Neighbors: The Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland

Es una nueva informacion historica, que probablemente nos ayude a comprender mejor hechos hasta ahora ocultos, por no haberse publicado. Al tiempo lleguo a la conclusion de que el conocimiento, en gran parte , viene determinado, por las influencias de cada momento historico. ¿Por que ahora y no antes?.

In einem nüchternen, faktenorientierten Ton, der teilweise an eine forensische Untersuchung erinnert, werden die grauenhaften Ereignisse des 10. Juli 1941 rekonstruiert. Jan Gross stützt sich dabei auf Zeugenaussagen der wenigen Überlebenden, schriftlichen Erklärungen der Täter, zahlreiche Polizei- und Untersuchungsprotokolle und andere historische Quellen. Auf der Suche nach einem Motiv für diese Explosion der Bestialität führt der Autor das jahrzehntelange Schüren des Judenhasses durch die katholische Kirche in Polen an, aber auch die reine Habgier, die ja auch Götz Aly in ‚Hitlers Volksstaat‘ so gut herausgearbeitet hat. Die Aussicht auf das Hab und Gut der ermordeten Juden kann in der Tat die koordinierten Anstrengungen der polnischen Dörfler erklären, das Überleben von irgendwelchen Zeugen, z.B. jüdischen Frauen oder Kindern, unbedingt zu verhindern. Der pure Sadismus, der den Morden vorausging, entzieht sich allerdings allen rationalen Erklärungsversuchen. Man kann den Polen nur wünschen, dass sie die Stärke finden, diesem düsteren Kapitel der eigenen Geschichte ins Auge zu sehen und eine adäquate Form des Gedenkens zu entwickeln. Ein dünnes, aber wichtiges Buch gegen das Vergessen und das nationalistische Hurra.

You have to reconsider Poland, especially modern Poland and its reactionary political roots. No wonder thousands of Poles leave Poland and sadly bring their reactionary ideologies with them!

I bought this book after having seen the play "Our Class" by Tadeusz Slobodzianek at the National Theatre. I went to the theatre with the standard expectations of anyone acquainted with holocaust history, i.e. that the play was about how the Jewish children who were all friends of their Catholic classmates, would end up dead. As if that were not shocking enough, the play opened up a perspective which was even more shocking. It was based on the horrendous events researched and related in this book. The book is a difficult read, but it is very important for it to be read. By now, more than 60 years after the original event, unravelling the story was an extremely demanding task. Jan. T. Gross had to piece it together and at the same time cut through the many biases that overlaid it as a result of Poland's extremely complex and turbulent history. I am not surprised that some of the Amazon reviewers are so hostile to Jan.T. Gross' account. Denial of responsibility is a standard response when favourite and widely held assumptions are challenged. A characteristic example of that response was the banning in France of Marcel Ophüls' documentary: "The Sorrow and the Pity". The Turkish government buried Franz Werfel's account of the genocide perpetrated against their Armenian population so successfully that it manages to deny it to this day. And so denial goes on, right now, in our time. I do accept that the Poles have drawn a particularly short straw, having been mangled between the two totalitarian monsters of the 20th century. That makes it even more difficult for them to see themselves not only as victims but as perpetrators as well. Even if this book is not likely to be widely read, it is important that the story has been told.

very good book, recomend it to anyone who likes this subject, unreal how one culture can do this to another.