeatedly appealed to the Warsaw District Court to speed up proceedings. According to the source, he has received no response. In June, the Patria Nostra Association became involved, with its lawyers filing a complaint to the president of the Warsaw Court of Appeal regarding the court’s sluggishness.
‘The complaint we filed to the president of the Warsaw Court of Appeal regarding the court’s sluggishness has not awakened the judges,’ said lawyer Lech Obara, representing Stanisław Zalewski, as quoted by tko.pl.
The lawyer added that at this point, the discussion is no longer about the merits of the claims, but about whether a 101-year-old former Auschwitz prisoner will see a verdict at all. ‘This question should never arise in a democratic state governed by the rule of law. Polish judges, please wake up,’ Obara appealed.
Fighting for historical truth
Zalewski’s case is not merely an individual veteran’s fight for dignity and truth, but also a symbolic dispute over historical memory. The term ‘Polish death camps’ suggests that Poland, rather than Nazi Germany, was responsible for crimes committed during World War II. For Holocaust survivors and concentration camp prisoners, such linguistic manipulations are particularly painful.
For Poles living in the United Kingdom, who regularly encounter historical inaccuracies in British and international media, Zalewski’s case may be particularly significant. It demonstrates how difficult it is to combat entrenched stereotypes and how important consistency is in enforcing accountability for historical manipulation.
