Polish views of Jews during WW2 - Axis History Forum This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn moreGot it! Axis History Forum This is an apolitical forum for discussions on the Axis nations and related topics hosted by the Axis History Factbook in cooperation with Christian Ankerstjerne’s Panzerworld and Christoph Awender's WW2 day by day. Founded in 1999. Skip to content Search Advanced search Quick links Unanswered topics Active topics Search The team FAQ Rules Help and Guide Contact Support Axis History Forum Login Register Board index Axis History Holocaust & 20th Century War Crimes Search Polish views of Jews during WW2 Discussions on the Holocaust and 20th Century War Crimes. Note that Holocaust denial is not allowed. Hosted by David Thompson. Locked Search Advanced search 41 posts 1 2 3 Next michael mills Member Posts: 8987 Joined: 11 Mar 2002, 13:42 Location: Sydney, Australia Polish views of Jews during WW2 #1 Post by michael mills » 14 Apr 2004, 06:47 Here are some excerpts from publications of Polish resistance groups, expressing their reaction to what was being done to the Jews from 1942 onward. I found them in the essay "The Polish Underground and the Jews" by Shmuel Krakowski, published in the book "Poles, Jews, Socialists; The Failure of an Ideal" (Polin Studies in Polish Jewry, Volume 9, edited by Antony Polonski, Israel Bartal, Gershon Hundert, Magdalena Opalski and Jerzy Tomaszewski, London, 1996), pp. 138-147. Enjoy! A leaflet entitled "Protest", produced by Zofia Kossak-Szczucka in the name of the Front Odrodzenia Polski (Front for Polish Resurrection) in August 1942: One has no right to remain passive when crimes are being committed. Whoever keeps silent in the face of murder becomes the murderer's accomplice. He acquiesces who does not condemn. For this reason we, the Polish Catholics, are speaking out. But our feelings towards the Jews have not changed. We still consider them to be the political, economic, and ideological enemies of Poland. [My emphasis] As the quote shows, it is possible to condemn the unjust killing of millions of Jews while at the same time condemning the Jewish people for its misdeeds. Extracts from an article of 15 August 1942 in the underground newspaper "Narod", an organ of the organisation Unia of the Stronnictwo Pracy (Labour Party), which attracted the catholic elite. The article was entitled "The Slaughter of the Jews". At the moment, from behind the ghetto walls, we can hear the unearthly moans and screams of the Jews who are being murdered. Ruthless cunning is falling victim to a ruthless brutal power, and there is no cross visible on this battlefield, as these scenes go back to pre-Christian times. [My comment: "Ruthless cunning" = Jews, "ruthless brutal power" = Germans, just in case you had not noticed] If this continues in the same manner, then it will not be long before Warsaw will be saying farewell to the last Jew. If it were possible to conduct a funeral, the reaction to it would be interesting to see. Would sorrow follow in the wake of the coffin, or weeping, or perhaps joy? In one of our previous decrees we urged you to be kind, but today we are faced with the following question. For hundreds of years an alien, malevolent entity has inhabited our northern suburb - malevolent and alien from the point of view of our interests, as well as our psyche and our hearts. So let us not strike false attitudes of the sort adopted by professional mourners at funerals - let us be serious and honest. We pity the individual Jew, the human being, and as far as possible, should he be lost or trying to hide, we shall extend a helping hand. We must condemn those who denounce them. It is our duty to demand from those who allow themselves to sneer and mock that they show dignity and respect in the face of death. But we are not going to pretend to be grief-stricken about a vanishing nation which, after all, was never close to our hearts. The above passages are consistent with Christian teaching. They express the view that even though the Jew may be malevolent and alien, it is the duty of a true Christian to feel compassion for him when he is suffering, and not to take pleasure in his punishment. In particular, the last sentence in the above quoted passage is remarkable for its intellectual and ethical honesty, so different from the hypocrisy that is rife in the present day. A passage from "Szaniec" (The Rampart), the organ of Oboz Narodowo-Radykalny (the national Radical Camp), on 31 january 1942. Jews were, are, and will be against us, always and everywhere......And now the question arises of how Poles are to treat the Jews.......We, and certainly 90 per cent of Poles, have only one answer to this question: like enemies.......The basic mistake which both previous Polish constitutions had in common was to give equal rights to all its citizens, which also included national minorities. The only right and effective, authentic, and non-cowardly solution to the