Polish-Jewish Relations: 1,300 Keyword-Phrase-Indexed Book Reviews (by Jan Peczkis)


Premodern Poland

Targowica the Facts Countess Potocka

Memoirs of the Countess Potocka, by Casimir Stryienski (Editor), Lionel Strachey (Translator). 2004

Assessing Targowica, 1794 Russian Massacre of Warsaw’s Poles. Details on Czartoryski, Tsar Nicholas I, etc. My review is based on the original 1900 edition. Most of this work deals with family matters and personages, as seen by…

Read more

Sobieski Saves Europe 1683 Millar

Vienna 1683: Christian Europe Repels the Ottomans, by Simon Millar. 2008

Polish King John Sobieski Defeats the Muslim Turks at Vienna, Saving Austria and Europe. Short Austrian Gratitude and Then Long-Term Austrian Ingratitude, Even to This Very Day This short, easy-reading book packs a lot of detail into relatively few…

Read more

PrePartition Poland’s Internal Weakness Unremarkable Patterson

Pilsudski: Marshall of Poland, by Eric James Patterson. 1934

Poland's Pre-Partition Weaknesses Were Nothing Unusual Among Nations. 1926: The Myth of Pilsudski the Dictator: Poland's Democracy Was Never Abolished This delightful book spans the life of Pilsudski from before his birth, his revolutionary days in tsarist-Russian occupied Poland, the resurrection…

Read more

Polish Nation Once Only the Nobility a Myth Althoen

NATIONE POLONUS and the NARÖD SZLACHECKI. Two Myths of National Identity and Noble Solidarity, by David Althoen. 2003

Bombshell! The Polish Nobility NEVER Thought That “Polish Nation” Referred Exclusively to the Nobility, or That the Peasantry Was Not Part of the Polish Nation This review is of a paper originally…

Read more

Polish 1609 Grab of Moscow Not Imperialist Lutoslawski

The Polish Nation (Classic Reprint), by Wincenty Lutoslawski. 2018

Leading Endek Thinker Clarifies Misconceptions About Polish Nationalism, of the SZLACHTA, of Polish "Imperialism" and the 1609 "Seizure" of Moscow, and of Poland as “Jesus Christ of Nations” The author, Wincenty Lutoslawski (1863-1954) was a National Democrat (Endek), and friend of…

Read more

POLAK POTRAFI Poles Beat Prussians Trzeciakowski

The Kulturkampf in Prussian Poland, by Lech Trzeciakowski. 1990

POLAK POTRAFI: Poles Beat Bismarck and the Prussians Through Practical Activism This book is a translation from the Polish. The author places the Polish struggle against Bismarck's KULTURKAMPF [Culture War] in the broader context of German attempts to centralize the post-unification…

Read more

POLAK POTRAFI Poles Beat Prussians Via School Strikes Kulczycki

School Strikes in Prussian Poland, 1901-1907, by John J. Kulczycki. 1981

Polish Power and the School Strikes: The Anatomy of Polish Resistance to Prussian De-Polonization Policies in the VOLKSSCHULEN Poland had been entirely under foreign rule since the 1790's. By the 1850's, Bismarck's associates were promoting the suppression of Polishness.…

Read more

POLAK POTRAFI Poles Beat Prussians Gardner

Poland, a Study in National Idealism, by Monica Mary Gardner. 2018

An English Author Focuses on the Defiant Successes of Poles Under the Prussian Boot. The Indomitable Polish Spirit is Not Just Reactive or Defensive: It is a Positive Spirit The author provides a snapshot of Poland prior to Poland’s…

Read more

Piast Poland Koneczny

Dzieje Polski za Piastów, by Feliks Koneczny. 1997

Territories East of the Elbe River Were Not Originally German. They Were Slavic. Upper Dniester Was Not “Eternally Ukrainian” Title: THE DEEDS OF POLAND DURING THE TIME OF THE PIAST DYNASTY. This work, originally published in 1902, surveys the first few centuries…

Read more

Partitions Jewish Complicity Tennant

Studies in Polish Life and History, by A.E. Tennant. 1924

Pre-Mieszko Slavic Achievements. Jews and the Pre-Partitions Decay of Poland. Jews and the Crusades This work is a Scottish perspective on the history of Poland. It covers many subjects in its broad sweep of Polish history (review based on the…

