
Against Anti-Semitism
An Anthology of Twentieth-Century Polish Writings
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 8. February 2018
Book
Hardback
420 pages
978-0-19-062451-4 (ISBN)
Description
Anti-Semitism in Poland has always been a deeply problematic subject. In the years since the Holocaust, much has been written about the willingness of Poles to collaborate with the Nazis, willingly handing over Polish Jews and often profiting from it in the process. Such assertions have led to a widespread and ongoing stereotype that Poles are a deeply, inherently anti-Semitic people. In fact, Adam Michnik argues, while there are certainly anti-Semites among Poles, resistance to anti-Semitism is deeply rooted in the culture. The essays he has gathered in this unique and important anthology-with contributions by a who's who of Polish writers and intellectuals across the decades-both testify to and elaborate on that premise.
Michnik offers an overview of the subject, in which lays out the four myths he argues continue to circulate in Polish thought: that in the eastern territories occupied by the USSR between 1939 and 1941, many Jews collaborated with the occupying authorities; that Jews were only delivered into German hands by Polish criminals; that after 1945 Jews formed the core of the Department of Security and therefore bear the blame for the suffering of the Home Army soldiers in communist Poland; and fourth, that anti-Semitism in Poland today is so marginal as to be almost exotic. A prologue by poet Czes?aw Mi?osz, winner of the Nobel Prize for literature, focuses on the first third of the 20th century, the period of crisis before the outbreak of World War II. The essays that follow, including works by, among other leading figures, Maria D?browska, Leszek Ko?akowski, and Jan B?o?ski, include writings from the years leading up to World War II, and draw from periodical and newspaper articles in addition to scholarly essays across the twentieth century. Collectively, the works by these writers put Polish anti-Semitism in context and in the process reflect upon the full story of Polish history in the 20th century.
Michnik offers an overview of the subject, in which lays out the four myths he argues continue to circulate in Polish thought: that in the eastern territories occupied by the USSR between 1939 and 1941, many Jews collaborated with the occupying authorities; that Jews were only delivered into German hands by Polish criminals; that after 1945 Jews formed the core of the Department of Security and therefore bear the blame for the suffering of the Home Army soldiers in communist Poland; and fourth, that anti-Semitism in Poland today is so marginal as to be almost exotic. A prologue by poet Czes?aw Mi?osz, winner of the Nobel Prize for literature, focuses on the first third of the 20th century, the period of crisis before the outbreak of World War II. The essays that follow, including works by, among other leading figures, Maria D?browska, Leszek Ko?akowski, and Jan B?o?ski, include writings from the years leading up to World War II, and draw from periodical and newspaper articles in addition to scholarly essays across the twentieth century. Collectively, the works by these writers put Polish anti-Semitism in context and in the process reflect upon the full story of Polish history in the 20th century.
Reviews / Votes
A collectively significant and seminal work of simply outstanding scholarship, Against Anti-Semitism: An Anthology of Twentieth-Century Polish Writings is a critically important and unreservedly recommended addition to both community and academic library collections. * The Midwest Book Review *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 241 mm
Width: 163 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
733 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-062451-4 (9780190624514)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Adam Michnik | Agnieszka Marczyk
Against Anti-Semitism
An Anthology of Twentieth-Century Polish Writings
E-Book
11/2017
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€13.99
Available for download

Adam Michnik | Agnieszka Marczyk
Against Anti-Semitism
An Anthology of Twentieth-Century Polish Writings
E-Book
11/2017
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€26.99
Available for download
Persons
Adam Michnik is Editor-in-chief of Gazeta Wyborcza and the author of In Search of Lost Meaning: The New Eastern Europe.
Agnieszka Marczyk has a PhD in history from the University of Pennsylvania, and her research focuses on teaching historical thinking skills. She is co-editor of Does Democracy Matter?: The United States and Global Democracy Support.
Agnieszka Marczyk has a PhD in history from the University of Pennsylvania, and her research focuses on teaching historical thinking skills. She is co-editor of Does Democracy Matter?: The United States and Global Democracy Support.
