Polonophobic Memes By Adam MIchnik vel Szechter

In Search of Lost Meaning: The New Eastern Europe, by Adam Michnik, Irena Grudzińska-Gross, Roman S. Czarny. 2011

Adam Michnik vel Szechter, Still Failing To Do Any Moral Reckoning Over the Crimes of His Unrepentant Stalinist Half-Brother Stefan Michnik, Waxes Eloquent in His Polonophobic Dump

Adam Michnik (vel Aaron Szechter) identifies himself as both a Jew and a Pole. (pp. 209-210 ). He is editor of the left-wing GAZETA WYBORCZA (p. xi), which is being funded by the notorious internationalist George Soros. His half-brother, Stefan Michnik, had been a military judge in the postwar Stalinist period (p. xviii), and is safely living in Sweden, where he is allowed to escape justice for his murderous crimes.

The greatest value of this work is the examination of many aspects of Polish history before and after Communism. It is unfortunate that a person of Michnik’s stature cheapens himself by avoiding in-depth presentation and defense of his views in favor of flippant assertions, and demonization of those who disagree with them.

POLES ARE BAD…BAD…BAD…AND THE ENDEKS ESPECIALLY SO

Michnik misrepresents the Endeks as teaching that Poles can do no wrong and that only ethnic Poles and Roman Catholics can be true Poles. He discusses the Narutowicz assassination without proper historical context, oversimplifying it with the platitude “Minorities must have a voice”, all the while ignoring the fact that the Minorities Bloc demonstrably was acting contrary to even the most elementary notions of Polish nationhood. [Poland’s Germans wanted former West Prussia returned to Germany; the German and Austrian-influenced Ukrainians tended towards national separatism; the Jews wanted a de facto separate Jewish nation on Polish soil, complete with such things as separate Jewish schools and mandatory use of Yiddish in Polish courts.]

MICHNIK SZECHTER, AND NOT POLISH NATIONALISTS, PARTAKE OF THE GUTTER

Throughout this work, Michnik examines and condemns right-wing demagoguery (which he calls the national gutter) but engages in the very same. For instance, instead of presenting a thoughtful analysis of the positions of the Church, and intelligently expressing reasons for his disagreement with the same, he, unexpectedly, just launches the following tirade: “The ghosts of triumphalism, intolerance, and xenophobia once again raised their ugly heads. A substantial part of the Church chose to use the language of contempt and hatred towards dissenting thinkers. “[The informed reader realizes that is standard leftspeak in its attempts to silence the Church, and others who disagree with left-wing ideology or with the demands of cultural Marxism.]

POLAND MUST REMAIN AN OBEDIENT SERVANT OF THE FOURTH REICH (EUROPEAN UNION)

Michnik strongly supports Poland’s membership in the EU (European Union). (p. 21). Instead of analyzing the very real question of Poland’s sovereignty in a German-dominated body, he selectively cites Pope John Paul II when it suits his purpose, and dismisses Euroskeptics in a cavalier fashion. (p. 32).

JUSTICE FOR JEWISH VICTIMS OF NAZISM, BUT NOT FOR NON-JEWISH VICTIMS OF COMMUNISM

Adam Michnik vel Szechter condemns, as blind vengeance, the attitudes of those who want the punishment of Communists. (pp. 57-58). So is that also true of searching the world, for punishment, of 95 year old Nazis? I rather doubt it.

Why the double standard on punishing decades-old Nazi crimes while giving Communist crimes a pass? Are crimes against Jews more grave than crimes against non-Jews?

In addition, Michnik is confusing vengeance with justice. Finally, if it is all about the primitive emotion of vengeance, then why punish any criminals at all? So let’s open up all our jails now and abolish the criminal justice system.

POLES HAVE TO LEARN TO FORGIVE, BUT JEWS DON’T

When delving into the 1965 Polish bishops’ letter to German bishops, and the furious Polish reaction this caused (pp. 114-on), Michnik essentially dumps on Poles for being unforgiving. He forgets, or ignores, the furious “Do not forgive in our name!” Jewish reaction to President Reagan’s 1985 visit to Bitburg, Germany. If Michnik’s reasoning were valid, it would mean that the Jews were too small to do, forty years after WWII, what Poles were supposed to do only twenty years after WWII!

EVERYTHING NEGATIVE IN POLISH-JEWISH RELATIONS IS–SURPRISE–ALWAYS THE POLES’ FAULT

Michnik’s chapter on Polish-Jewish relations is of a more-of-the-same nature: Poles seeing themselves as victims but not victimizers, Jan Blonski, Kielce, the Jedwabne “revelation”, etc. Predictably, Michnik downplays the role of Jews in the hated U. B. (Bezpieka: Communist security force). He repeats the misrepresentation of the Armia Krajowa (A. K.) and N.S.Z killing fugitive Jews during the German occupation (p. 197), although there is little hard evidence linking these Polish underground organizations to the unjustified killing of Jews, and much evidence linking the Communist GL-AL to such crimes. [See the Peczkis review of: TAJNE OBLICZE].

FINALLY, A BIT OF SENSE FROM ADAM MICHNIK VEL SZECHTER

Interestingly, Michnik makes the following salient point: “There is the hostility a Jew feels for a Pole, because the latter did not experience the Holocaust as a Jew did. And there is the hostility a Pole feels for a Jew because the latter does not share his pain at Poland’s violation by the Communists.” (p. 199). For once, Michnik gets something right.

There is more. Is Michnik tacitly admitting that Jewish support for Communism, even if mostly latent, had been much broader than the already very-disproportionate direct Jewish involvement in the same?