Read more

Peasant National Consciousness is Old Gat

Nations, by Azar Gat, Alexander Yakobson (Contributor). 2013

Nations and Nationalism Go Back to Antiquity: They are Not Recent Inventions! Early Peasant National Consciousness Demonstrated This work presents a series of fascinating, myth-shattering information, and I focus on some of it. THE REIGNING BIASES AGAINST THE RECOGNITION OF THE ANCIENT…

Read more

Peasant National Consciousness is Old Stauter Halsted

The Nation in the Village: The Genesis of Peasant National Identity in Austrian Poland, 1848-1914, by Keely Stauter-Halsted. 2011

Polish Peasant National Consciousness Long Preceded Emancipation and Literacy. Some Jews Used Bribery and Political Pressure to Thwart Newcomer Polish Peasant Businessmen The term "peasant", a somewhat ambiguous term, refers to…

Read more

Partitions British Complicity Belloc

Return to the Baltic, by Hilaire Belloc. 2013

Candor on British anti-Polish Attitudes. British Complicity in the Partitions of Poland Author Hilaire Belloc, a French-born British-French writer, described his travels to the Scandinavian nations and Poland. My review focuses on the latter, and is based on the 1938 edition of…

Read more

Partitions Jewish Complicity Why Polexit Needed Michalkiewicz Sommer

Wariant Rozbiorowcy Michalkiewicz, by Tomasz Sommer. 2011

A Prophetic Book! Insights into the European Union, Jewish Complicity in the Partitions of Poland, etc. A VARIATION OF PARTITION is the title of this Polish-language book. It contains a variety of information. DONALD TUSK, ANGELA MERKEL, AND THE EUROPEAN UNION. WHY POLEXIT…

Read more

Partitions Jewish Complicity Stern

Gold and Iron: Bismarck, Bleichröder and the Building of the German Empire, by Fritz Stern. 1979

Jewish Complicity in the Partition Rule Over Poland: Bismarck and the German-Jewish Symbiosis This book focuses on the German Jew Gerson Bleichroeder, Bismarck's chief banker, and gives much insight into the situation facing Germany's…

Read more

Nobility Polish Undemonized Statkowski

Poland: History, Culture, Civilisation, by Joseph Statkowski. 1935

Corrects the Common Awfulization of Poland’s Onetime Nobility and Negativisms About Interwar Poland (1918-on) This small book packs quite a punch. It provides basics about Polish history, Polish culture, and Polish culture. It contains historical tidbits, such as the fact that Kosciuszko…

Read more

Nobility Polish Very Inclusive Brandes

Poland: a Story of the Land People and LiteratureBrandes, Georg. 1903,/h3> January 1863 Insurrection Aftermath.The Unprecedented Extent of Ennobled Poles: A Virtual Polish Middle Class This 1903 book [review based on original edition] was published at a time when the Kingdom of Poland had become a distant memory, and there…

Read more

Nobility Polish Very Inclusive Vraniak

The Polish Trivia Book, by John M. Vraniak.

Huge Polish Nobility. Borscht Was Originally Polish, Not Russian. Assorted Polish Achievements Though the book is a bit dated (1988), every imaginable aspect of Polishness is covered: Polish language, history, culture, immigration to America, Polish-American personages, customs, etc. This book consists of…

Read more

Nobility Polish Gradually Emancipates Serfs Edwards

The Polish Captivity: An Account of the Present Position of the Poles in the Kingdom of Poland, and in the Polish Provinces of Austria, Prussia, and Russia, Volume 1, by Henry Sutherland Edwards. 2015

A Fascinating Visiting Briton’s Observations of 1860 Partitioned Poland. Reputed Polish Noble Severity to Peasants an…

Read more

Nobility Polish Kresy Landowner Myth Brown

A Biography of No Place: From Ethnic Borderland to Soviet Heartland, by Kate Brown. 2005

Poles Equal Landowners Half-Truth. The Fate of Soviet Poles East of the Riga Line. Polokaust and GENERALPLAN OST Although Kresy often is used by Poles in reference to the eastern half of Poland confiscated by…

Read more

Nobility Polish Kresy Landowner Myth Zoltowski

Border of Europe, by Adam Zoltowski. 1950

Polish Nobility Landlords Half-Truth. Early Eastern Galician Ukrainian Separatism. Minorities Treaty Special Separatist Rights For Jews This work provides a good deal of information about Poland's eastern half, which was confiscated by the Soviet Union in 1939 (and reaffirmed in 1944). Zoltowski discusses…

Read more

Nobility Polish Serfdom Demystified Kieniewicz

The Emancipation of the Polish Peasantry, by Stefan Kieniewicz. 1970

An Encyclopedic Gem: The Complex Nature of Serfdom in Poland and the End of It. Reciprocal Cause-Effect in Social Reform Instead of listing the many individuals and events in this book, I focus on certain themes. In addition, I largely…

Read more

Nobility Polish Supported American Revolution Przygoda

Polish Americans in California, 1827-1977 and Who's Who, by Jacek Przygoda.

The Flourishing California Polonia: Sketches of Shared Polish-American History. Polish Nobility Supported the American Revolution (sic) The American West is thought of primarily in terms of Anglo-Saxon settlers and Indians. However, as pointed out in a quote from I.…

Read more

Nobility Polish Undemonized Potocki

Master of Lancut, by Alfred Potocki. 1959

Undemonizing Poland's Nobility. Polish Hunting Parties Not Pro-Nazi. Aiding Fugitive Jews Very Difficult Potocki lived through a large swath of Polish history. He traced his life in Austrian-ruled Galicia (Lancut), Poland's reacquired independence, the 1920 Bolshevik War, interwar Poland, the 1939 war, the…

Read more

Nobility Polish and Peasant Liberties Devine

Scotland and Poland: Historical Encounters, 1500-2010, by T.M. Devine (Editor). 2011

Scots in Poland: Poles in Scotland. Good Detail on Polish Peasant Liberties (Undemonizing the Polish Nobility) This work covers both the positive and negative aspects of Polish-Scottish relations. Many Scots moved to Poland centuries ago. Poles came to Scotland…

Read more

King John Sobieski Victory Vienna Slocombe

History of Poland, by George Slocombe. 1981

Broad-Based Polish History Through the Start of WWII. Especially Good on King John Sobieski and His Victory at Vienna. Major Challenges Facing the Newly-Resurrected Polish State (1918-on) This book is very “meaty”. Having read numerous works on the history of Poland, I focus…

Read more

Kresy Ancient Polishness Armstrong

Nations Before Nationalism, by John Alexander Armstrong. 2011

Poles Were Not Recent Arrivals in the (Former) Kresy: An Ancient Polish Presence in Present-Day Ukraine My review is based on the 1982 edition. This work is less about nations and early nationalism, and more about history in general. The author contrasts…

Read more

Jews Not Nobility Exploited Peasants Levine

Economic Origins of Antisemitism: Poland and Its Jews in the Early Modern Period, by Hillel Levine.

Pre-Partitioned Poland: Jewish Middlemen, the Liquor Trade (PROPINACJA), and the Delayed Modernization of Polish Society This work surveys Polish-Jewish relations in the centuries before the Partitions of Poland. It requires a specialized knowledge of…

Read more

Jews Not Nobility Exploited Peasants PROPINACJA Detail Veidlinger

Jewish Public Culture in the Late Russian Empire, by Jeffrey Veidlinger. 2009

The Litvaks (Litwaks): The Russification of Erstwhile Polish Jews in the 19th Century. Jewish Tavern Owners Promote Alcohol Usage This work provides considerable detail on the cultural and educational movements among the Jews of tsarist Russia. It also…

Read more

Jews Not Nobility Exploited Peasants Thomas

The Polish Peasant in Europe and America: a classic work in immigration history, by William I. Thomas, Florian Znaniecki. 1996

Valuable Insights into Early 20th-Century Polish-Jewish Relations, Polish Society, Peasant Thinking and Habits, etc. My review of this 5-volume work is limited to the 1st volume of the 1956-reprinted 1918…

Read more

Jews Not Nobility Exploited Peasants Witos

Moje Wspomnienia, by Wincenty Witos. 1964

Prominent Polish Government Peasant Leader on Polish Peasants. Features Their Repudiation of Communist Propaganda. The Peasant and the Church, Jewish Economic Hegemony, etc. MY RECOLLECTIONS is the title of this Polish-language book. My review is limited to Volume 1. Its coverage ends about 1914.…

Read more

Jews Not Nobility Exploited Peasants Znaniecki

The Polish Peasant in Europe and America: Monograph of an Immigrant Group, Volume 2, by Florian Znaniecki, William I. Thomas. 2010

Inequality Caused Social Classes as Much as Social Classes Caused Inequality. The Polish Peasant Was Locked in an Often-Harmful Codependency With the Jew This second volume has a common…

Read more

Jews Not Nobility Exploited Peasants Adeney

The Jews of Eastern Europe, by J. H. Adeney. 2010

Jews and Partitioning Powers. Jews and PROPINACJA, and Questionable Economic Practices My review is based on the original 1921 edition. The author, John Howard Adeney, had much firsthand experience with the Jews of Romania. Nowadays, the subject of Jews in…

Read more

Jews Not Nobility Exploited Peasants Graetz

History of the Jews, Vol. V (in Six Volumes): From the Chmielnicki Persecution of the Jews in Poland (1648 C.E.) to the Period of Emancipation in Cent (History of the Jews - 6 volume #5), by Heinrich Graetz, Bella Lowy (Editor). 2013

The Truth About Jews and the Khmelnitsky Uprising…

Read more

Jews Not Nobility Exploited Peasants Klier

Russia Gathers Her Jews: The Origins of the "Jewish Question" in Russia, 1772-1825, by John Doyle Klier. 2011

The Myth of Jews Forced Into Commerce. Exploitation of the Peasants: Less the Fault of the Magnates and More the Fault of the Jews Author John Doyle Klier provides historical background to…

Read more

Jews Not Nobility Exploited Peasants Krall

Shielding the Flame: An Intimate Conversation with Dr. Marek Edelman, the Last Surviving Leader of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, by Hanna Krall, Lawrence Weschler. 1986

Jewish Business Practices Under the Spotlight. Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Steeped in Communism This interview raises some interesting issues. For example: JEWISH SHOPKEEPERS: QUESTIONABLE BUSINESS PRACTICES…

Read more

January 1863 Insurrection Zebrowski

Powstanie Styczniowe, by Leszek Zebrowski (ed.) 2013

Includes Little-Known Facts on the Poles' January 1863 Insurrection The introduction, written by historian Leszek Zebrowski, is packed with more information than many books on this subject. Let us look at some of it. SCOPE OF THE JANUARY 1863 INSURRECTION Approximately 200,000 Polish…

Read more

January 1863 Insurrection Gawronski

Walka o Wolnosc w roku 1863, by Fr. Rawita-Gawronski. 1913

A Rare Gem. Background to the January 1863 Insurrection: Why Poles Found Russian Rule So Odious THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM IN THE YEAR 1863 is the title of this Polish-language book. (Review based on original 1913 edition). Author Franciszek Gawronski…

Read more

German DRANG NACH OSTEN in History Marvey

A Thousand Years of German Aggression, by S. M. Marvey. 1943

The DRANG NACH OSTEN: Age-Old German Designs on Poland This small book is limited to German expansionism against the Slavic east, and doesn't begin to do justice to the scope of proto-Nazi German thinking that existed long before Hitler.…

Read more

Germans of Polish Origin Roucek

Slavonic Encyclopaedia, by Joseph S. Roucek (Contributor). 1969

Prominent Germans of Polish (or Other Slavic) Descent This encyclopedia, naturally, covers many different topics, so I will focus on just one. It is found in Volume 2, p. 394, “Germans of Slavonic Origins”. German Reformer Martin Luther was descended from the…

Read more

Ancient Not Modern Origins of Nationalism Smith

The Ethnic Origins of Nations, by Anthony D. Smith. 1988

Primordialism: Nations Are An Ancient Concept, and Not Children of the Industrial Revolution. Elements of Polish National Self-Identity Nowadays, leftists, globalists, and Euro-enthusiasts would have us belief that nations and nationalism are arbitrary, recent inventions. This makes it easier to…

Read more

Ancient Polish European Presence Juras

Ancient DNA Reveals Matrilineal Continuity in Present-Day Poland over the Last Two Millennia, by Anna Juras. 2014

No Recent Arrivals! Poles Have Lived on Present-Day Polish Territory For at Least the Last 2,000 Years The authors describe how they sampled some ancient archeological sites in Poland, “The Roman Iron Age…

Read more

Ancient Slavic European Presence Mielnik Sikorska

The History of Slavs Inferred From Complete Mitochrondrial Genome Sequences, by Marta Mielnik-Sikorska. 2013

The Ancient Presence of Slavic Peoples in Their Current Geographic European Locations. Implication: Nations and Peoples are Not Recent and Historically-Accidental Constructs This fascinating research article is originally from PLOS ONE, Volume 8, Issue 1. It…

Read more
© 2019 All Rights Reserved. jewsandpolesdatabase