Vandals Deface Polish Monument To Massacre Of Jews

WARSAW, Poland (Associated Press) -- Vandals desecrated a monument marking the spot in Poland where hundreds of Jews were burned alive during World War II, scrawling "they were flammable" and a swastika on the memorial.

The government, Poland's Jewish community and Holocaust survivors on Thursday all strongly condemned the attack on the site, one of the most notorious cases in which local people collaborated with the Nazis in killing Jews during the German wartime occupation of much of Eastern Europe.

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The monument in the town of Jedwabne (yed-VAHB-neh) honors the victims of July 10, 1941, when about 40 Poles hunted down the town's Jews, shut them up in a barn and set it alight, killing between 300 and 400 people.

The vandals this week used green paint to spray the symbols of a swastika and "SS" – the name of an elite Nazi force – on the monument, as well as the phrases "I don't apologize for Jedwabne" and "they were flammable."

"I utterly condemn these acts of criminality, alien to Polish tradition," Poland's Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said in a statement. "There is no room for such behavior in Polish society – even if it is the work of but a small group of extremists."

Sikorski expressed solidarity with anyone affected by the act, and said he was convinced the perpetrators would be tracked down soon and face justice.

Police discovered the desecration Wednesday during a patrol and are trying to find the culprits.

The head of Poland's Jewish community, Piotr Kadlcik, called on authorities to crack down harder on anti-Semitic incidents, saying the desecration at Jedwabne comes after authorities have treated such cases with leniency for years.

The massacre came to light only a decade ago with the 2000 book "Neighbors: The Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland," by sociologist Jan Tomasz Gross, which sparked controversy and soul-searching in Poland.

The book led to a government investigation that confirmed that Poles – and not Nazi Germans – were to blame for the killings. Poland's then-president Aleksander Kwasniewski apologized for his country's sins, but some Poles today remain in denial that such horrors were committed by their own people.

Meanwhile, Polish officials on Thursday were commemorating the anniversary of the German attack on Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, which marked the start of World War II.

Poland's Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich recalled that the swastika, the Nazi symbol, was both anti-Polish and anti-Semitic. He said the incident at Jedwabne does not reflect the sentiment of the country, but called on Poles to speak out strongly against such acts of hatred and anti-Semitism.

The American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants said in a statement they were "horrified" by the desecration.

Comments

[Aitch5]

03:59 PM on 09/05/2011

Not too surprised. There are fascist groups springing up in Europe.

[jack Winn]

04:19 PM on 09/22/2011

Yeah, this is an example of why the Euros are such models of sophistication.

[Erewhon7]

01:05 PM on 09/05/2011

The most astonishing thing about lingering anti-antisemitism in Poland is that there are NO JEWS in Poland.
It is highly doubtful that the hooligans that committed this act of vandalism ever met a Jew.

[Free Your Mind]

03:38 PM on 09/05/2011

You won the competition for the most ignorant person I have ever met. Seem like you are still busy trying to divide people? Get a life...

[dwes09]

06:36 PM on 09/05/2011

In 2000 the Jewish community in Poland was estimated at between 30,000-55,000.
It is still unlikely that the vandals had ever knowingly met a Jew. But all hate dies hard, and it is easier to maintain stereotypes when you don't deal with the actual people.

[efrallyn]

10:56 PM on 09/04/2011

where's the camera??every monument should have a hidden camera imo...

[KadejaLatefah]

08:59 PM on 09/04/2011

how is it that people don't understand the horror of the holocaust still...

[NormdePlume]

06:12 PM on 09/04/2011

In nature a repulsive caterpillar turns into a lovely butterfly. But with humans it is the other way around: a lovely butterfly turns into a repulsive caterpillar.

~Anton Chekhov

[elamatt]

04:37 PM on 09/04/2011

Ignorance and fear know no national boundaries, very sad and disturbing.

[Nick SketchCat Wilson]

06:05 PM on 09/04/2011

Wow. Your response to me which was obviously canned was pretty out there. Read Slaughter House 5 by Vonnegut. And you'll know what "So it goes." means.