problem is to grant political rights to no one but Poles. An article in the same periodical of 15 April 1942, entitled "The Problem of the Nursing Home": There are nations which are degenerate and sick, on which one must keep a tight hold so as not to cause disaster to civilisation. These include, first and foremost, Jews, German, and Muscovites. We have had to fight the Jews and the Muscovites, but the Germans are liquidating them much better and more effectively than anyone else could hope to do, particularly us. There is no need to dwell at length on the Jews - we know them only too well. There is not much hope of their joining the ranks of nations of good will until they totally cleanse by fire 'the eternal revolutionary Jew' and fertilise the sterile and fallow realm of the Jewish soul with the ashes. The middle paragraph in the above passage again displays remarkable intellectual honesty on the part of the Polish authors. In the first place, they admit that the liquidation of the Jews by the Germans is something that will be to the benefit of the Poles and which the latter want, and secondy that the Poles are too incompetent to do the job themselves. More to follow. Top alf Member Posts: 1343 Joined: 09 Oct 2003, 11:45 Location: Australia #2 Post by alf » 14 Apr 2004, 13:04 The fact that parts of the Poliand was antisemtic, some virulently so is not in dispute. But antisemitism is not a war crime, nor do the examples posted tie directly into the Holocaust. So why is it posted here and not in the Allied or European threads? Unless Michael can show clearly where his examples of antisemtism so carefully highlighted are actually leading, then the topic should be moved As always there are alternatives, if my memory serves me right , Chrisopher Browning in Ordinary Men: Police Battalion 101 and the Finals Solution in Poland, or The Path to Genocide provided evidence that the SS had to import guards from the Ukraine and elsewhere because they could not trust local Poles to do the bulk of the dirty work. That indicates that antsemitism was not universal throughout Poland. Antisemitism existed in Poland, no one can dispute that fact, but there is a world of difference between not liking Jews and killing them. That is what is needed here, for Michael to clearly show a warcrime was commited or how the Poles from the excerpts published participated in the Holocaust. Otherwise it should be moved to a more appropiate thread. Top Top Dan Member Posts: 8429 Joined: 10 Mar 2002, 15:06 Location: California #3 Post by Dan » 14 Apr 2004, 13:55 That is what is needed here, for Michael to clearly show a warcrime was commited or how the Poles from the excerpts published participated in the Holocaust. A Polish group condems other Poles who turn Jews in, and that's nothing to do with the holocaust? You seem afraid that large numbers of people are going to read this thread. Top David Thompson Forum Staff Posts: 23714 Joined: 20 Jul 2002, 20:52 Location: USA #4 Post by David Thompson » 14 Apr 2004, 14:00 alf -- You said: Unless Michael can show clearly where his examples of antisemtism so carefully highlighted are actually leading, then the topic should be moved In my opinion, one of the more important topics in the study of war crimes is the question "why?" This thread addresses the psychological basis for crimes against the Jews. The material Michael Mills has posted is original, and not generally available. In my opinion it is important to understand the conditions under which racist delusions first florish, and then turn to crime. Hopefully, this thread will assist in this understanding. If not, I will close it pursuant to the forum's rules against ethnic and religious slurs. Michael -- If possible, could you give this presentation more of a framework, which I'm guessing will probably be along the lines of your comments in the thread "Present-day denial and ignorance" at: http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?t=47594 Top Ogorek Member Posts: 736 Joined: 18 May 2002, 00:23 Location: USA #5 Post by Ogorek » 14 Apr 2004, 17:02 Of course Mr. Mills..... the ONR had little nice to say about the Jews... Hence the title of the thread might better read: "ONR views of Jews during WW2" I might also suggest that you do a little more research about Zofia Kossak-Szczucka - one of the founders of Zegota, godmother of the colors of the Polish Parachute Brigade, made and consecrated by the women of occupied Warsaw, and Auschwitz inmate.... Top Mostowka Member Posts: 178 Joined: 10 Oct 2003, 01:18 Location: Gothenburg, Sweden. #6 Post by Mostowka » 14 Apr 2004, 18:00 Michael Mills, As the Jews were the dominant majority in Poland for a very long time and assimilation was not large differences existed, even hate and a great deal of propaganda was pumped out. Antisemitism has been a widespread movement in Poland and continues suprisingly to be so even today. But what you seem to leave out is the fact that there during the advent of