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A review by wellworn_soles
Neighbors: The Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland by Jan Tomasz Gross
5.0
A lucid historical text that clearly and succinctly brings forward evidence, counterarguments, and testimony to document the atrocities committed in Jedwabne, Poland. The revelation of the brutality the Jewish people faced from their neighbors is graphic and uncomfortable; but that is all the more reason to read this work and sit with that horror and violence. It is only by bearing witness that we can stand up against banal, heedless torture and extermination in the future.
Jan T. Gross takes time to refute what he calls the “perpetrators-victims-bystanders” axis. By this, he references how attempts made to fit people into these hard and fast roles are operating under an illusion: in this historical event, this is laid bare by how the Polish people do not wait to be forced to murder their Jewish neighbors, but rather excitedly attack them of their own volition, with the German germaderie watching on. Adding this nuance - where few are fully guilty, and few are fully without blame - is difficult work. It eludes the easy condemnation and separation that allows “us” to think we cannot be like the abuser and the murderer. But we are, and they are like us: it is only with constant critical vigilance that we may stem darkness in ourselves and our communities.
I couldn’t help but read about Jewish communities, fleeing from village to village, the conflagration of violence closing in on all sides, and think: no wonder the Zionist movement holds so strong. Who could ask them to return to these countries when it was so clear that nobody wanted them there - that they would be sitting ducks for the next pogrom? Gross clearly shows that anti-Semitism did not vanish upon the ending of WW2 in Poland or anywhere else. It would be foolish to think so. This is not to abet the violence and evil that has been perpetrated under the Israeli state. However, once again, there is always, always nuance. I cant help but feel we must work to condemn injustice in all its forms in every place, while also trying to understand its origins. Otherwise, we are simply putting a band aid over a gaping wound.
Jan T. Gross takes time to refute what he calls the “perpetrators-victims-bystanders” axis. By this, he references how attempts made to fit people into these hard and fast roles are operating under an illusion: in this historical event, this is laid bare by how the Polish people do not wait to be forced to murder their Jewish neighbors, but rather excitedly attack them of their own volition, with the German germaderie watching on. Adding this nuance - where few are fully guilty, and few are fully without blame - is difficult work. It eludes the easy condemnation and separation that allows “us” to think we cannot be like the abuser and the murderer. But we are, and they are like us: it is only with constant critical vigilance that we may stem darkness in ourselves and our communities.
I couldn’t help but read about Jewish communities, fleeing from village to village, the conflagration of violence closing in on all sides, and think: no wonder the Zionist movement holds so strong. Who could ask them to return to these countries when it was so clear that nobody wanted them there - that they would be sitting ducks for the next pogrom? Gross clearly shows that anti-Semitism did not vanish upon the ending of WW2 in Poland or anywhere else. It would be foolish to think so. This is not to abet the violence and evil that has been perpetrated under the Israeli state. However, once again, there is always, always nuance. I cant help but feel we must work to condemn injustice in all its forms in every place, while also trying to understand its origins. Otherwise, we are simply putting a band aid over a gaping wound.