Content
Introduction: Poland and Anti-Semitism
Adam Michnik and Agnieszka Marczyk
I. Prologue: 1900-1936
Jews - the 1920s
Czeslaw Milosz
II. 1936-1939: The Mustard Gas of Racism
The Przytyk Market Stands
Ksawery Pruszynski
Annual Shame
Maria Dabrowska
III. 1939-1945: On Both Sides of The Wall
Jews and Polish Commerce
Kazimierz Wyka
We, Polish Jews
Julian Tuwim
The Orchestration of Rage
Michal M. Borwicz
IV. 1945-1947: The Power of Ignorance
The Power of Ignorance
Mieczyslaw Jastrun
The Problem of Polish Anti-Semitism
Jerzy Andrzejewski
With Kielce in the Background
Stanislaw Ossowski
Our Part (A Pessimist's Voice)
Witold Kula
V. 1956-1957: The Anti-Semitism of Kind and Gentle People
Anti-Semites: Five Familiar Theses and a Warning
Leszek Kolakowski
From National Democrats to Stalinists
Konstanty A. Jelenski
Anti-Semitism
Jerzy Turowicz
The Anti-Semitism of Kind and Gentle People
Tadeusz Mazowiecki
VI. 1967-1969: Expulsion from Poland
March 1968 and the So-Called Jewish Question in Poland after World War II
Krystyna Kersten
VII. 1970-1989: The Poor Poles Look At The Ghetto
Jews as a Polish Problem
Aleksander Smolar
The Poor Poles Look at the Ghetto
Jan Blonski
VIII. After 1989: Toward Description and Diagnosis
Polish-Jewish Relations 30 Years after the Publication of the "Nostra Aetate" Conciliar Declaration
Rev. Archbishop Henryk Muszynski
The Disgrace of Indifference
Hanna Swida-Ziemba
The Holocaust
Maria Janion
IX. 2001-2009: Against the Conformity of Silence
The Burning Barn and I
Waldemar Kuczynski
Helplessness
Jerzy Jedlicki
Adam Michnik and Agnieszka Marczyk
I. Prologue: 1900-1936
Jews - the 1920s
Czeslaw Milosz
II. 1936-1939: The Mustard Gas of Racism
The Przytyk Market Stands
Ksawery Pruszynski
Annual Shame
Maria Dabrowska
III. 1939-1945: On Both Sides of The Wall
Jews and Polish Commerce
Kazimierz Wyka
We, Polish Jews
Julian Tuwim
The Orchestration of Rage
Michal M. Borwicz
IV. 1945-1947: The Power of Ignorance
The Power of Ignorance
Mieczyslaw Jastrun
The Problem of Polish Anti-Semitism
Jerzy Andrzejewski
With Kielce in the Background
Stanislaw Ossowski
Our Part (A Pessimist's Voice)
Witold Kula
V. 1956-1957: The Anti-Semitism of Kind and Gentle People
Anti-Semites: Five Familiar Theses and a Warning
Leszek Kolakowski
From National Democrats to Stalinists
Konstanty A. Jelenski
Anti-Semitism
Jerzy Turowicz
The Anti-Semitism of Kind and Gentle People
Tadeusz Mazowiecki
VI. 1967-1969: Expulsion from Poland
March 1968 and the So-Called Jewish Question in Poland after World War II
Krystyna Kersten
VII. 1970-1989: The Poor Poles Look At The Ghetto
Jews as a Polish Problem
Aleksander Smolar
The Poor Poles Look at the Ghetto
Jan Blonski
VIII. After 1989: Toward Description and Diagnosis
Polish-Jewish Relations 30 Years after the Publication of the "Nostra Aetate" Conciliar Declaration
Rev. Archbishop Henryk Muszynski
The Disgrace of Indifference
Hanna Swida-Ziemba
The Holocaust
Maria Janion
IX. 2001-2009: Against the Conformity of Silence
The Burning Barn and I
Waldemar Kuczynski
Helplessness
Jerzy Jedlicki