What was with the Polish AK depiction?
Hiding that Viktor was Jewish to the Home Army seemed a bit bizarre. The AK had many Jewish fighters in its ranks.
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The AK was huge and made up of many factions which represented a broad cross section of society and ideologies. It certainly did include component factions who were nationalistic and anti-Semitic but it is also true that many Jewish fighters were integrated into other AK units (there were probably as many Jews fighting as 'Poles' in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 as fought in the Ghetto Uprising of 1943). Some Jews did collaborate with the Soviets though many more did not (though this perception of Soviet collaboration was the root of of much popular Polish anti-Semitism -- despite the fact that many other Polish Jews were killed or deported by the Soviets 1939-41 as 'bourgeois').
It should also be remembered that the AK and government in exile supported Zegota which was the only real governmental level effort to aid and save Jews during the holocaust - and that there are more Poles than any other nationality among those named "Righteous Among the Nations" by Yad Vashem for risking their own lives to save Jews. One can find examples of anti-Semitism within the AK but it is far from a complete picture.
One can find examples of anti-Semitism within the AK but it is far from a complete picture.
Watching this series, you may becoming certain that AK was full of anti-semitic monsters. From many years Germans doing as much as they can, to cast guilty of their crimes on Polish People, and to arose hostility between Israel and Poland. share
It takes literally 10 seconds to check that yes, historians saw a reluctance among AK units to recruit jews due to antisemitism. The matter is controversial but various Jewish sources considered it anti semitic. That's the actual conclusion.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Army#Relations_with_Jews
I really don't see any non Germans depicted as monsters beside the fact that yes, anti semitism wasn't a German invention it was widespread throughout Europe and a Christian/European invention.
Otherwise it's the Germans who do the evil acts, at worst others (like the Ukrainian auxillary police) allow themselves become henchmen to their acts but that is not unsurprising in an occupation.
It also doesn't detract from them being primarily victims. War is just a grey zone where most people will do bad things to save their personal hides, including collaborating with the occupiers because getting to eat and protect ones family will often come first. Commendable for anyone who broke out of this very basic human behaviour to save some stranger.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Army#Relations_with_Jews
The actual actual conclusion is that the matter remains controversial. You and the German series have clearly come down on one side.
I really don't see any non Germans depicted as monsters beside the fact that yes, anti semitism wasn't a German invention it was widespread throughout Europe and a Christian/European invention.
A majority of the Poles were portrayed as murderously anti-semitic. "we kill Jews like dogs" etc.
It also doesn't detract from them being primarily victims. War is just a grey zone where most people will do bad things to save their personal hides, including collaborating with the occupiers because getting to eat and protect ones family will often come first. Commendable for anyone who broke out of this very basic human behaviour to save some stranger.
There was no collaboration or forced anti-semitism by Poles shown in the series. Just willful murderous anti-semitism. share
"historians saw a reluctance among AK units to recruit jews due to antisemitism"
I just love these oversimplifications made by people that have no solid knowledge of the Polish history.
They weren't inherently anti semitic. They were just afraid of communists and conspirators in their ranks, which at the time were over-represented by jewish minority in Poland.
And rightly so, because after the war, when the communist state has been estabilshed - the communist judges like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefan_Michnik were sentencing them to the death.
No wonder that his brother, Adam Michnik, the owner of Gazeta Wyborcza, gazeta.pl and Agora corporation (the biggest and most influential polish media, up to this date) has been spreading to this day the same communist propaganda about "anti semitic Home Army", which were repeated very often, over and over again, by the western media and his colleagues- "historians", while trying to whitewash the communist criminals and traitors (that includes his brother)
Somehow - there were no problems with "jew pogroms" (that's the slogan used to describe battles against the Armia Ludowa by AK and NSZ) or "antisemitism" in Poland prior to the soviet invasion, for hundreds of years. Strange "coincidence", isn't it?
Some sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%BBydokomuna
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_Brzostowica_Ma%C5%82a (check the polish version, because the english version doesn't mention the fact that the atrocities were committed (mostly) by jewish people, lead by Zusko Ajzik)
same goes for:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skidel_revolt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naliboki_massacre
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koniuchy_massacre
...
and many, many other
Chodakiewicz noted that some 3,500 to 6,500 Poles died in late 1940s because of Jewish denunciations or were killed by Jews themselves
"(..) between September 1944 and September 1946, (..) 327 Jews lost their lives." -
David Engel, Yad Vashem
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Jewish_violence_in_Poland,_1944%E2%80%9346
Note as well that Jerzy (the leader of the band) and Alina are depicted as upright and brave, and Jerzy is decent to Victor once he'd proved himself loyal. They also have more screentime than the rest of the partisans put together.
shareIsn't Jerzy the guy who closes the door on the wagon load of Jewish concentration camp prisoners? - That's an odd upright and brave.
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