Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

When Israel Ignorantly Blames the Holocaust on the Poles, It Boosts Their Illiberal Nationalists
Haaretz ^ | Jan 30, 2018 | Oded Even Or

Posted on 02/08/2018 11:39:22 AM PST by GoldenState_Rose

Contrary to other European countries, such as France or Norway, Poland was directly controlled by Nazi Germany. There was no puppet regime in Poland to assist the Germans, like the Vichy or Quisling governments, and the Nazis annexed parts of the country, while putting the rest under the control of a German governor, Hans Frank.

Frank subjected Poland to a terror "much fiercer and more protracted [...] than anywhere in Europe," scholar Norman Davies says, as cited by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

This terror included capital punishment for offering any help to Jews. While it’s true that Poles aided, abetted and participated in the Holocaust (an estimated 200,000 Jews were killed, directly or indirectly, by Poles), it is also true that 6,500 Poles were recognized as righteous among nations, more than in any other country, and it is widely considered that this number is just the tip of the iceberg.

The Nazi terror also included the killing of at least a million and a half Polish civilians, as well as a cultural genocide aimed specifically to make the Poles into better laborers for their German masters. While in France intellectuals were free to continue their efforts - Sartre, for instance, produced his magnum opus Being and Nothingness in 1943 in occupied Paris - the Polish intelligentsia was practically obliterated.

Considering, then, that Poland was under direct Nazi rule, that this regime was ruthless toward Polish civilians, and that aiding Jews was a capital offense, Poland’s consternation at being accused of national complicity with the Nazis is reasonable.

(Excerpt) Read more at haaretz.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Israel; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: auschwitz; europe; europeanhistory; germany; hitler; holocaust; israel; jewish; nazis; poland; polish; worldwar2; wwii
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-33 next last
Author is a liberal writer critical of anti-Semitism among segments of Poland and rest of Europe, but understands the spirit behind the new law.

Polish President Andrzej Duda signed Poland's controversial new Holocaust bill late Tuesday ahead of it being assessed by the country's Constitutional Tribunal. The law would make it illegal to accuse the nation of complicity in crimes committed by Nazi Germany, including the Holocaust. It would also ban the use of terms such as "Polish death camps" in relation to Auschwitz and other such camps located in Nazi-occupied Poland

- CNN

1 posted on 02/08/2018 11:39:23 AM PST by GoldenState_Rose
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: GoldenState_Rose

And the Muslims were aligned with the nazis.


2 posted on 02/08/2018 11:46:05 AM PST by teeman8r (Armageddon won't be pretty, but it's not like it's the end of the world.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: teeman8r

Well the Soviets weren’t that much better and in many cases: worse. And Poland had to suffer through BOTH Nazi and Soviet occupation.


3 posted on 02/08/2018 11:46:55 AM PST by GoldenState_Rose
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: GoldenState_Rose

imho the memory of the holocaust is slowly destroying western civilization.


4 posted on 02/08/2018 11:52:26 AM PST by ckilmer (q e)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ckilmer

That and eco-nazism ironically


5 posted on 02/08/2018 11:53:50 AM PST by Scott from the Left Coast
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: ckilmer

Not properly dealing with it has allowed for the demons to linger and cause all the problems you see in Europe today.

Anti-Semitism never went away in Europe. It’s not just a “Muslim” problem. And even the radical Muslims of today were heavily influenced by things like anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist campaigns of disinformation spread by the likes of the Soviet Union trying to win favor and influence in the Middle East, sell weapons to anti-Israel regimes, etc...

And in general, the horror and traumas of the 20th Century from the Armenian Genocide to the Ukrainian famine have not been properly confronted, repented of, and healed...


6 posted on 02/08/2018 11:56:28 AM PST by GoldenState_Rose
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Scott from the Left Coast; ckilmer

Jerusalem being declared the capital of Israel is a good starting point for recovery.


7 posted on 02/08/2018 11:58:04 AM PST by GoldenState_Rose
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: GoldenState_Rose

True at! That is why I pick them for the next EU ExitPole!


