Newsweek on Jedwabne

IP: *.rdu.bellsouth.net 05.07.01, 21:12
Zrodlo: http://www.msnbc.com/news/594841.asp
George F. Will
July 10, 1941, In Jedwabne

Why did half of a Polish town murder the other half? The
answer may be terribly simple July 9 issue � Sixty years ago, on July 10, 1941,
half the polish town of Jedwabne murdered the
other half. Of 1,600 Jews, about a dozen
survived. Why did the murderers do it? Prof. Jan
Gross of New York University may not fully
realize that he has found the answer.IT IS IN HIS astonishing little book (173 pages of text)
just
published by Princeton University Press. The title,
�Neighbors,� is an ice dagger to the heart, but only after the
book has been read. The word �neighbor� connotes moral
sympathy (�neighborly�) as well as physical proximity. But
not on July 10, 1941, in Jedwabne.
Gross says, �This is a rather typical book about the
Holocaust� because it does not offer �closure���I could
not say to myself when I got to the last page, �Well, I
understand now�.� Perhaps he is flinching from the awful
answer his book supplies.
On June 22, 1941, Germany attacked the Soviet
Union, which was occupying the part of Poland containing
Jedwabne. On June 23 a small detachment of Germans
entered the town. There were almost immediately some
isolated atrocities by Poles against Jews�one man stoned
to death with bricks, another knifed and his eyes and tongue
cut out. German policy encouraged pogroms by local
populations, and there were some ghastly ones near
Jedwabne. One of the first questions asked of the Germans
occupying the town was, Is it permitted to kill the Jews?
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After the carnival of killing, the Germans reportedly
thought the Poles �had gone overboard� and said to them,
�Was eight hours not enough for you to do with the Jews as
you please?� But the murderers were not socially marginal
people. At a town meeting�democracy,
really�Jedwabne�s leaders met with the Germans. Gross
quotes a witness: �When the Germans proposed to leave
one Jewish family from each profession, local carpenter
Bronislaw Szlezinski, who was present, answered: We have
enough of our own craftsmen, we have to destroy all the
Jews, none should stay alive. Mayor Karolak and
everybody else agreed with his words.�
The mayor coordinated the killing, but otherwise,
Gross says, �people were free to improvise.� Peasants from
nearby villages got word of the planned pogrom and came
to town as to a fair. A Pole recalls that �the Jewish
population became a toy in the hands of the Poles.� The
Holocaust has been called a manifestation of modernity
because of its industrialization of murder. But in Jedwabne
hooks and wooden clubs were used. A head was hacked
off and kicked around. To escape the killers, women fled to
a pond and drowned their babies, then themselves. But
most were burned alive in a barn while the town was
searched for the surviving sick and children. A witness: �As
for the little children, they roped a few together by their legs
and carried them on their backs, then put them on
pitchforks and threw them onto smoldering coals.�
Gross estimates that half the town�s men participated,
and because the killings were concentrated in a space no
larger than a sports stadium, everyone �in possession of a
sense of sight, smell, or hearing either participated in or
witnessed the tormented deaths.� A murderer in uniform can
resemble a cog in a machine, but the last faces seen by
Jedwabne�s Jews were the familiar faces of neighbors. It
was, Gross says, �mass murder in a double sense�on
account of both the number of victims and the number of
perpetrators.�
The Germans� involvement was confined to
photographing events and, in one instance, offering the sort
of advice professionals offer amateurs. A witness recalls
that when Poles with thick clubs were battering six Jews, a
watching German said, �Do not kill at once. Slowly, let
them suffer.�
In 1996 Daniel Goldhagen�s book �Hitler�s Willing
Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust� argued
that German society was saturated by an �eliminationist
anti-Semitism� that produced a high degree of voluntary
participation in genocide. His premise�that Hitler merely
unleashed a cultural latency and fulfilled the sick logic of
German history�reduces Hitler�s role to that of mere
catalyst. Goldhagen did stress the powerful role of Third
Reich propaganda. But, then, what of the Poles of
Jedwabne, who were not Germans and who did their
uncoerced murdering after just two weeks of German
occupation, before being conditioned by propaganda?

