The neglected narrative: Polish Victims in The Shadow of The Holocaust
Before 1986, no American historian had written a systematic account of the Polish people under the German occupation. Prior to that time, the story of ethnic Poles had been subsumed … Continue reading
History is never that simple
Zygmunt Hauptman once accused Catholic Poland of permitting Jewish immigration centuries ago “in order to have someone to hate.” Statements like this have appeared in various writings over the decades. … Continue reading
Remembering Katyń
On this day in 1940, a decision was made that would condemn thousands of Polish citizens to death and leave a scar on the conscience of Europe for generations. On … Continue reading
In Poland, liberation did not end so neatly…
In much of the Western imagination, the Second World War concludes in 1945 with liberation, rebuilding, and a clear moral resolution. In Poland, it does not end so neatly. It … Continue reading
When the war ended, survival was mistaken for resolution
For millions of Polish families, liberation did not mean return. Homes had been seized, farms absorbed, workshops dismantled, furniture burned, land reassigned, records destroyed. What had taken generations to build … Continue reading
Poland Was Not Allowed to Exist
There are nations that survive through power, through armies, through victory and conquest, and then there are nations that survive because ordinary people refuse to stop being themselves when history … Continue reading
ANTIPOLONISM
Over the years and lately on Facebook and Twitter I have repeatedly encountered accusations of Polish collaboration and antisemitism that are not only false, but deeply ironic, as some of … Continue reading
Israeli coach punches Polish referee at judo tournament.
The Israeli Embassy accuses Poles of anti-Semitism (sic!) because their team was excluded from the International Judo Tournament in Bielsko-Biała. The reason? A physical attack on a referee after a … Continue reading
Polish Jews during WW2
People often ask how it was possible that roughly 90 percent of Polish Jews perished during the Holocaust, and the question is frequently followed by comparisons to Western Europe. Stories … Continue reading
The Inheritance of Silence: Poland, War, and the Burden of Misunderstood Memory
The Polish experience in the Second World War cannot be understood merely through statistics of occupation, casualties, or shifting borders. It must be understood as a total rupture of family … Continue reading
