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

Some Of My Best Friends Are Jews, by Robert Gessner. 1936

Some Jewish Self-Criticism: Jewish Refugees from Nazi Germany in the Eyes of French Jews

The author, Robert Gessner, identifies himself as an American Jew. (p. 3). His travels took him to Europe (including Nazi Germany soon after Hitler came to power). His accounts exhibit a pronounced lachrymose mindset, and he consistently uses the “Jews are scapegoats” trope. There is one important exception to this tendency, as elaborated next:

FRENCH JEWS’ NEGATIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE GERMAN JEWS THAT HAD FLED NAZI GERMANY

Author Robert Gessner thus quotes a native French Jew, (quote) “And they came, thousands of them. They have been here now several years, and what have they done? Many have tried businesses of all sorts, but on the whole they do nothing. They are ungrateful for the hospitality of France. They speak loudly in German at public places; they are commanding and haughty. They occupy prominent seats in cafes. They have actually made us French Jews ashamed of them and we avoid the places they frequent.” (unquote) (p. 42).

This may have implications beyond just German Jews. For instance, the reader should remember that most of Poland’s Jews were Ashkenazi Jews, and were specifically descended from German Jews. They may therefore have exhibited similar patterns of behavior.

CATHOLIC AND JEWISH FINANCIERS OPPOSED THE RISE OF HITLER TO POWER

Nowadays, some leftists accuse the Catholic Church of having supported Hitler’s ascension to power. The truth is rather different, as related by Gessner, (quote) Thyssen, head of the Steel Trust of the Ruhr, was about to be dethroned by a group of Catholic and Jewish financiers, the Deutsche-Bank Otto Wolff clique…Thyssen put his money on the dark horse with the black mustache when Hitler was still a colt. (unquote) (p. 63).