Our mothers, our fathers: a Polish court sentenced ZDF to damages

A court in Krakow has sentenced on Friday, the Second German television because of its three-divider “Our mothers, our fathers” to a compensation and an apology to former Polish fighter against Nazi Germany. Judge Kamil Grzesik explained to the justification, in the ZDF mini-series soldiers of the Polish home army (Armia Krajowa, AK) would not be represented “in Accordance with the truth, and incorrect”.

The judge stated that this Misrepresentation had “a direct impact” on the “honor and Dignity” of the plaintiff, the 94-year-old AK-Veterans Zbigniew Radlowski. This Survivor of a concentration camp, and rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust had brought the lawsuit with the support of the Association of AK veterans.

The Armia Krajowa during the Second world war, the army of the Polish government-in-exile in London. In the ZDF-series AK are drawn to the soldiers as anti-Semites, which caused in Poland a wave of indignation.

“The artistic freedom is not given enough attention”

The Krakow court sentenced the ZDF and the UFA production company of “Our mothers, our fathers” to pay Radlowski, a fine equivalent to 5,000 euros, and to publish in Polish and in German television, an apology.

The ZDF announced it would immediately appeal against the verdict. The news Agency AFP stated his Regret that the court “of the artistic freedom have not paid enough attention”. The Sender recalled that he had already responded in 2013 to the criticism of certain passages.

back Then, it was said that great emphasis “had been placed on a differentiated representation of all the characters”. This concerns also the people of the volatile German Jew Viktor in Poland meet, about a Polish woman who protects him, or the son of a Polish farmer who rescues the two prior to the discovery by the Germans.