Christopher
Browning, author of
�Ordinary Men,� a study
of middle-aged German
conscripts who became
consenting participants in
mass-murder police
battalions in Poland,
argued that cruelties
inflicted by the Khmer
Rouge against fellow
Cambodians and by
Chinese against Chinese
during Mao�s Cultural Revolution cannot be explained by
Goldhagen�s model�centuries of conditioning
    • Gość: AC778K Re: Newsweek on Jedwabne IP: 128.253.229.* 05.07.01, 22:56
      Zeby sie do tego ustosunkowac to, Dear ZYX, trzeba znac ten jezyk a sadzac po odzewie na ten cytat
      to na tym Forum nie tego z angielskim.
      • Gość: Michal Re: Newsweek on Jedwabne IP: 63.164.131.* 05.07.01, 23:03
        I wlasnie brak tego jezyka powoduje ze wielu uczestnikow tego forum ogranicza sie do kitu wtykanego przez
        TVP lub GW lub RP. Szkoda, bo dyskusja bylaby moze bardziej rzeczowa.
      • pollak Re: Newsweek on Jedwabne 05.07.01, 23:13
        Niekoniecznie nie tego z angielskim. Po prostu szkoda slow, poza tym z
        tropicielem Zyx-em ciezko sie porozumiec.
        • Gość: lolek Re: Newsweek on Jedwabne IP: *.tor.axxent.ca 06.07.01, 01:52
          i tak Jedwabne jest nasze --odbierzemy wiecej--a z was zrobimy mordercow
          • Gość: zyx Re: Newsweek on Jedwabne IP: *.rdu.bellsouth.net 06.07.01, 05:25
            lolek: takie glupie wypowiedzi jak twoja nie sa dobre ani dla Zydow ani dla Polakow. Sa po prostu
            chamskie.

            Gość portalu: lolek napisał(a):

            > i tak Jedwabne jest nasze --odbierzemy wiecej--a z was zrobimy mordercow

          • Gość: on Re: Newsweek on Jedwabne IP: 24.22.47.* 08.07.01, 17:31
            Gość portalu: lolek napisał(a):

            > i tak Jedwabne jest nasze --odbierzemy wiecej--a z was zrobimy mordercow

            No prosze, pokazal sie kretyn z Toronto!
        • Gość: Michal Re: Newsweek on Jedwabne IP: *.tnt10.chiega.da.uu.net 06.07.01, 02:00
          Wiem, ze niektorzy wiedza co mowia i nie o tych ludzi mi chodzi. Jest niestety
          tez spora grupa, ktora albo niedorosla do wielu tematow i traktuje to formum
          jako smietnik jezykowy i nieraz umyslowy.

          Pozdrawiam serdecznie.
          • Gość: AC778K Re: Newsweek on Jedwabne IP: 128.253.229.* 06.07.01, 03:16
            Swiete slowa, mam propozycje abysmy wogole na takie GLUPOTY nie reagowali. Poprostu jakby ich nie bylo.
            Chce sobie pobulgotac, to niech bulgocze na zdrowie.
    • Gość: Michał. Zasadniczo to dosyc lubie tego dziennikarza, IP: 63.254.86.* 06.07.01, 03:07
      Jest on bardzo znany. Powiedziec trzeba ze praca takiego gościa to nie tylko
      wydarzenia ale tez rutyna. Trzeba w tym tygodniu zrobic to a to a w nastepnym
      zaplanowane jest tamto i dodac trzeba zajecia cykliczne - trzeba wymyślic nowy
      temat do cotygodniowego programu itd. Akurat tutaj poproszony o wygłoszenie
      opini ( cala sie xyz'etowi nie zmiescila dlatego polecam przeczytanie artykułu
      na podanym adresie http://www.msnbc.com/news/594841.asp )
      nadął sie strasznie, zrobił powazną mine i na podstawie jednej ksiązki wydał
      wyrok. Nie ma sie co tym przejmowac, kazdy ma prawo. A dopiski na tym forum od
      człekokształtnych głoszące 'zrobimy z was mordercow' mozna obśmiac. Jezeli
      niektórzy Zydzi chca Polaków uwazac za Zydozercow to ich problem. Pozycja
      Polaków i Polski nie zalezy od opini Zydów i nigdy od niej zalezec nie bedzie.
      Ja osobiście zadnego Zyda nie zjadlem, nie jem i jesc nie bede. A wszystkim im,
      jakoz sobie samemu i wszystkim nam Polakom, zycze wzystkiego dobrego.
      • Gość: AC778K Re: Zasadniczo to dosyc lubie tego dziennikarza, IP: 128.253.229.* 06.07.01, 03:22
        I Zydom tez wszystkiego najlepszego zyczyc wypada - w koncu trudno jakakolwiek nacje en bloc potepiac w
        czambul. Swoja droga jak latwo oszolomom jest wywalac wzburzenie.
      • Gość: zyx Re: Zasadniczo to dosyc lubie tego dziennikarza, IP: *.rdu.bellsouth.net 06.07.01, 05:31
        Michal: zgadzam sie ze Will sie nadal i urodzil esej na ten tyudzien. Niemniej , zrobil to w jednym z
        najbardziej poczytnych tygodnikow w USA i moze na swiecie. Wiekszosc ludzi tutaj, jak pewnie wszedzie
        indziej nie ma czasu na sprawdzanie, szukanie zrodel itd. Wiekszosc ksztaltuje swe opinie na podstawie
        np Newsweeka.
        Mozna to lekcewazyc, ale nie byloby to rozsadne. To jedno z forow opiniotworzych. Nawet dla elity w USA.
        A w koncu , teraz USA to nie kraj ktorego opinie madrze jest lekcewazyc.