[elamatt]

06:34 PM on 09/04/2011

Still, "so it goes" is pretty generic, even if one knows about Vonnegut--like here in Indy. I have done plenty of reading and teaching, and have defended Vonnegut's works. No reason exists for hate any group, "just because"; haters are generally full of ignorance and fear of someone or something different, but you know that.

[Nick SketchCat Wilson]

11:12 AM on 09/04/2011

So it goes.

[KadejaLatefah]

09:00 PM on 09/04/2011

that swastika looks like the chase bank logo

[Free Your Mind]

02:56 AM on 09/04/2011

A few comments here tried to misrepresent current Jewish-Polish relations and how Poles treat the matter of the Holocaust. They portrayal of avid antisemitism in Poland is far from the truth. This matters are treated in Poland very seriously, there is no leniency here. And before the current investigation reveals who is behind this stupid and hateful act let's not put blame on anybody. Everywhere there are people who are just useful idiots tricked into committing crimes. It was not so long ago when a Swedish person masterminded the theft of the "Arbeit Macht Frei" sign from Auschwitz. Polish law enforcement and the justice system were swift and relentless in finding and convicting the perpetrators.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40853067/ns/world_news-europe/t/swede-sentenced-prison-auschwitz-sign-theft/

[inkhosi]

02:31 PM on 09/04/2011

...yeah, yeah...,

[David Moore]

02:06 AM on 09/04/2011

The German expression, "Nie wieder," means "never again." We can never allow such hatred and violence to roam freely in Europe or anywhere else on the planet. Too many people lost their lives fighting such evil. As Elie Wiesel said at the dedication of the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC, "For the dead and the living, we must bear witness." As a people, the Poles must continue to bear witness and remain ever-vigilant against such desecration.

[Er hatden 71er genommen]

01:12 AM on 09/04/2011

Thanks vandals for reminding the rest of the world that we must be ever vigilant of hate groups- you tripped upped and defeated you own cause- IDIOTS!

[Annette Hammond]

12:27 AM on 09/04/2011

How i hope and pray they find these fools who are doing this.

[Coffee4Me]

08:42 PM on 09/03/2011

Wasn't Glenn Beck there a just a few months ago?

[Free Your Mind]

08:05 PM on 09/03/2011

It always amazes me that there are people who will try to exploit such a sad event to spread their hatred towards Poles. The haters need to get better education about the history of Poland before making their unsubstantiated and resentful remarks. The brave nation of Poland contributed like nobody else to overthrowing the Nazis, the Soviets, and to protecting Jews throughout centuries. I recommend them to start learning about unsung heroes of the fight against the Holocaust like Witold Pilecki or Irena Sendler. And there were many brave Poles during the times of Nazi terror in occupied Poland where for hiding a Jew was only one penalty - death. Also Jan Karski was crucial in revealing the horrifying truth about the death camps.
We do not really know who is behind this recent vandalism, but we can clearly see who is using this desecration as an opportunity to divide and play people against each other.

[David Moore]

02:12 AM on 09/04/2011

The article does not suggest that Poles were in complete alliance with the Nazis. It so happens that the atrocities at Jedwabne were in fact linked to the Poles. That fact alone does not cast any aspersion on the Poles as a people. You are right that many Poles fought valiantly to protect Jews and others, while putting themselves at risk of their own lives. I don't think it is fair to hate all Poles nor cast blame on them for what happened when the people of one village cooperated with the Nazis. Group culpability makes no sense. Not all Poles were to blame, but the desecration of the memorial lies clearly with neo-Nazis.

[Want2knowY]

04:44 PM on 09/04/2011

A very complicated, painful and mixed picture. There were many brave Poles, and they fought with tenacity, not just in 1939, but in the 1944 uprising and with the Free Polish forces. There were many Poles who also helped Jews to survive. On the other side, there was Cardinal Hlond, and significant anti-semitism, particularly in the late 1930's leading up to the war and during the war. The story of both is well documented and extensively written about. Any serious student of Polish history can and should access this history.

[sushigirl]

07:53 PM on 09/03/2011

I bet this made them feel very manly and powerful, but they are nothing but ignorant vermin.

[Free Your Mind]

07:51 PM on 09/03/2011

HP my comment - the only one - "pending" for more than 30 mins. Are you kidding me?