The Neighbors Respond : The Controversy Over the Jedwabne Massacre in Poland

__Neighbors__--Jan Gross's stunning account of the brutal mass murder of the Jews of Jedwabne by their Polish neighbors--was met with international critical acclaim and was a finalist for the National Book Award in the United States. It has also been, from the moment of its publication, the occasion of intense controversy and painful reckoning. This book captures some of the most important voices in the ensuing debate, including those of residents of Jedwabne itself as well as those of journalists, intellectuals, politicians, Catholic clergy, and historians both within and well beyond Poland's borders. Antony Polonsky and Joanna Michlic introduce the debate, focusing particularly on how __Neighbors__ rubbed against difficult old and new issues of Polish social memory and national identity. The editors then present a variety of Polish voices grappling with the role of the massacre and of Polish-Jewish relations in Polish history. They include samples of the various strategies used by Polish intellectuals and political elites as they have attempted to deal with their country's dark past, to overcome the legacy of the Holocaust, and to respond to Gross's book. __The Neighbors Respond__ makes the debate over __Neighbors__ available to an English-speaking audience--and is an excellent tool for bringing the discussion into the classroom. It constitutes an engrossing contribution to modern Jewish history, to our understanding of Polish modern history and identity, and to our bank of Holocaust memory. Contents Preface Introduction Part I. The Initial Reporting Introduction Burnt Offering Rzeczpospolita, 5 May 2 0 0 0 The Blood of Jedwabne In Memory and Admonition Part II. The Moral Debate Introduction Prophecies are Being Fulfilled Obsessed with Innocence A Need for Compensation The Revolution of Nihilism The Shortsightedness of the “Cultured” Homo Jedvabicus Part III. Official Statements Introduction Living in Truth: Special Statement by Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek regarding the Slaughter of Jews in Jedwabne in 1941, April 2001 Address Delivered by Władysław Bartoszewski, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., 5 April 2001 Address by President of Poland Aleksander Kwasńiewski at the Ceremonies in Jedwabne Marking the Sixtieth Anniversary of the Jedwabne Tragedy on 10 July 2001 Findings of Investigation S 1/00/Zn into the Murder of Polish Citizens of Jewish Origin in the Town of Jedwabne on 10 July 1941, pursuant to Article 1 Point 1 of the Decree of 31 August 1944 Jedwabne—Let Us Be Silent in the Face of This Crime: Piotr Lipiński Talks with Professor Andrzej Rzepliński Part IV. The Debate in the Catholic Church Introduction A Poor Christian Looks at Jedwabne: Adam Boniecki and Michał Okoński Talk with Archbishop Henryk Muszyński Interview with the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Józef Glemp, on the Murder of Jews in Jedwabne, 15 May 2001 Rev. stanisław musiał. We ask you to help us be better Part V. Voices of the Inhabitants of Jedwabne Introduction We are Different People: A Discussion about Jedwabne in Jedwabne Marta Kurkowska-Budzan. My Jedwabne Part VI. Memories and Methodologies: The Historical Debate Introduction Collaboration Passed over in Silence How to Grapple with the Perplexing Legacy A Roundtable Discussion: Jedwabne—Crime and Memory We of Jedwabne The Pogrom in Jedwabne: Critical Remarks about Jan T. Gross’S Neighbors Critical Remarks Indeed Jedwabne Without Stereotypes: Agnieszka Sabor and Marek Zajac Talk with Professor Tomasz Szarota Jedwabne: How was it Possible? Part VII. The Discussion Outside Poland Introduction Introduction to the Hebrew Edition of Neighbors Do the Poor Poles Really Look at the Ghetto? Introduction to the Hebrew Edition of Neighbors “Heroes and Victims” (Extracts) Jedwabne and the Selling of the Holocaust Poles and the Jews: How Deep the Guilt? Washington Diarist: Righteous Chronology Explanatory Notes Index Neighbors --Jan Gross's stunning account of the brutal mass murder of the Jews of Jedwabne by their Polish neighbors--was met with international critical acclaim and was a finalist for the National Book Award in the United States. It has also been, from the moment of its publication, the occasion of intense controversy and painful reckoning. This book captures some of the most important voices in the ensuing debate, including those of residents of Jedwabne itself as well as those of journalists, intellectuals, politicians, Catholic clergy, and historians both within and well beyond Poland's borders. Antony Polonsky and Joanna Michlic introduce the debate, focusing particularly on how Neighbors rubbed against difficult old and new issues of Polish social memory and national identity. The editors then present a variety of Polish voices grappling with the role of the massacre and of Polish-Jewish relations in Polish history. They include samples of the various strategies used by Polish intellectuals and political elites as they have attempted to deal with their country's dark past, to overcome the legacy of the Holocaust, and to respond to Gross's book. The Neighbors Respond makes the debate over Neighbors available to an English-speaking audience--and is an excellent tool for bringing the discussion into the classroom. It constitutes an engrossing contribution to modern Jewish history, to our understanding of Polish modern history and identity, and to our bank of Holocaust memory. This is a selection of the most important contributions in Poland and in the wider world on the debate provoked by Jan Gross's revelations about the massacre in the small Polish town of Jewabne in North-eastern Poland in July 1941