Yadavna as a parable
Hey Miki
I am taking advantage of the insomnia that has attacked me to extract very important insights from the case of Jedwabne – the Polish village where, according to the historian Jan Gross, the gentile residents murdered and abused the Jews who lived among them.
And I dare to wonder: Why is this useful? Is revealing the historical truth a supreme value, and justice will strike the mountain, and the truth must be told and published even if it may trigger a tsunami?!
I think the Yadovna case is not similar to Nazi Germany – there the things were documented in real time, and some of the descendants of the murderers knew that their parents committed atrocities, and the third generation has already grown up with this guilt, now some of them are tired of bearing the burden of guilt.
But it seems to me that we should put ourselves in the shoes of the current residents of Jedwabne, expecting them to acknowledge the guilt of their parents and grandparents in committing atrocities. I think this expectation is inhumane – we must take into account that normative human behavior would not allow people to adopt claims about atrocities committed by their parents or grandparents based on the arguments of a stranger who suddenly lands on them.
I don’t know how Dr. Gross should have acted when he approached the research about Jedwabne. But I think this incident proves that when we plan any course of action that may have an impact on others, we must put ourselves in the shoes of those people whose lives may be harmed to one degree or another as a result of our actions, and it is our duty to think about this harm not through our own personal perspective, but through the perspective of that other person, taking into account their cultural baggage – which may be very different from ours.
I emphasize that caution in covering up crime should only apply in cases where the criminals are no longer alive. Rwanda has some interesting attempts at dealing with the murderous violence of the recent past – but they have no other choice.
I am not saying that we should subordinate the revelation of the truth to the feelings of others, but we must also consider them. But the question at the forefront of our minds should be to what extent bringing up a problematic issue will contribute to peace – not only now, but in the future.
I began writing these things on the night between Monday and Tuesday. And during the day I added to them and revised them. Now I remembered events from the Israeli wars – not only the massacre that Teddy Katz said was in the generation, but also events that I know about – from the War of Independence, through Operation Kadesh and the 6 Days. So as we have learned from our experience here – the flooding of unknown difficult events only creates feelings of resentment and hatred and accusations of betrayal. And it does not contribute to peace. It is better to focus on finding ways to prevent violence in the future, and here we need to act with sophistication, sensitivity and determination.
So in the meantime, good night and happy holidays.
Hello A.
In my opinion, the truth has value in itself, although I agree that sometimes it is better not to say it in full.
If sons are not responsible for their parents, then what is the problem with publishing the sins of the fathers? At most, you should say that we will publish and not hold them responsible.
I think Teddy Katz is the same one who is called a “historian” for not doing any wrong, who was convicted of lying in the Supreme Court? I’m surprised you’re still quoting him. A flood of lies certainly creates feelings of resentment, and rightly so.
Good morning, Miki
I don't know how things developed in Jedwabne after the publication of the study, but when you see TV crews interviewing the locals, you can certainly understand their anger. The more difficult problem is that there are Poles who refuse to admit that they were Poles who murdered Jews. Now it occurred to me that it is very possible that, apart from the psychological aspect, there is also the fear among the Poles that they will be sued to return apartments that used to belong to the local Jews.
Now I have devoted more time to thinking about the murder of the Jews. Surely you know that the Lithuanian and Ukrainian guards were notorious for their abuse of concentration camp prisoners. In contrast to most Germans, some of whom had a very difficult experience serving there.
This matter is connected in my mind to my mother's stories about her village – Hohenau in Austria. Slovaks also lived there, they used to get drunk at all sorts of gatherings, and then stab themselves with knives, if someone died from these stabbings, it was a “reason for a party” - again, getting drunk in the tavern and stabbings. I heard similar stories from Isaac's in-laws about the peasants in Galicia where he was born.
And now a surprise: during my regular service, a new batch of recruits arrived at the 82nd Battalion, and they were told that they were knifemen and members of the underworld. We assumed for sure that they were Moroccans - until they proved us wrong - they were from the Gomulka Aliyah in 1957, and a significant part of the men in this company came from the Warsaw underworld. I remember that in those years it was quite easy to identify them by their appearance [like the Russians now]. Was violence a phenotype of a genotype?… And I return to the issue that bothers me so much - what makes people sometimes commit acts of violence? Is it possible to find a clue to the answer in the fact that when a few dogs gather at random, they sometimes become violent.
Well - I realized that I am not in a position to solve all the world's problems [or even understand most of them] and therefore - it is clear to me that suddenly exposing an individual or a public to the well-documented fact that their ancestors committed heinous acts - will not increase peace and understanding in the world.
Happy Holidays
Happy Holidays
Leave a Reply
Please login or Register to submit your answer