        Gość portalu: Michał. napisał(a):

        > Jest on bardzo znany. Powiedziec trzeba ze praca takiego gościa to nie tylko
        > wydarzenia ale tez rutyna. Trzeba w tym tygodniu zrobic to a to a w nastepnym
        > zaplanowane jest tamto i dodac trzeba zajecia cykliczne - trzeba wymyślic nowy
        > temat do cotygodniowego programu itd. Akurat tutaj poproszony o wygłoszenie
        > opini ( cala sie xyz'etowi nie zmiescila dlatego polecam przeczytanie artykułu
        > na podanym adresie http://www.msnbc.com/news/594841.asp )
        > nadął sie strasznie, zrobił powazną mine i na podstawie jednej ksiązki wydał
        > wyrok. Nie ma sie co tym przejmowac, kazdy ma prawo. A dopiski na tym forum od
        > człekokształtnych głoszące 'zrobimy z was mordercow' mozna obśmiac. Jezeli
        > niektórzy Zydzi chca Polaków uwazac za Zydozercow to ich problem. Pozycja
        > Polaków i Polski nie zalezy od opini Zydów i nigdy od niej zalezec nie bedzie.
        > Ja osobiście zadnego Zyda nie zjadlem, nie jem i jesc nie bede. A wszystkim im,
        >
        > jakoz sobie samemu i wszystkim nam Polakom, zycze wzystkiego dobrego.

    • Gość: Rus Re: Newsweek on Jedwabne - Odpowiedz - zyx + Newsweek. IP: *.proxy.aol.com 06.07.01, 03:45

      http://www.holocaust-heroes.com/

      CHURCH INSTITUTIONS in Poland were among the first to open their doors to the
      flood of children thrust upon them by desperate refugees facing deportation. It
      is estimated that at least 190 convents in Poland offered asylum to thousands
      of children of refugees. In Otwock and Pludy, suburbs of Warsaw, the convents
      of the Sisters of Maria's Family were active in rescue efforts as well as
      hiding and feeding of many refugees. In other convents, the Ursuline Sisters
      and the Franciscan Sisters in Warsaw and Laski, took in children from
      distraught parents. And in Pruzany, nuns rescued scores of Jewish women by
      disguising them in the habits of their order.

      Irena Sendler, the Warsaw social worker who rescued more than 2,500 Jewish
      children from the ghetto, accomplished her incredible deeds with the active
      assistance of the church. "I sent most of the children to religious
      establishments," she recalled. "I knew I could count on the Sisters." Sendler
      also had a remarkable record of cooperation when placing the youngsters: "No
      one ever refused to take a child from me," she said.

      The vast majority of nuns in convents led quiet if not reclusive lives,
      insulated from outside forces. But the seven sisters in the small Benedictine
      convent near Vilna Colony railroad station in Poland were active undercover
      agents who specialized in smuggling Jews out of the nearby ghetto. Among those
      who found safe harbor in the convent were several Jewish writers as well as
      leaders of the ghetto underground: Abba Kovner, Abraham Sutzkever, Ariel Wilner
      and Edek Boraks.

      The convent's mother superior, Anna Borkowska, a Cracow University graduate,
      together with other nuns, provided the underground with weapons and ammunition.
      They would visit nearby homes, under the pretense of church business, and
      instead "borrow" guns, pistols, grenades and knives from the farmers. Philip
      Friedman, the Holocaust historian, has poetically described their undercover
      activity in these words: "The hands accustomed to the touch of rosary beads
      became expert with explosives."

      Clemens Loew, born in Stanislawow, Poland, was only five years old when his
      mother left him in custody of nuns at a convent in Olsztyn, on the outskirts of
      Warsaw, where he remained hidden for three years. Loew, who later migrated to
      the United States and became a psychologist, vividly remembers one close call
      he had during a surprise Nazi raid on the convent.
      "The Gestapo officers were actually dragging me away," he recalled. "One was
      yanking me out the door when a retired bishop living in the convent hobbled
      down the steps and yelled, 'If you take him, then you have to take me too.'"
      Loew added that the Nazis could have easily arrested both of them, but for some
      unexplained reason they left both unharmed.

