JEDWABNE -- GUILT JUSTLY RECOGNIZED

Brothers and Sisters,

A year ago, a respectable Jew informed me that soon the issue of Jedwabne would be publicized -- a locality in the Lomza Diocese where the murder of Jews had been committed by Poles. Indeed, in July 1941, when the Lomza area and Bialystok region were occupied by the Germans, there occurred a horrible murder of Jews. In particular, the burning alive of the Jewish population, forcibly herded by Poles into a barn, is indisputable.

Towards the end of February this year the matter got publicized by the publication of Professor Jan Tomasz Gross' book 'Neighbors'. Had this been known earlier? Yes, it had. It had been known by the inhabitants of Jedwabne and vicinity, and it had been known to the local and central authorities as well. It is true that encyclopedias under the entry 'Jedwabne' mention the killing of Jews by the Germans. Two court trials had taken place in connection with the Jedwabne mass murder, there were testimonies, documents, sentences and people knew the truth about the massacre. A sensation has been made of Gross' book, even though this is its second edition. The first edition, dealing with the tragedy of Jedwabne, had been issued earlier. Today, the release of its English- language version is being awaited with anxiety, because the truth thereby revealed to Americans is expected to unleash Jewry's sharp attacks on Poles. It must be stated, however, that the description of the Jedwabne events had already been published in English, as Gross has indicated in his book. The whole issue is somewhat reminiscent of the Katyn massacre: everybody knew who killed the Polish POWs, but officially at least one was not to know.

If the murder and the collective killers are known, then everyone must wonder about two things: Why after 60 years is that fact being presented as a sensation? And, what were the reasons for such an outburst of inhuman hatred and cruelty? The question comprises several different dimensions: historical, ethnic-national, psychological and, unfortunately, also political. As a clergyman I am primarily interested in the moral dimension. That is connected with a recognition of generational responsibility which involves asking God's forgiveness for the sins of one's ancestors and asking the forgiveness of the victims' descendants. Naturally, the scale of recognizing guilt entails ascertaining objective truth, that is -- examining the causes of the sin and the circumstances of the crime that was committed. The causes of such barbaric and hateful attitudes of Poles towards Jews, not encountered in other parts of Poland, must be researched. That task should be left to historians and sociologists. But one should never lose sight of the fact that the only source of the Jews' systematic extermination had been Hiterlite totalitarianism, and local animosities sometimes succumbed to that current and were used instrumentally.

I agree with my Distinguished Colleague who wrote in ?the Catholic intellectual journal--translator? 'Wiez' ('The Bond'): 'We are not seeking any imaginary historical documents that could transform the tragedy of Jedwabne into an insignificant episode.' That is true, we are not seeking imaginary documents, but we are not ignoring reliable research. Personally, I should not like to combine various dimensions of the issue. I prefer not to have politicians impose on the Church the way it is to fulfill its act of contrition for the crimes committed by certain groups of people who, although believers, had become morally degenerate. I should not want them to determine the ideology in which the penitential prayers are to be 'attired'.

However, at the end of February, within two days' time several high-ranking politicians approached me with a nearly identical programmed: on such and such a day the Catholic Church should conduct major prayers in Jedwabne, repent for its sins and ask forgiveness for the genocide, or risk incurring someone's wrath. I am aware of the fact that it is the task of politicians to programme the solution of difficult problems. The Church, however, should not get involved in such plans, because rather than introducing peace it will become a tool in the struggle. Jedwabne may be part of a programme of certain political friction, just as other matters had been in the past. Reservations towards political programmes in the solution of certain issues does not mean they cannot be harmonized without combining levels.

That is why I have received with acknowledgement the letter of the Rabbi of Warsaw's Jewish Congregation, who justifies the need of the act with the text of the Holy Scripture: 'The 60th anniversary of the death of hundreds of Polish citizens of the Mosaic faith is an occasion to join in common mourning for the needless loss of so many human beings'. That is the proper spiritual level for mourning innocent murder victims. We shall do so eagerly in Warsaw with the common prayers of Poles and Jews, either in front of the Ghetto Heroes' Monument, in one of the churches or in the synagogue. In that spirit I understand the Rabbi's next statement: 'The murder of innocent people is not a local tragedy, it is the tragedy of the whole world.' Indeed, as mankind we deplore the spilling of innocent blood in any nation. The murders of innocent victims in Jedwabne, Katyn, Dachau and Auschwitz cause us pain as members of the human race, as do the murders in Rwanda, the Balkans and among neighbors in Palestine.

The tragedy of Jedwabne evokes serious reflection upon the nature of sin which turns man away from God and against another fellow-man. This is not about hasty or ostentatious penance, but about honestly looking at oneself in humility and truth. We cannot violate the good name of those who gave their lives to save Jews by taking up an act of general repentance being proposed by politicians. In the name of justice, we may not label any nation as a nation of murderers. We are not doing so in regards to the Germans, amongst whom Nazism emerged in its fullest form. Neither can the blindness provoked in the people of Jedwabne and vicinity be extended to the entire Polish nation

But it would be most desirable for us as a Church, together with people of the Mosaic faith, in accordance with the revealed truth of the Holy Scriptures, to ask God's forgiveness for the sins that have been committed. In asking God's forgiveness, we should also thank Him for the 'righteous' of both nations who did not hesitate to sacrifice in the name of the justice to which every human being is entitled.
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Unofficial translation

Cardinal Jozef Glemp, , 2001-03-04

http://www.iyp.org/polish/hist .