Abstract
The postscript reports on the conference and comments on what the papers and audience participation tell us about the state of the field and Poland’s struggle to come to terms with its past.
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References
1.
"To Participants of the International Conference, Princeton University," from Ewa Junczyk-Ziomecka, Consul General of the Republic of Poland, the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York (29 October 2010).
2.
The letter explains, "For the last twenty years, I have experienced disappointment, fear, and bitterness but also satisfaction and joy in overcoming the stereotypes, hurtful to both Poles and Jews, struggling against anti-Semitism, and trying to grasp the truth and reconciliation."
3.
Unknown to many of the participants, "The Holocaust in Poland" conference caused controversy even before it began. Its title alone was enough to anger some observers, who already smarted at the widespread and clearly inaccurate use of the term "Polish Concentration Camps" by American news media. In response to such criticism from representatives of the Polish state, the organizers amended the conference’s name to read "The Holocaust in Occupied Poland." The Consul General acknowledged that the title had been modified, but noted that it was changed "only recently and, unfortunately, not in all publications" related to the conference.
4.
The two partial exceptions were apparently the papers by Omer Bartov about a Ukrainian village and another by the author of this postscript, which focused on the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.
5.
To Prof. Benjamin Frommer, from Ewa Junczyk-Ziomecka, Consul General of the Republic of Poland, the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in New York (8 November 2010).
6.
In addition to the formal institutions of Princeton University, informal electronic networks had publicized the event and called on their members to attend. For example, prior to the event, a group forwarded an announcement entitled, "ANTYPOLSKI SABAT NA UNIWERSYTECIE PRINCETON." Block capital letters are never a good sign, but the email was at least inventive. The author emphasized the date of the conference (29-30 October) to link it to Halloween. On a less amusing note, the e-mail espoused antisemitic views, blamed communist Jews for the deaths of Poles, and denounced the so-called Jewish lobby. The e-mail named a few of the participants and denounced the conference as an "Anti-Polish Action." "ANTYPOLSKI SABAT NA UNIWESYTECIE PRINCETON," e-mail from Stanley Sas, forwarded by John Gdansky (29 October 2010).
7.
For example, one audience member objected to Christopher Browning’s alleged claim that more Jewish prisoners of concentration camps survived the "death marches" to Germany than life underground in occupied Poland in the later stages of the war. Browning had, in fact, referred specifically to his research about one labor camp, to the Jews of that camp and the specific circumstances and timing of their escapes. He had not made a categorical statement about the war as a whole. But some members of the audience, in their vigilance, heard the statement differently.
8.
E-mail (subject: "Holocaust Conference") from Jurek Patoczka to author (19 November 2010).