The Massacre in Jedwabne, July 10, 1941

📖 The Scoop

Re-examines the events in Jedwabne in 1941, exposing many methodological and factual weaknesses in the account by Jan Tomasz Gross in his book "Neighbors" (2000). Dismisses Gross's account of the massacre of Jews on 10 July 1941 as based on insufficient and unreliable sources, and lacking broader perspective, and presents a different account. Argues that, before the war, Jewish-Polish relations in Jedwabne were not hostile. The Soviet occupation and the collaboration of some Jews with the Soviets damaged these relations. Contends that the number of Jews killed on 10 July 1941 was 300-500, and not 1,600, as Gross stated. Many Jews fled and some were hidden by Poles. The action in Jedwabne was not a spontaneous pogrom; it was well organized, and its scenario is identical to that of other Nazi anti-Jewish actions of summer 1941. The main perpetrators of the massacre were Germans, and most of the Poles were bystanders. Dismisses the results of the 1949 trial against alleged perpetrators of the Jedwabne massacre. The trial aimed to change the anti-communist administration of the Łomża area, and the defendants were subjected to torture during the investigation. Deplores the effect which Gross's book had in the West, where it only confirmed the widespread stereotype of Poles as ruthless antisemites.

Genre: History / General (fancy, right?)