8 posted on 02/08/2018 11:59:38 AM PST by teeman8r (Armageddon won't be pretty, but it's not like it's the end of the world.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

Comment #9 Removed by Moderator

To: MAGA2020

No. It’s avoidance of the issue (not just the Holocaust, but other crimes Europeans committed against each other) —> and allowing issues like lingering anti-Semitism to fester, which caused most of the problems you see in Europe today.

Anti-Semitic Westerners and Muslims have much in common in their shared hatred for the Jewish people.

But, I’m also not saying Israel’s government has always been saintly and angelic. Plenty of blame to go around for history not being properly confronted and addressed.

It’s also incumbent on the descendants of victims to forgive...


10 posted on 02/08/2018 12:50:44 PM PST by GoldenState_Rose
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: GoldenState_Rose

I’m still waiting for a single mainstream figure in politics or media to suggest allowing free speech about history.


11 posted on 02/08/2018 1:11:46 PM PST by WatchungEagle
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: GoldenState_Rose

One hardly knows what repentance and healing means. The Germans payed all kinds of reparations. To this day they blame themselves in a way that the russsians never did nor the chinese or the cambodians. their self condemnation is so great that they’re even willing to will themselves away as a people. its sad.


12 posted on 02/08/2018 1:19:13 PM PST by ckilmer (q e)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: ckilmer

Well that’s where forgiveness comes in...Including forgiving self...

But to be honest...I’ve heard the opposite for being true: that it’s not that Germans are self-loathing, but that lingering spirits of hate , Darwinism, and racial supremacy haven’t been fully purged.

Also, I have a nuanced view of the refugee crisis because for all the Muslim horror stories you hear, there are also testimonies of redemptions, conversions of Muslims to Christ, and meaningful relationships made. (Now please don’t mince my words: I am NOT saying Merkel made the right decision, only that God can work through all kinds of sticky situations.)

And i’m of the view that Europe’s problems have to do with too LITTLE repentance, not “too much.”

Muslims and Anti-Semitic Westerners have much in common in terms of their shared hatred for the Jewish people...

And as I’ve also said elsewhere; not letting Israeli govt off the hook either. Everybody has to acknowledge their fallenness or hardness of heart...People need to forgive to move forward.


13 posted on 02/08/2018 1:26:19 PM PST by GoldenState_Rose
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: GoldenState_Rose

What about Kielce anf the other postwar pogroms?


14 posted on 02/08/2018 1:59:09 PM PST by Lisbon1940 (No full-term Governors (at the time of election!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ckilmer

Yep. It is one tile in the mosaic. To view it as the whole, or even the main picture, is to be misled by distortion and to be oblivious to other hazards.


15 posted on 02/08/2018 2:04:49 PM PST by Psalm 144 (Ace McCain: The tumor is a rumor but the boot was a hoot.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

Comment #16 Removed by Moderator

To: MAGA2020

I agree that attacks on people (just for being white) is ridiculous, but even still: “whiteness” is not what holds a culture together. Faith is. And Europe fell when it divorced itself from God. And that’s what your concern should be. Restoration of faith and a right accounting and standing before God. Not just demographic externals.


17 posted on 02/08/2018 2:34:25 PM PST by GoldenState_Rose
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: MAGA2020

in fact not demographic externals at all — it was preoccupation with “whiteness” which led to the disasters that befell Europe in the first place, from which it has yet to recover...so it’s a delicate matter balancing discussion on this issue.

How to not make it about “white guilt” but instead as a discussion of broken faith and divorce from God and Christ. Western Civilization needs God.


18 posted on 02/08/2018 2:37:48 PM PST by GoldenState_Rose
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: GoldenState_Rose

people will always be imperfect.

but is the death of germans and germany in the interest of Israel or the USA. Is the transformation of euope into eurabia in the interests of israel or the USA.


19 posted on 02/08/2018 3:06:00 PM PST by ckilmer (q e)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

Comment #20 Removed by Moderator


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-33 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson