Neighbors
The book I chose for this review is a shocking and disturbing account of unfathomable stories about anti-semitism in Poland in 1941. Neighbors, by Jan T. Gross, tells the story of a small Polish town of Jedwabne, where half of the population, was attacked and murdered by the other. The reason behind this inconceivable act against humanity was believed to be the work of the German SS, or death squads of the Nazi party; but through accounts of survivors it is now known that the killing was actually done by the townspeople. To determine the origin of hatred, Gross digs deep into the history of Poland and the Jews that migrated there many years ago. Factors such as religious differences, economic disparity, and political differences …show more content…
Alongside letters, there are images of families that were torn apart by these atrocities. Together, this book is a complete package to show how anti-semitism or hate of any religious basis, can manifest in small communities and lead to something that can never be understood years later. My interests in anti-semitism, from its origins in medieval Europe, where Jews were accused of everything including starting the plague, began to feel the hatred that manifests itself all the way into the 20th century. Religion, is perhaps the most interesting aspect in this story as well as in the topic of the holocaust. The original accusation of blood libel by the Catholic Church seems to have its roots in small towns sprinkled across the countryside. Politically, the church’s decision to combine powers with the German workers party, the party which would be renamed to the Nazi party, can be seen as a pivotal shift in the history of the 21st century. With the combined seats of the two individual parties, Adolf Hitler would eventually gain control of the government and go on to killing millions of Jews. For this reason, i think it is important to read micro histories like Neighbors, to see the complete picture. Without reading this book, many people would attribute all the deaths of Jews to the Nazi forces under the orders of a mad Adolf Hitler. There is no denying that the Poles did feed into some of the propaganda because after murdering the Jews in their hometown, they went to their homes looking for gold. This is a great injustice as very few Polish faced punishments, assuming there can ever be a punishment fit for someone who tortured and brutally murdered their neighbor in broad daylight after having coexisted alongside each other for decades. If anyone is interested in 20th century European history, religion, or just
The book I chose for this review is a shocking and disturbing account of unfathomable stories about anti-semitism in Poland in 1941. Neighbors, by Jan T. Gross, tells the story of a small Polish town of Jedwabne, where half of the population, was attacked and murdered by the other. The reason behind this inconceivable act against humanity was believed to be the work of the German SS, or death squads of the Nazi party; but through accounts of survivors it is now known that the killing was actually done by the townspeople. To determine the origin of hatred, Gross digs deep into the history of Poland and the Jews that migrated there many years ago. Factors such as religious differences, economic disparity, and political differences …show more content…
Alongside letters, there are images of families that were torn apart by these atrocities. Together, this book is a complete package to show how anti-semitism or hate of any religious basis, can manifest in small communities and lead to something that can never be understood years later. My interests in anti-semitism, from its origins in medieval Europe, where Jews were accused of everything including starting the plague, began to feel the hatred that manifests itself all the way into the 20th century. Religion, is perhaps the most interesting aspect in this story as well as in the topic of the holocaust. The original accusation of blood libel by the Catholic Church seems to have its roots in small towns sprinkled across the countryside. Politically, the church’s decision to combine powers with the German workers party, the party which would be renamed to the Nazi party, can be seen as a pivotal shift in the history of the 21st century. With the combined seats of the two individual parties, Adolf Hitler would eventually gain control of the government and go on to killing millions of Jews. For this reason, i think it is important to read micro histories like Neighbors, to see the complete picture. Without reading this book, many people would attribute all the deaths of Jews to the Nazi forces under the orders of a mad Adolf Hitler. There is no denying that the Poles did feed into some of the propaganda because after murdering the Jews in their hometown, they went to their homes looking for gold. This is a great injustice as very few Polish faced punishments, assuming there can ever be a punishment fit for someone who tortured and brutally murdered their neighbor in broad daylight after having coexisted alongside each other for decades. If anyone is interested in 20th century European history, religion, or just