Poland to summon US ambassador after FBI director claimed country bore responsibility for the Holocaust

The FBI chief wrote an article alleging that Poland was complicit in the holocaust

Director of the FBI James Comey, who published an article entitled "Why I require FBI agents to visit the Holocaust Museum". (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The US ambassador in Warsaw is to be summoned by the Polish government following the publication of an article by the head of the FBI which alleged that the European country bore responsibility for the Holocaust during the second world war.

The article, entitled "Why I require FBI agents to visit the Holocaust Museum", by FBI Director James Comey was published in the Washington Post earlier this week.

Since its publication a foreign ministry spokesperson has said that Poland would be demanding an apology.

In the article Comey described Poland as "murderers and accomplices" to the Nazis during the time of WWII.

He wrote: "In their minds...Poland, and Hungary, and so many, many other places didn't do something evil", adding "They convinced themselves it was the right thing to do, the thing they had to do".

Poland has said the passage implied that their nation complied with the Nazi genocide of Jews in Europe.

Poland's ambassador to the US has said in a statement the remarks were "unacceptable".

He said Comey's article had accused Poles "of perpetuating crimes which not only they did not commit, but which they themselves were victims of".

Since Poland's response, Stephen Mull, the US ambassador in Warsaw, has said he will attend a meeting at the foreign ministry.

He described the Comey's writings as "wrong, harmful and offensive", adding: "Comey's wider message was that there were many people in the world that aided the Nazi criminals.

"There were also people who did not respond sufficiently....also in the United States."

Mull's comments come as the Poland's first lady joined remembrance activities commemorating the liberation of two Nazi concentration camps 70 years ago.

Ceremonies took place across Germany, including at the site of the Ravensbrueck women's camp, where many of the prisoners were from Poland.

Additional reporting by agencies.