Thursday, September 10, 2020

"They Always Kept One Token Jew" Bieganski Interview # 6



My Dad sometimes talked about his experiences with anti-Semitism as a young man after he’d left the orphanage. When he served in WWII, for instance, he was stationed in Georgia for basic training. When some fellow soldiers found out he was Jewish, there were certain comments made that my father chose to ignore. After the war, when my father was looking for work back in Chicago, he happened to apply for a job at a title & trust company. The man who gave him his job explained to him that they usually don’t hire Jews, but their one Jew on staff was retiring, so they had an opening. They apparently always kept one token Jew to keep up appearances.

***
"To Chew Someone Down" Bieganski Interview #1

"Poles are Inherently Comic Janitors" Bieganski Interview # 2

"My Father Began to Conceal His Jewish Origins" Bieganski Interview # 3

They Worked Like Moles Their Whole Lives Bieganski Interview # 4

"She Never, and I Mean Never, Threw Anything Away" Bieganski Interview # 5

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6 comments:

  1. Jan PeczkisSeptember 10, 2020 at 5:31 PM

    Why not more, on your blog, about Poles that faced discrimination? How many "token Poles" did companies hire? I'll bet zero.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. D GoskaSeptember 10, 2020 at 5:45 PM

      Thanks for the negative comments, Jan. Always encouraging to someone who has kept up a blog on Polish-Jewish matters for ten years with just about no donations from readers except two to whom I am eternally grateful, and I will not name them here. But, seriously, your gracious, kind commentary is compensation enough.

      Delete
    2. D GoskaSeptember 10, 2020 at 5:46 PM

      And people wonder why the Polish story is not told. Polish people, support your storytellers, even just with a kind word or two now and then. It won't kill you to be positive.

      Delete
    3. AnonymousSeptember 14, 2020 at 6:47 PM

      Many of your readers might be interested in Martyna Majok's work.

      Delete
  2. Mr. Jan PeczkisSeptember 10, 2020 at 7:54 PM

    I was positive in my review of your Bieganski book, and, after it was taken down by Amazon and GoodReads, I made sure to re-post it on my own website:

    https://www.jewsandpolesdatabase.org/2019/11/04/polonophobia-definitive-work-goska/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jerzy PankiewiczSeptember 14, 2020 at 2:15 AM

    https://www.dw.com/en/oscars-announce-diversity-criteria-for-best-picture-eligibility/a-54867913 Do the criteria promote Jews or are antisemitic?

    ReplyDelete

Bieganski the Blog exists to further explore the themes of the book Bieganski the Brute Polak Stereotype, Its Role in Polish-Jewish Relations and American Popular Culture.
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