Looting Jews Rob Deported Jews Bender

The Jews of Bialystok During World War II and the Holocaust, by Sara Bender, Yaffa Murciano (Translator). 2008

Jews (and Not Only Poles) Looted Deported Jews. Germans Apprehended Fugitive Jews Without Locals’ Help. Bialystok-Area Jews Didn’t Support Poles’ 1863 Insurrection

Israeli historian Sara Bender traces the life of Bialystok’s Jews from the 19th century, through the early 20th century, the Polish Second Republic (1918-1939), the Soviet occupation (1939-1941), and the Nazi German occupation and Holocaust (1941-1944).

SO POLES LOOTED DEPORTED JEWS. YOU NEVER HEAR IT, BUT JEWS ALSO LOOTED DEPORTED JEWS

In his FEAR, Jan T. Gross, and the media copying him, have attempted to make a profound issue of Poles acquiring post-Jewish properties. We heard that Poland was a nation of thieves, that Poles had engaged in unjust enrichment, that Poles were beneficiaries of the Holocaust, that Poles were complicit in the Holocaust, and (surprise) that Poles now owe the Holocaust Industry.

Actually, looting is common in wartime, and is not particular to any one nationality. In fact, some ghetto Jews looted the properties of the earlier-deported Jews. (e. g., p. 202, 211).

DO NOT ASSUME THAT OVERALL LOW JEWISH SURVIVORSHIP WAS THE FAULT OF THE POLES

While describing the situation facing escaped Jews, Bender wrote: “It should not be forgotten that at that time [late 1943], the Germans were combing the forests in search of Jewish fugitives.” (p. 295). (This reminds us that the Germans were perfectly capable of finding Jews on their own, and that fugitive Jews who perished were not necessarily the victims of locals’ denunciations.)

POLISH POGROMS THAT WERE ACTUALLY RUSSIAN POGROMS.

Some Polish historians have described organized anti-Semitism, and pogroms, as imports from tsarist Russia, and Bender’s analysis supports this position. In describing the 1906 Pogrom, she comments: “The truth, however, soon emerged when Jews who had survived the pogrom testified that not only had the Poles refused to participate in the riots, but they had actually sheltered Jews. The Russian authorities, it transpired, were blaming the Poles to divert suspicion from themselves and to stir up hatred between the Poles and the Jews.” (p. 16).

BUT WHAT EXACTLY IS A POGROM?

Unfortunately, Sara Bender employs an absurdly-elastic definition of the word pogrom. In recounting the 1920 war, she speaks of a “massive pogrom” by Poles in which ONE Jew was killed. (p. 46). [Whenever one single Jew is killed in the USA for being Jewish, is THAT a pogrom?]

JEWISH DISLOYALTY TO POLAND–AS DURING THE JANUARY 1863 INSURRECTION

Unlike somewhat the situation at Warsaw, Jewish support for the Poles’ January (1863) Insurrection had been negligible. (p. 4). Jewish economic dominance in Bialystok was considerable (for facts and figures, see p. 11). Although not described by Bender as such, various Jewish actions by the time of WWI clearly partook of seeking special rights (using modern parlance). For instance, Bialystok’s Jews continued to adhere to Yiddish, and resisted using Polish even in public life. They also sought exemption from the infant Polish Army. (pp. 43-45).

DEMONIZING POLISH UNDERGROUND ORGANIZATIONS

There are a number of flaws in Bender’s work, of which I mention only two. She glosses over the magnitude of Jewish-Soviet collaboration against Poland during the 1920 Polish-Soviet War (p. 46)–a fact corroborated by British and American observers (see: The Jews in Poland; Official Reports of the American and British Investigating Missions). She engages in the customary misrepresentation of the WWII-era Polish-Underground NSZ (N.S.Z.) as a (what else?)fascist organization that moreover indiscriminately killed Jews, which she embellishes with the novel accusation they also indiscriminately killed Poles! (p. 236). Against this nonsense, see: Narodowe Sily Zbrojne: Dokumenty, struktury, personalia (Polish Edition).

JEWISH DEFIANCE AND JEWISH COLLABORATION WITH THE NAZIS

Fast-forward to WWII. Some Nazi German officials had opposed the liquidation of the Bialystok ghetto because of the value of its workers for German war production. (p. 186, 221, 243, 283). Otherwise, this ghetto is described as unique in that the local Jewish ghetto police refused to obey German orders to round up the Jews for the trains to Auschwitz and Treblinka. (p. 203). The roundups were done by the Germans along with the Ukrainian and Byelorussian collaborationist police. (p. 198, 250, 261, 274). Certain Jews, promised their lives, pointed out to the Germans the hiding places of Jews. (p. 202, 211). All along, the Germans had been served by various Jewish Gestapo agents (p. 161, 292), including those who had acted against Poles as well as Jews. (p. 212).