History and Facts -- Obama and Concentration Camps

Once again the media (or at least portions of the media) are playing the "gotcha" game for wholly immaterial comments. Sen. Obama recently commented that he supported strong benefits for the Veterans because of an experience by one of his Uncles in liberating Auschwitz. And the media (including the more and more Tabloid trending Washington Post (shame shame)) jumped on this. After all, it was not one of Obama's Uncles, but one of his Great Uncles that was involved and it was not Auschwitz, as Auschwitz was liberated by the Soviets, but rather was Buchenwald. And in "defending" its comments on Obama, the "fact checker" article in the Post suggested that part of the problem is that Obama should have known that Auschwitz was not liberated by the Americans, but by the Soviets.

My comments are as follows:
The claim that he lied about calling the relative the Uncle, when he was a Great Uncle is sheer non-sense. I grew up knowing directly or indirectly a number of relatives that were known to me as Uncle Brev, Aunt Florence, Uncle Eddie, Aunt Jewel, Aunt Sally, Uncle Dan and so forth. All of these were "Great" (and in one case Great Great) Uncles of mine, but that's not how I knew them. I still sometimes relate "Uncle Eddie" stories even though he died before I was born and he was a "great" uncle, not an Uncle. As for the others, they were called "Aunt X" or "Uncle Y" and, again, if you asked me to name them now I would have named them that same way.

With respect to the name of the Concentration Camp, initially it is possible that his Uncle got the name wrong or the name changed as the family story was related from one member to the next. All family stories have a grain of truth to them, but the exact facts can shift over time. That's the nature of family stories. But the essential truth is there. Did Uncle Eddie, taking my Dad home from a Dodger game, really break the glass window on the door of the streetcar with his hand and then refuse to provide his identity (as a matter of civil rights) to the driver? Did he really waive the bloody hand at the car after they got off saying "See, this is why I didn't give you my name". Well, I wasn't there, and it isn't written down in any book, but its part of my family history. And even if all of the facts aren't right (although I have no reason to believe that they are wrong) that doesn't change the essential truth. And the essential truth is that one of Sen. Obama's relatives was involved in the liberation of a concentration camp (or at least told his family that he was) and that it had a severe impact on him down the road.

The fact checker then attempted to defend the indefensible by saying that Obama should have known that Auschwitz was liberated by the Russians, not the Americans. And that this was a lie. Initially, it has to be a knowing factual untruth in order to be a "lie". Otherwise it is simply a mis-stated fact. (And here the name of the camp is ultimately not relevant). Further, WHY should Obama have known this to be untrue. History classes have taught that the Nazi's ran concentration camps. History classes have taught that American Troops liberated some of those camps. History classes discussed the names and horrors of some of these camps -- Treblinka, Auschwitz, Dachau, Bergen-Belsen, Buchenwald. And this is what students need to learn. They don't need to learn which set of allies liberated which camp and in which order. POD challenges the reader to answer the following questions without consulting reference material (POD couldn't do it)

1. Name the Country of the following Camps and the Ally that Liberated the camp:
a. Treblinka
b. Sachsenhausen
c. Sobibor
d. Belzec
e. Dachau

2. In Which States and/or battles were the following Civil War Generals Killed in Battle (You didn't think I was going to let you only answer questions in one subject....)
a. Thomas Jackson
b. Leonidas Polk
c. James McPhearson
d. John Reynolds
e. John B. Hood
f. Benjamin Butler
g. George Pickett
h. Lewis Armistead
i. John Sedgewick

Bonus Points. On which side did the General Fight and if they had a nick-name, what was it.

3. Place the following WWI flying Aces in order based on their number of "confirmed" kills.
a. Herman Goering
b. Eddie Rickenbacher
c. Rene Fonck
d. Ernest Udet
e. William Barker
f. Roland Garros
g. Frank Luke
h. Max Immelman
i. Albert Ball

Bonus Points. Name the Airplane Make and Model associated with the pilot and their nationality.

4. Name the Leader or Leaders of the Following Countries at the Year Specified.
a. Rhodesia (1965)
b. India (1974)
c. Austria (1938)
d. England (1938)
e. United States (1929)
f. USSR (1991)
g. Egypt (1961)

Bonus Points. Provide a reason why each year is significant for the country listed.

Now explain to me how not remembering any of these facts, all of which you should have learned in school before the "most children held back act", is relevant to any purpose. If I know, for example, the Patrick Cleburne was a Confederate General of Irish heritage, fought in the Tennessee campaigns, and was killed in a mismanaged battle late in the war, is it relevant that I know that the name of the Battle was the Battle of Franklin? No.

And in the same way, the fact that Obama didn't know (or at least didn't remember) that Auschwitz was liberated by the Soviet troops is irrelevant.

Trivia is not knowledge.