Following a torrent of criticism over his column last week about the Holocaust, FBI Director James Comey emphasized that he did not mean to suggest that Poland was responsible for the genocide of Jews, NBC News reports.
His comments come after Poland’s ambassador called the remarks “unacceptable.” Even the U.S. ambassador to Warsaw was called by Polish authorities.
In the column, Comey said: “In their minds, the murderers and accomplices of Germany, and Poland, and Hungary, and so many, many other places didn’t do something evil. They convinced themselves it was the right thing to do, the thing they had to do.”
A State Department spokeswoman said the U.S. “recognizes and admires the brave efforts of countless Poles, Hungarians and others in occupied Europe in protecting their Jewish countrymen and women from Nazi genocide.
“Director Comey certainly did not intend to suggest otherwise, did not intend to suggest that Poland was in some way responsible for the Holocaust,” the spokeswoman added.