the second Polish republic another movement saw the light of day, Polish/Jewish collaboration in both political and intelectual life. What a part of the Polish intelegensia with ties to the church and national parties thought of the Jews was not the dominant view among intellectuals, even if jealousy and suspicion was common. What about the rate of pogroms in Poland contra the rate in Russia ? again displays remarkable intellectual honesty on the part of the Polish authors Once again the views of one certain group does label a whole nation with the same views. I would go as far and say that the attitude towards Jews did not differ greatly from the viewspercieved as "comman" in lets say, Hungary. It is a very interesting subject you have brought up Michael, and studying pamphlets and underground papers is a good source to see how the Poles viewed the Jews during an ongoing genocide. But we must not forget that solidarity and compassion was expressed during times when it was punishable with death. There is a very good book on Polish/Jewish relations prior to the war by the name "Szkice z Dziejów stosunków Polsko-Zydowskich 1918-1939), written by Jozef Orlicki (Krajowa Agencja wydawnicza, Szeczin 1983). Top Askold Member Posts: 1848 Joined: 23 Mar 2002, 09:30 Location: Ukraine Contact: Contact Askold Website #7 Post by Askold » 14 Apr 2004, 20:03 That indicates that antsemitism was not universal throughout Poland. - Actualy it was, especially in inter-war Poland. My grandmother used to live in what is considered Poland now, she mentioned quite often that the Jews were treated very badly in the 30's. However I should also mention that many other minorities in interwar Poland were constantly offended. P.S. I think the reason Germans employed camp guards elsewhere, was not because of lack of antisemitism in Poland, but German general distrust for Poles. Top Kloster Member Posts: 221 Joined: 03 Jul 2003, 17:46 Location: Denmark, Europe #8 Post by Kloster » 14 Apr 2004, 21:45 altho it's about schindler and his "types" it does give some "insight" about Polish antisisemsi (sp...) pre war and during the war. atleast it's a link i've been spending some time to read. http://www.tulane.edu/~so-inst/slindex.html Best regards Kloster Top michael mills Member Posts: 8987 Joined: 11 Mar 2002, 13:42 Location: Sydney, Australia #9 Post by michael mills » 15 Apr 2004, 00:18 The purpose of Shmuel Krakowski in writing the essay from which I have taken the excerpts posted by me was to show that Polish views of Jews were essentially negative, even among those Poles who were willing to risk their lives to help individual Jews who were in danger of death. Thus he intends to show that the founders of "Zegota", an organisation set up to assist Jews and help them hide from their German persecutors, were not motivated by love of Jews, and that was the purpose of his quotation from the writings of Kossak-Szczucka, one of those founders. She called on Poles to oppose the mass-killing of the Jews, but at the same time confirmed her view that the Jews were the " political, economic and ideological enemies of Poland". Krakowski appears unable to understand the contrast between the hostility of most Poles towards the Jewish minority in their midst and the willingness of some of their intellectual cultural leaders to oppose their massacre by the German occupiers and to provide aid to Jewish individuals, even at the risk of death. For him it is a total paradox. Thus he writes, in relation to the article "The Slaughter of the Jews" published in "Narod", the organ of the Catholic organisation "Unia": It is obvious that this text contains many details which are based on primitive lies, on inhumane and disgusting diatribes against the Jews. But it also urges the extending of a helping hand to any individual Jew who is lost or in hiding - and that, after all, implies risking one's own life [my emphasis]. Are we not dealing here with a peculiar contradiction, not uncommon at the time - the wish to salve one's human conscience while yet remaining steeped in a hackneyed ideology which includes pathological antisemitism as one of its tenets? But Krakowski, as a person embedded in the Jewish cultural sphere, is probably unable to understand the Christian teaching to "love your enemies", which was the ethical basis for the actions of Poles like Kossak-Scczucka and the Catholic intellectuals of the organisation "Unia". Furthermore, for obvious reasons, he is totally unwilling to admit the reasons why humane Polish catholic intellectuals might have a negative attitude toward his own people, and simply dismisses it as "pathological". The attitude of the Polish Catholic intellectuals, who insisted that it was the Christian duty of the Polish population to have compassion for and assist the Jews who were suffering, despite the fact that in their view the Jews were "malevolent" and "alien", may be contrasted with the attitude of the Soviet propagandist Il'ia Erenburg, who