My Brother's Keeper: Recent Polish Debates on the Holocaust - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0415042321 ISBN 13: 9780415042321

Publisher: Routledge, 1990

Synopsis

In recent years, a lively debate has developed in Poland on the question of what responsibility the Poles share for the mass murder of the Jews, which took place largely on Polish soil. This debate was sparked off by the showing in Poland of Claude Lanzmann's film, Shoah , which revealed how deeply-rooted anti-Jewish prejudice could still be found in the Polish countryside. Anti-semitism is something which Poland has preferred to forget. But before the Second World War hostility to the Jews was widespread and this climate of pervasive anti-semitism may have facilitated the Nazis' murderous plans. But Poles now, with great courage, are facing this dark side of their past. This book, translated and edited by a leading British historian of Poland, Antony Polonsky, is a major contribution to the history of the Holocaust. It gathers together the most important contribution to the current debate, revealing the agony many Poles feel about their lack of action during the war.

About this title

About the Author

Antony Polonsky is Reader in International History at the London School of Economics. Among his books are Politics in Independent Poland (Oxford, 1972), The Little Dictators (London 1975) and, with Boleslaw Drukiér, The Beginnings of Communist Rule in Poland (London 1981). He is President of the Institute for Polish-Jewish studies and editor of POLIN: A Journal of Polish-Jewish Studies.

Reviews

In 1987, Jan Blonski, Professor of Polish literature, published an article in a Krakow-based Catholic weekly calling for Poland to admit its moral guilt for the Holocaust and its indifference to Jewish genocide. His essay sparked a heated debate among Polish intelligentsia over Poland's responsibility for the Holocaust and its past relationship to Polish Jews. This book republishes some of the most trenchant and provocative essays of the debate (including Blonski's original). It highlights Polish intellectuals' wrestling with an unresolved, haunting issue and reveals the spectrum of Polish attitudes. The book concludes with a transcript of discussions between Polish and Israeli scholars at a 1988 conference on Polish Jewry held in Israel. Very well done, this book is recommended for those interested in Polish-Jewish history, the Holocaust, and post-Holocaust ethnic and national reconciliation.
- Benny Kraut, Univ. of Cincinnati
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0415042321
• ISBN 13: 9780415042321
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 252
• Editor: Antony Polonsky