eric_the_nave - | 30
30 Jul 2007 / #91
There were a lot of anti-semites in Poland – the Jedwabne massacres were terrible and you Poles would be better off not denying that.
Which of course you haven’t – an apology was issued by your President in 2001 I believe. Which kind of flies in the face of people who claim you never apologised.
However the attempts to compare Polish anti-semitism with nazi anti-semitism or even to say that Polish anti-semitism was worse than in other occupied countries is absurd but I’m afraid to say pretty common.
Firstly Poland never collaborated with the Nazis. The Nazis never managed to set up a puppet government in Poland unlike in every other country they occupied. They never managed to form a Polish division to fight for them – again unlike in every other country they occupied.
Also unlike every other country they occupied, there was an automatic death penalty for entire families if they were caught sheltering Jews. The Nazi regime was far more brutal in Poland than in Western Europe and Czechoslovakia. Food rations were much lower. Your intellectuals and nobility were generally slaughtered.
Nevertheless there are more Poles than any other nationality recognized by the Israeli Yad Vashem Institute – The Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority in Jerusalem, as “Righteous Among the Nations.” These were people that risked their lives to save Jews. People who were caught doing so and who were subsequently killed along with the Jews they were sheltering are not included on this list.
Zegota was the only branch of any resistance movement in all of the occupied countries dedicated solely to saving Jews. The Polish government in exile tried to make people believe what was going on but were generally disregarded.
Despite all of this the belief that the Poles were generally anti-semitic sadistic killers has grown over the years whereas such stories from other occupied countries are normally swept under the carpet. This is because Western European countries grew strong and powerful after the war and had an interest and in presenting the positive face of their WW2 involvement. Poland on the other hand had Soviet lackeys in power who wished to undermine the reputation of it’s home army (who they normally imprisoned). These Polish governments could not care if the West regarded Poles as generally anti-semitic.
It is also important now for you younger Poles to get to know both the good and dark side of your history. Like I say most of us in the West are really only aware of the darker side.
Which of course you haven’t – an apology was issued by your President in 2001 I believe. Which kind of flies in the face of people who claim you never apologised.
However the attempts to compare Polish anti-semitism with nazi anti-semitism or even to say that Polish anti-semitism was worse than in other occupied countries is absurd but I’m afraid to say pretty common.
Firstly Poland never collaborated with the Nazis. The Nazis never managed to set up a puppet government in Poland unlike in every other country they occupied. They never managed to form a Polish division to fight for them – again unlike in every other country they occupied.
Also unlike every other country they occupied, there was an automatic death penalty for entire families if they were caught sheltering Jews. The Nazi regime was far more brutal in Poland than in Western Europe and Czechoslovakia. Food rations were much lower. Your intellectuals and nobility were generally slaughtered.
Nevertheless there are more Poles than any other nationality recognized by the Israeli Yad Vashem Institute – The Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Authority in Jerusalem, as “Righteous Among the Nations.” These were people that risked their lives to save Jews. People who were caught doing so and who were subsequently killed along with the Jews they were sheltering are not included on this list.
Zegota was the only branch of any resistance movement in all of the occupied countries dedicated solely to saving Jews. The Polish government in exile tried to make people believe what was going on but were generally disregarded.
Despite all of this the belief that the Poles were generally anti-semitic sadistic killers has grown over the years whereas such stories from other occupied countries are normally swept under the carpet. This is because Western European countries grew strong and powerful after the war and had an interest and in presenting the positive face of their WW2 involvement. Poland on the other hand had Soviet lackeys in power who wished to undermine the reputation of it’s home army (who they normally imprisoned). These Polish governments could not care if the West regarded Poles as generally anti-semitic.
It is also important now for you younger Poles to get to know both the good and dark side of your history. Like I say most of us in the West are really only aware of the darker side.
