Polish guilt and the Holocaust: The Jedwabne massacre

Poland has a special place as “antisemitic” in the eyes of many Jews. How justified or not this description? I have been engaged in a nearly two-year discussion with “Philosopher” regarding this issue and below is my side of our latest exchange. It is a clash between two approaches to the issue of the relevance of Christianity’s Jewish Problem as causative for the Holocaust and my response to him is a summary of my side of the discussion. 

“Philosopher”, I’ve revisited Poland as antisemitic and suggest that country likely no more guilty than other Eastern European/Russian sphere states pre-Holocaust. My overall opposition to your position on Poland has was and is inspired more by your repeated absolving Poles of “antisemitism” while accusing Jews as ourselves perpetrators. Certainly some Jews, inspired by higher Soviet authority or personal bitterness in the immediate period following the Holocaust committed what we would both describe as atrocities. I do not justify these acts any more than do you. What I do protest, and what will always inspire me to oppose you in my blog, is your promotion of these acts as equivalence, as evidence that accusing Christians of the Holocaust is itself not justified. Which is the way you often come across and which I find harmful to the basics of my writings as warning.

I do my best to provide convincing arguments based on much-referenced evidence to support my position of the danger Christianity/Christendom represents to Jewish survival. Where I feel Israel does not conform to its obligations as Zionist I describe its departure as means of “positive” criticism. Again here, we are certainly closer than not in our views. But your comments attack, rather than promote reform. And worse, demonize Israel making it less, rather than more likely that when the next and final Final Solution appears Jews convinced by you will themselves fall victim for not choosing Israel as refuge.

These issues aside but explanation for how we may avoid conflict in the future… Regarding Jedwabne that which you characterize as, “an emotional speech of president Kwasniewski,” I read as a clearly stated acceptance of responsibility for the role of Poles for the atrocity. Dismissing the president’s speech as “emotional” is “perception,” not “fact” which only reduces rather than supports your position.

Your argument that, “”Krzysztof Persak… “Investigations and Court Proceedings”, which, under the bombastic title, recounts fictitious tales unworthy of the tragic case…” Dismissal of Persak sounds more “arrogance” than convincing.

I admit to not being familiar with the trial of Schaper. But again, even your quote does nothing to absolve Poles of Jedwabne since “organizing and supervising Jedwabne massacre is not the same as “committed” the Jedwabne massacre.

“Philosopher”, a long time ago I had already admitted to being neither well-informed regarding Poland and not particularly interested in singling out this or that country of the West as more or less antisemitic. I do not even hold Germany, or the fuehrer or the party as anything other than instruments in the search for the solution to Christianity/Christendom’s thus far failure to achieve a “solution” to its pathological preoccupation with Jews, its Jewish Problem.

It is the Jewish Problem, not assigning relative guilt  for the Holocaust (most recent evidence) among the perpetrators (Germany, et al) or passive supporters (America, et al) that is the issue.

The blog and my book are about presenting a warning, not about debating minor details against the background of history. If you disagree that my conclusions regarding the future of the Jewish People is correct, let’s argue that, a worthy discussion. But guilt or innocence of this or that country, people, individual? A sideshow and distraction.