in his writings directed at the Soviet population propagated the concept of a duty to hate the enemy, and to rejoice at his punishment, an attitude that may well derive from his own Jewish cultural background. The book containing the essay by Krakowski also contains an essay by Teresa Prekerowa which takes issue with Krakowski's theses and, while admitting the negative attitude of Poles toward Jews expressed in the publications quoted by him, uses examples of the political positions expressed in Jewish underground publications to show why Poles had such a negative attitude. I will also be quoting from that essay in this thread. Now to the question of racial slurs. I consider it vital, in any discussion of the destruction at German hands of the greater part of Polish Jewry, to confront the attitude of the Polish population toward what was happening, not from the point of view of dismissing it at some sort of pathological phenomenon, but from the point of view of understanding the socio-economic and political background that engendered such attitudes. It is therefore necessary to state openly the contradictory views expressed by Polish intellectuals, rather than to sweep them under the carpet. Top Mostowka Member Posts: 178 Joined: 10 Oct 2003, 01:18 Location: Gothenburg, Sweden. #10 Post by Mostowka » 15 Apr 2004, 01:05 Il'ia Erenburg, who in his writings directed at the Soviet population propagated the concept of a duty to hate the enemy, and to rejoice at his punishment, an attitude that may well derive from his own Jewish cultural background. Could you further explain what it was in Ehrenburgs supposedly Jewish background that made him "rejoice at his punishment", from what I have heard Ehrenburg was not more Jewish than what his name made him Jewish, i.e he came from a secular Jewish family. Top michael mills Member Posts: 8987 Joined: 11 Mar 2002, 13:42 Location: Sydney, Australia #11 Post by michael mills » 15 Apr 2004, 01:13 Here is another excerpt quoted in the essay by Krakowski. It is from a report sent to the Polish Government-in-Exile in London in August 1942 by Roman Knoll, director of the Comisssion of Foreign Affairs attached to the Delegatura, the office of the Delegate in Poland of the Government-in-Exile. The document outlines basic plans relating to the jewish poulation. Among all our other national problems, there is alos the Jewish question. Formerly this seemed to us to be purely an internal matter. In reality it has always been an international issue, and has influenced our foreign relations. We realise that this will be the case to an even greater extent after the end of this war in which international Jewry officially belongs to one of the fighting factions. The mass murders of Jews in Poland carried out by the Germans will alleviate the Jewish problem for us, but will not remove it altogether [my emphasis]..........However, because of the monstrous persecution which European Jews have been subjected to, world public opinion is bound to be even more sympathetic towards their plight and will make an even greater effort to look after their interests. At the moment, Christian compassion for the agony of the Jews dominates our country, but apart from all this....... it remains true, whatever the nature of the current temporary psychological reaction that the eventual return of Jews to their jobs and workshops, even in greatly reduced numbers, is completely out of the question. The non-Jewish population has filled the places vacated by the Jews in towns and cities throughout Poland, and this has brought about fundameantal changes which have a final quality about them. A mass return of the Jews would be regarded by the people not as a restitution, but as an invasion against which it would defend itself, even by physical means. In short, it would certainly be a tragic situation from the political point of view if at the time wewere having our borders redrawn, our credits secured, new alliances and federations negotiated, Poland were to be pilloried by world opinion as a ountry where militant antisemitism was still being pracrised. Then all elements hostile to us would take advantage of this moment to bring about our ruin and to deprive us of the hard-won fruits of victory. The government is doing the right thing in reassuring world opinion that there will be no antisemitism in Poland, but this can only happen if the Jews who survive the pogrom make no attempt to return en masse to Polish towns and cities. The above passage is also remarkable in its openness and honesty. Two very important conclusions can be drawn from it. In the first place, it shows that the removal of Polish Jewry by the German occupiers, brutal and inhumane as it was, brought tangible benefits to the majority Polish population. That was because the Jews had occupied a particular socio-economic niche, in which Poles could now move and thus improve their own socio-economic positio… truncated (12,385 more characters in archive)