49 pages • 1 hour read
Jan Tomasz GrossNeighbors: The Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2000A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Communism Versus Fascism
After the Nazi invasion of Poland on September 7, 1939, which prompted the start of World War II, the Eastern European country was a pawn in the German-Russian play for power. After the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, Jedwabne came under Soviet control. The totalitarian Russian regime conflicted with the Poles’ staunch Catholic faith. Gross contrasts the Soviet invasion with that of the Nazis to show that the Poles were not averse to totalitarianism, which was also a key aspect of fascist rule, but disliked regimes that conflicted with their traditional values. The Nazis were reactionaries. Thus, their values, which embraced traditional gender roles, paternalistic authoritarianism, and suspicion toward minorities, were compatible with the values of Jedwabne residents. The Poles killed the Jews to align with the regime that they thought was most compatible with their values, and the one that would rid them of the minority that they believed posed an intrinsic threat.
There were, after all, rumors that Jews were complicit with communism. The assumption that Jews had aligned with the Soviet invaders allowed the non-Jewish Poles to characterize their Jewish neighbors as outsiders, though they had been living in the country for centuries. The non-Jewish Poles went even further by blaming the Jews for their having become targets of Nazi aggression, given the prevalence of Jewish communities in Poland. Religious leaders were complicit in this persecution due to their contempt for Judaism and their possible belief that Jews were allied with atheist communists. Thus, antisemitic prejudice was often intertwined with political interests.
Antisemitism and Stereotyping
Absurd antisemitic beliefs had been prevalent in Europe for centuries but emerged in their most vitriolic forms during the Third Reich. Gross explains, however, that alliances with antisemitic ideals were not always due to personal antipathy toward the Jews but were sometimes the results of opportunism. For instance, there was a common belief—both in rural villages like Jedwabne and in urban areas—that Jews were wealthy. The prospect of gaining the wealth of dead Jews was enough to prompt some to commit murder. In this way Gross connects racism and materialism, helping the reader to understand that racism is a key instrument of economic dominance.
Religious leaders who sought social influence did nothing to dispel poisonous rumors that cast Jews as monstrous child-murderers. They, like their followers, believed that Jews were the enemies of Christianity. These stereotypes worked in the clergy’s favor by ensuring their influence over religious communities. Gross thus demonstrates that antisemitic ideas benefited all social strata within the non-Jewish community.
Collectivism and Personal Responsibility
Before the publication of Neighbors, which was a source of controversy in Poland, the prevailing belief was that Poles were victims of Nazi occupation. Gross dispels that notion and examines how the Jedwabne massacre, as well as those in nearby villages, would not have occurred if there had not been a community conspiracy to kill Jewish neighbors. Thus, collectivism and collaboration with the Nazi agenda were essential to the murder of 1,600 people.
When mob rule overtakes a community, the question is what responsibility do individuals have in their personal conduct in response to mob violence? Some citizens, such as Józef Chrzanowski, felt helpless against the power of the crowd. Though Chrzanowski did not give up his barn, he submitted to pressure to round up Jews. It is difficult to cast every non-Jewish member of the community as a villain, even those who participated in the pogrom, given that a key aspect of mob rule is to coerce others into involvement by using their fear of becoming targets. Those few who individually abstained from involvement, such as Michal Kuropatwa and Karolcia Sapetowa, exhibited extraordinary courage during a time of immense fear.
