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

All But My Life: A Memoir, by Gerda Weissmann Klein. 1995

Inadvertent Attention to the Double Standard of Jews Robbed by Poles (a Big Deal) and Jews Robbed By Other Jews (Evidently No Big Deal). Fugitive Jews Rob Other Fugitive Jews

Gerda Weissman Klein grew up in Bielitz (Bielsko), Poland, near the Czech border. Consistent with the premise of Jewish Germanophilia among Poland’s Jews, Klein identifies German as her first language, and exhibits a favorable view of the pre-1918 Austro-Hungarian rule. (pp. 38-39).

After the Nazi German conquest of Poland, Klein spent time in Sosnowitz (Sosnowiec). Instead of dispatching her to a death camp, the Germans made her a forced laborer.

The tide of the war turned against Germany. While being marched through the snow westward, Klein had an experience during which some Hungarian Jews stole the shoes from her group. (p. 183). This reminds us that wartime looting and theft are common occurrences. Yet all we hear about is Poles taking from Jews (as selectively emphasized by neo-Stalinists such as Jan T. Gross, notably in his media-acclaimed GOLDEN HARVEST).

The double standard is clear: Jews robbed by Poles is a big deal, while Jews robbed by other Jews is nothing. The reader who suspects an agenda should be forgiven.