

At the museum at Chełmno swastikas are very prominent in the displays. A nice Polish guide in his 20s offered a short introduction to the complex. He used the phrase „the Germans“ four times – I counted because the first time was so noticeable to me. He didn’t say „Nazis“ once. He also talked about „the Jews“ being killed, rather than „Poles“, which I found interesting partly because this differs from the narrative I found at Auschwitz in October. Language on the memorial plaques document the transition, from „Nazis“, „Nazi beasts“, before 2010 or so to the very consistent „Germans“ of today.