Anna D. submitted this comment and I hope it gets more attention than it might in the comment section.
I live in Poland and for a long time I have noticed a trend in some circles to portray Poles, the whole nation, the whole society, as anti-Semitic, xenophobic, primitive and disgusting.
I always ask myself then who are the people who spare no effort to constantly discredit and depreciate Polish society as a whole. What group do these people belong to, in their own opinion? What are their motivations? What do they want to achieve?
The search for truth cannot be based on hatred, because hatred blinds. I ask if these people are looking for the truth. Because I rather have the impression that they take a club and hit with all their might to break all values. And present Polish society as mindless, primitive and aggressive - almost animals.
For example, I recently read a review about the 2021 film "The Wedding" by Wojciech Smarzowski.
Quote from a review on filmweb.pl
" Poland A.D. 2021 is therefore reviewed in Poland A.D. 1941 and - unfortunately - still has the same face. The changes are only cosmetic: the place of the Jews was taken by other "others": Ukrainians and Vietnamese, and the Germans stab the Polish ego not with a bayonet, but with capital.
No need to beat around the bush: Poland in Smarzowski's lens is a pigsty full of xenophobia, philandering, drunkenness and brawling. The bride's father, of course, manages the butcher shop, and the director repeats Art Spiegelman's metaphor from "Maus", showing the Pole as a piglet. Partly as a victim in the slaughterhouse of history, and partly as a pig that does dirty things to others. Once a hero who hides Jews in a barn, once a torturer who burns them in a barn.”
Przytyk pogrom, interesting misinformation "March of 1936: The Przytyk Pogrom, the worst of a series of pogroms against #Jews that took place in Poland during the interwar decades, claimed the lives of three people." A Jew killed a Pole which caused riots and killing of two Jews. So not three Jewish vicitms, but one Polish and two Jewish. Sad, but in 1937 the police killed 44 peasants during several days in August.
ReplyDeleteTwitter "Five years ago on this day, I was teaching a class about the origins of anti-Judaism in the Hellenistic world when a Polish-American student raised her hand and said to me, “I am proud to come from a country with no history of antisemitism.”" The tweet was read by 1.7 million people, obtained 18,900 likes. The student allegedly instigated later a campaign to fire the writer. We know only this part of the story. Poland has a history of antisemitism and such naive believes of some Poles are used against Polish people.However the majority of European Jews run away from the West to Poland and from the Communist Eden to Poland. Why this tweet exactly now, during the war in Ukraine, before the visit of President Biden? Five years. I do not know what I did 5 years ago. If the student comes from an educated family which is not antisemtic and learned history in US school, how was she able to learn about the Polish antisemitism? Poland did not exist during more than 100 years, ruled by antisemitic Russia. Poland accepted about 500,000 Jewish refugees from Soviet Union and gave them full citizenship rights. Such generosity was unrealistic, Poland was a poor country and the immigrants caused problems. Poland was overpopulated and pushed its peasants abroad, where some of them died, but cooperation with Zionists is sometimes described as antisemitic. There was another way to solve Polish problems, to invest in Poland. As far as I know no such investments have been made. Only humanitarian help arrived, so less people starved but there was no future.
ReplyDeleteThat Tweet is not true.
DeleteEvery country has a history of antisemitism.
Whether covert or overt.
And a great many countries have a history of anticommunism.
When you said "Co-operation with Zionists is sometimes described as antisemitic".
I naturally thought: "Especially by the Free Palestine or the Boycott; Divest; Sanctions people".
So true that investing in Poland is a way to solve Polish problems.
I see this in humanitarian work and family reunification schemes.
"Less people starved but there was no future".
Adelaide Dupont
[who can remember what I did 5 years ago].
[and if I can't Google Plus serves as an aide-memoire].
https://www.timesofisrael.com/bam-kapow-when-1930s-jewish-mobsters-beat-up-nazis-in-the-streets-of-america/ When 1930s Jewish mobsters beat up Nazis in the streets of America
ReplyDeleteBam Kapow reminds me of this series that Canal Plus made:
DeleteTHE KING OF WARSAW
based on a book.
Adelaide Dupont
Review of the book https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/szczepan-twardoch/the-king-of-warsaw/ . I have not read the book but I know the author who is an Upper Silesian nationalist. He supports Upper Silesian language, to be exact creation of the language. Probably the best known Polish linguist Professor Miodek is himself an Upper Silesian, but he opposes the creation of such language. Many languages were defined by translation of the Bible. Upper Silesians prayed Polish (or German), they have no translation of the Bible and Miodek finds such translation wrong. There exist several Silesian patois of Polish language, which are used in family life, to express feelings rather than to discuss science or politics.
Deletehttps://www.euronews.com/next/2023/02/03/polands-reverse-brain-drain-meet-the-poles-returning-home-to-work-in-its-booming-tech-sect The text is biased pro-Polish, but yes, some Poles have returned from the UK (many moved to Norway). The quality of life in Poland may be higher than in the USA.
ReplyDeletePart of this is part of the long-term Jewish stereotype of non-Jews as drunks and brawlers.
ReplyDeleteThe article does not inform that the Israeli anonymous editor Icewhiz has threatened several Wikipedia editors in real life. His opinion has been published by Haaretz and several mainstream newspapers. Piotr Konieczny has ben also interviewed, but his opinion ignored.
ReplyDeleteGrabowski's father describes his war adventures. The family was helped by Poles and a Nazi, former Austrian army officer. https://www.1944.pl/archiwum-historii-mowionej/zbigniew-grabowski,1177.html
ReplyDelete