Carmelite Convent Auschwitz Ironies Bartoszewski

The Convent at Auschwitz, by Władysław Bartoszewski. 1991

A Rather Poorly-Reasoned Apologetic for the Jewish Position on the Auschwitz Carmelite Convent Controversy

Wladyslaw T. Bartoszewski repeats some whoppers. He repeats the myth of Saint Kolbe s prewar anti-Semitic writings (p. 8), and implicitly denies the fact that the Nazis planned eventually to exterminate the Poles (p. 14). In actuality, Hitler, Himmler, Frank, Globocnik, and others repeatedly spoke of the eventual disappearance of Poles but after Germany won the war. He makes the false statement that there was no Polish Quisling because the Germans never wanted one (p. 15), when in fact they unsuccessfully approached some Poles (e. g., Prince Radziwill, Jan Karski) for this ignoble role. Most incredible of all is his degrading of the hundred thousand Polish gentile victims of Auschwitz through his statement that, unlike Jews, Poles weren t gassed (p. 11). Surely death is death, whether from gassing or from shooting, hanging, overwork, starvation, etc. Ironically, about half of the 5-6 million murdered Jews weren t gassed either!

THE MYTH OF THE MYTH OF THE ZYDOKOMUNA

Bartoszewski (also Jan Tomasz Gross) asserts that Poles reference to the Zydokomuna is prompted by the conceit that Poles are too patriotic to support Communism (p. 17). Actually, Polish writings indicate full Polish admission of the fact of, and scornful rejection of, Polish gentile Communists. Clearly, Polish complaints about the Zydokomuna stem from the DISPROPORTIONATE degree of Jewish-Communist collaboration, which implies a comparison-baseline of PROPORTIONATE support, which in turn implies that Jews are being held to the same standard as Poles. Had Poles instead been complaining that the extent of Jewish-Communism collaboration was not proportionately LESS than that of Polish-Communist collaboration, then one could validly say that Jews were unfairly being held to a higher moral standard!

FINALLY, TELLING IT LIKE IT IS

Bartoszewski quotes Vidal-Naquet, who wrote:  As a Jew I have to say that Jewish historiography has a tendency to take only what happened to the Jews into account and neglect what the others were subjected to. (p. 11).

VICTIMHOOD COMPETITION: THE “POLES AND JEWS SUFFERED EQUALLY” BOGEYMAN

Bartoszewski alleges a comparable Polish attitude towards Jews, buying into the argument that the past tendency to lump Polish Jews with gentiles was intentionally done in order to imply that they both suffered equally (p. 14). This is a non-sequitur, for at least four reasons. To begin with, to speak of the Polish Jews near-extermination is disingenuous, as this would make sense only if Polish Jews were the world s only Jews. Second, Polish gentiles were also lumped together although they didn t suffer equally either. For instance, Warthegau Poles suffered more than those of the General Government. Some 50% of Polish intellectuals were murdered by the Germans, as against  only 10% of non-intellectuals. But nobody complains about that.

Third, postwar Polish policies were typical in that the wholesale exulting of Jewish over gentile victims of the Nazis did not gain currency, among either Jews or gentiles, until some 20 years after the war. Fourth, Polish Jewish victims were at least acknowledged, even if subsumed under overall Polish losses. In contrast, the vast majority of modern Holocaust materials are so Judeocentric that Polish victims of the Nazis are a passing mention, if at all.

EDITH STEIN ENLISTED FOR PROPAGANDA PURPOSES

Edith Stein is treated inconsistently by Jews (p. 76). On one hand, they have made her into a bone of contention even though she is, by virtue of her conversion to Christianity, supposed to be long dead to the Jewish community!

CARDINAL GLEMP REVILED FOR SPEAKING THE UNWELCOME TRUTH

Bartoszewski provides the full text of Cardinal Glemp s homily (pp. 109-111), for which he has been reviled as an anti-Semite. Why? For pointing out the obvious–that Jews have sometimes wronged Poles no less than the reverse, that Jews frequently speak to Poles in a condescending manner, and that Jews have considerable access to the media? [Glemp did NOT say that Jews control the media].

THE JEWS’ HOLOCAUST IN DANGER OF BEING FORGOTTEN. REALLY??

We keep hearing the Jewish fear that the Holocaust will be forgotten. But considering the mountains of largely-Judeocentric media and educational Holocaust materials throughout the west, far exceeding that on all others genocides combined, how can this fear be anything other than irrational, or a smokescreen? The convent is supposed to  Christianize the Holocaust , cause the forgetting of the Jewishness of most Auschwitz victims, etc. What amazing, unearthly powers those Carmelite nuns must have!

LITTLE OR NO RECIPROCITY FROM JEWS

Much attention is devoted to Christians abandoning their historic attitudes towards Jews (e. g., Vatican II on deicide), but it seems that reciprocity is seldom asked for. In fact, some critics of the Carmelite convent seem to be driven by historic anti-Christian Jewish prejudices:  & few Jews regard Christianity as a religion that shares their heritage. They are more likely to consider it a schism or a heresy in the name of which Jews were, for centuries persecuted throughout Europe. (p. 72).

WHY DO JEWISH SENTIMENTS COUNT, WHILE POLISH SENTIMENTS DON’T?

According to Bartoszewski, Jews, in contrast to Christians don t believe that places such as Auschwitz should include such things as religious symbols, places of worship, the reciting of prayers, etc. (p. 35, 155-156). Otherwise, smokescreens aside, one motive behind the opposition of some Jews to the convent is undoubtedly the  victim chauvinism inherent in the Holocaust-uniqueness position, as is obvious from Edgar Bronfman:  & it is not only a matter of the Auschwitz convent, but the broader implications of historical revisionism in which the uniqueness of the Holocaust and the murder of the Jewish people is being suppressed. (p. 77). This is the face of Holocaust supremacism in its most overt form.

A FEW JEWS WERE REASONABLE

Interestingly, some Jews went on record supporting the Carmelite convent at Auschwitz (pp. 39-40, 76, 93, 101, 106). In particular, Jonathan Webber, a prominent British Jew, asked:  How come, in this age of pluralism and multi-cultural reconciliation, that we find it so emotive that members of another faith wish to pray at or near a place that has been hallowed (if that is the right word) by massive Jewish martyrdom? (p. 84). Alma Perepletnik commented:  My parents were Jews who perished in Auschwitz. The last postcard they sent from the camp at Drancy before deportation was addressed to a nun. It included the words:  Pray for us.  (p. 156).