Fear: Anti-Semitism in Poland After Auschwitz
Jan Gross’ new book “Fear: Anti-Semitism in Poland After Auschwitz: An Essay in Historical Interpretation” is highly recommended for those who not only want to know more of the empirical facts of anti-Jewish persecution in Poland after the Holocaust, but also those who want to think about the causes of this intense animosity.
The book’s thesis is very provokative, as Gross does not rely on simple “eternal antisemitism” theses. He argues, quite convincingly that the intensity of post-Holocaust antisemitism in Poland, had specifically to do with the Poles’ Holocaust experience itself. I recommend Natan Sznaider’s review, “Chasing Away the Memory of Guilt: The End of Jewish Life in Poland.”
Also, in a very interesting section Gross evaluates “How the Working-Class Reacted to the Kielce Pogrom and What the Communist Party Made of It.” For those thinking about the failures of the Left to oppose antisemitism, this section has a lot to offer, as it exposes the Communist Party’s Real Politik approach to the issue, eventually siding with the Polish working-class against the Jews.
This entry was posted on Friday, January 11th, 2008 at 10:47 am and is filed under books, poland, antisemitism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
on February 16, 2008 contestedterrain wrote:
A polish translation of Gross’ book was recently released in Poland, and the Polish State Prosecution said it “would consider pressing charges against historian Jan Tomasz Gross for ‘insulting the nation’”
from Ha’aretz
on February 16, 2008 contestedterrain wrote:
A church responds in Krakow:
“The kikes will not continue to spit on us.”
from Ha’aretz
on February 23, 2008 contestedterrain wrote:
“Polish prosecutors announced Tuesday that they will not seek charges against author and historian Jan T. Gross, according to Reuters.”
from Jewish Literary Review
on November 6, 2008 Aida wrote:
Thank you for constantly updated, always a pleasure to read.