Comics are a great way to teach kids about subjects that might otherwise be a bit dry for them, so The Polish Foreign Ministry and the Polish Embassy in Berlin commissioned a graphic biography about the life of composer Frederic Chopin to make his life more accessible to German students. Unfortunately, the actual work went beyond accessible into “highly inappropriate” territory: the book is peppered with profanity and homophobic remarks (sometimes appearing together, like “f@#%ing fag-holocaust”).
The entire print run was destroyed, and disciplinary action would have been taken against the person responsible but for one little detail:
“In reality it was a mistake made by an employee at the Embassy in Berlin,” Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski told Radio Zet mid-week.
“And the one thing that I regret is that I can’t fire that person for making such a scandalous decision, because [he or she] no longer works for the Foreign Ministry.”
With circumstances such as that, I’m left wondering if it was a genuine mistake, or an act of bitter malice by a departing employee.
(via Comics Alliance)
Tags: composers, Frederic Chopin, Germany, Poland