      "I would like to honor Mrs. Jozefa Maj of Czestochowa, Poland for her
      sacrifices and unbroken belief in a three-and-a-half-year-old Jewish girl. I'm
      that girl who her husband, Wilhelm Maj, rescued from the Sosnowiec ghetto on
      Christmas day, 1942. He carried me to his pregnant wife who accepted me as her
      own child. They christened me and I became Irena Maj.
      "My Polish father, Mr. Maj, was shot three months later by the Gestapo when he
      was caught smuggling guns for Polish underground partisans. My Polish mother
      became a widow and had a baby shortly after her husband's death. In the hell of
      war that followed, she struggled on her own through hunger and pain, but she
      never thought of giving up on me. She shared bread equally with me and her
      daughter Wilusia, who was named after the father she never knew.
      "To earn a living, she took me with her on trains to sell cigarettes and
      alcohol from our suitcase. After the war, when my natural father found me, she
      did not profit from any reward. Her blessings carried me through my broken
      life. But eventually, God looked down at me, and after 53 years, I found my
      twin brother, Adam Paluch. She was the one who made it possible. God bless her
      and all the quiet heroes." --

      IDA PALUCH KERSZ, Skokie, IL.
      "Mr. & Mrs. Francziszek Koniarski and their son Zygmund of Warsaw, Poland
      sheltered me for four years. I was six years old when I joined them. A nun
      christened me, changing my name from Sabina Indych to Marisia Tereska Koniarska
      so as not to arouse the neighbors' suspicions. Because they made this
      sacrifice, I survived. I'm grateful to the Koniarskis and know their
      grandchildren and future generations will be proud of these brave people."
    • Gość: Ciemniak Re: Newsweek on Jedwabne IP: *.ny.us.prserv.net 06.07.01, 07:43
      Nie znam Angieskiego az tak dobrze,ale przeczytalem. Nie wiem nie bylem.Niemcy
      maszyna my dzikusy,(te dzieci na widly kopanie glowa,Zydzi zabawki w naszych
      rekach itp jak amerykanski horror).I skad tyle zla skoro nie bylismy pod
      propaganda niemiecka? Autor mysli ze Gros cofa sie przed straszliwa odpowiedzia
      jaka daje ta ksiazka bo ten (Gros )nie wie gdzie jest ostatnia strona.{Nie
      pisze o wywozkach na sibir.W Krakowie Gros fest.kult. Zyd. powiedzial,ze jacys
      mlodzi znowu cos pisza?Po co?} Co chcial zasugerowac?(aut art.)Ze to genetyczne
      czy co? Nie wiem czy Niemcy by sie pytali o zdanie Polakow- zabic ciesle czy
      zostawic.Dlaczego rola Niemcow ograniczala sie tylko do zdjec ,czy doradzania
      skoro tam bylo tyle lusek?Nie wiem nie wiem nie wiem.Wiem,ze na pewno, ze Zydow
      to musi bolec.Polakow tez.Powinno sie to wszystko wyjasnic na spokojnie.Bez
      tego wszystkiego co sie razem z tym dzieje.Moze od tego jest sad sledztwo Gros
      i Strzembosz i ci co tam byli.Moze ani my ani media nie powinnismy o tym
      dyskutowas,zadawac pytan,czy wyciagac to znowu ,az wszyscy fachowcy cos razem
      na spokojnie nie uzgodnia.Pobozne zyczenie.Mamy wrazenie,ze toczy jakas bitwa o
      stawke.Kazdy zna swoja strona.Pozostaje nam jednak tylko przeprosic umarlych i
      Zydow i Polakow.Pozdrawiam.
      • Gość: kali Re: Newsweek on Jedwabne IP: *.tor.axxent.ca 08.07.01, 04:22
        trzeba sie cieszyc ze w 1939 na Polske napadli Niemcy a nie Zydzi..
      • Gość: ubek Re: Newsweek on Jedwabne IP: 216.249.0.* 08.07.01, 04:27
        kto mowi o pojednaniu polsko-zydowskim ---ten jest mazycielem (to historia
        kilku stuleci)
        kto napisze o pjednaniu palestynsko-zydowskim--ten jest paranoikiem (to
        historia tysiacleci)--ludzkosci.
        • Gość: ja Re: Newsweek on Jedwabne IP: *.tor.axxent.ca 08.07.01, 04:31
          nie martwcie sie ksiazka grroossaa ,bardziej przerazajaca jest biblia swieta---
          to jest historia (kazda strona obcieka krwia sasiadow).
          • Gość: bee Re: Newsweek on Jedwabne IP: *.tor.axxent.ca 08.07.01, 04:38
            W Warszawie za komuny dzialala akademia naluk politycznych.Tam sie ksztalcili
            liderzy jak urabiac masy.To samo zadanie ma ksiazka p Grossa i jest niewazne
            czy to prawda czy klamstwo .Gross wykonal zadanie
    • Gość: ! Re: Czytaj prof. Jerzy Nowak "STO KLAMSTW GROSSA"! IP: 198.53.160.* 06.07.01, 08:45
      ANTYPOLONIZM PANA GROSSA JEST BARDZO DOBRZE WYTLUMACZONY W LEKTURZE
      PROFESORA J. NOWAKA!
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