News / Władysław Bartoszewski died [35]

Blessed be His memory
יהי זכרו ברוך
A great man and an example to us all.
Condolences to his family from the Jews of Polish origin.
🇮🇱🇵🇱

News / US slaps Poland in the face (Comey Poland) [92]

@jon357 Your comments are all correct but personally as a Jew of Polish Grandparents I must try to look for good and not just concentrate on the bad. I must think of the Priest in my family's village who helped the Jewish inhabitants and not just the anti-semites who tried to undertake a pogrom in the same village. I need to think of the Polish farmers that risked their lives and hid my friend's father in a pile of cabbages for 3 years when he was a child of 7 years old. To this day this man who now lives in Israel sends money every month and food packages to these farmers' family. Many Poles were bad but many were very good the whole picture needs to be considered and in context. The Jewish museum in Warsaw is amazing and seeing classes of Polish children fascinated by the exhibits and learning and asking questions fills me with hope. The museum covers everything including Jedwabne, Kielce and all of the bad stuff and it holds no punches. I recommend anyone who visits Warsaw and is interested in these matters to visit this amazing museum. Your comments are valid but there is a larger picture. Your comments about Polish pride are also correct and about their difficulties in accepting these dark episodes but I believe that the Poles have come a very long way and there is hope and the future is bright.

UK, Ireland / Why English do not like Polish? [417]

Poles in the UK are hard working and tend to be polite and friendly. They have a work ethic that disappeared from the UK many years ago. The British are jealous of the Poles. I must however say I am biased, I am an Israel Jew of Polish heritage. I am currently living in the UK. I employ Poles and I would never employ an English person so I guess I am also prejeudiced and narrow minded!

History / Was the holocaust by Germans in Poland the worse genocide in history? [210]

Please be clear the holocaust was meant to be the beginning of the story not the end. The Germans planned after exterminating Jews to exterminate all Poles (apart from those that could be Germanized). This was called the Ostplan. German Nazism was a disease that wanted to kill Jews first and then ALL Poles. Any attempts to stir up hatred between Jews and Poles is an old trick used by many. Jews and Poles lived together for hundreds of years and the German plan was to kill all of us eventually!

News / US slaps Poland in the face (Comey Poland) [92]

Many of my family and friends' families were saved by their Polish Christian neighbours who risked their lives and the lives of their families to help Jews. Any Pole that helped a Jew was killed on the spot by the Germans. No arrest, no trial just killed. Yet more Poles helped Jews than any other country that Germans occupied. Compare to British Police in the channel Islands that eagerly collaborated with the Germans and shipped the Jews of the channel islands off to Aushwitz. Likewise the Vichy French actively helped the Germans, Hungarians, Ukrainians etc. Sure there exceptions Jedwabne etc horrific stories etc but this was the exception to the rule. Everyone knows that the Ostplan the Germans had was to immediately exterminate all Poles (that could not be 'Germanized') once they finished with the Jews. The Holocaust was meant to be the beginning of the story not the end. Basically alot of this anti-Polonism is just to make British, French and Americans feel better for their own weak efforts to prevent many deaths ie not bombing the train tracks and crematoria, not allowing Jews into Israel (then British Mandate). Accusing Poles of having anything to do with the holocaust is simply blaming a victim like blaming a young woman for being raped.

News / US slaps Poland in the face (Comey Poland) [92]

Polonius3 Most of what you say is very true apart from a little exaggerating about Germany 'bankrolling' Israel. Israel is a small country with few friends and we did eventually make peace with Germany. Menachem Begin was strongly against these economic deals with Germany and some say he quit politics after seeing German flags in Israel when there was a state visit. I remember as a child in Israel groups of us children being horrified to see Volkswagon beetle cars in Tel Aviv and vandalising them. However the rest of your comments are all correct. Anti-Polonism is closely related to it's older cousin anti-semitism. Please be clear that many in Israel are of Polish background and love Poland. Any insult to Poland insults us also. For many of us Israel is our mind and our soul but our heart will always be from Poland.