Introduction; Part I. The Polish Underground and the Jews under the German-Soviet Partition, 1939–41: 1. Polish politics and the 'Jewish question', 1936–9; 2. Formation of the Polish resistance movement, September 1939–June 1941; 3. The Polish Underground and the Jews, October 1939–June 1941; 4. From ghettoization to mass murder, June–December 1941: the Polish Underground and the prelude to the Nazi Final Solution; 5. The Polish Underground's initial response to the Nazi Final Solution, December 1941–July 1942; Part II. The Polish Underground and the Jews under Nazi Rule, 1941–5: 6. The Great Deportations from the Warsaw ghetto and their aftermath, July–December 1942; 7. Transformation of the Polish Underground policies towards the Jews, November 1942–April 1943; 8. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the Polish Underground, April 19–May 15, 1943; 9. In the aftermath of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, May–November 1943; 10. When the Home Army turned its guns on the Jews; 11. When the Polish Underground helped the Jews: institutional aid; 12. When the Polish Underground helped the Jews: individual aid; 13. The Polish Underground and the Jews, Fall 1943–July 1944; 14. The Polish Underground and the Jews from the Warsaw Uprising to the dissolution of the Home Army, August 1944–January 1945; Conclusion.
Zimmerman examines the attitude and behavior of the Polish Underground towards the Jews during the Holocaust.
Joshua D. Zimmerman is an Associate Professor of History and the Eli and Diana Zborowski Professorial Chair in Holocaust Studies and East European Jewish History at Yeshiva University in New York. He is the author of Poles, Jews and the Politics of Nationality: The Bund and the Polish Socialist Party in Late Tsarist Russia (2003) and the editor of two contributed volumes: Contested Memories: Poles and Jews during the Holocaust and its Aftermath (2003) and Jews in Italy under Fascist and Nazi Rule, 1922–1945 (Cambridge, 2005).
'This is a superb history of one of the oddest episodes of World
War II. Zimmerman has emerged as one of the best experts on the
history of the controversial Polish-Jewish relations. His
matter-of-fact style further dramatizes the Polish-Jewish affairs
during World War II when the Polish underground army heroically
fought against the Nazis, sometimes killing and sometimes helping
the Jews who also participated in the anti-Nazi struggle. A
shocking drama and a wonderfully researched, documented and written
book - a real page-turner.' Ivan T. Berend, Distinguished Professor
of History, University of California, Los Angeles
'Joshua D. Zimmerman has chosen to deal with an extremely
controversial topic. He has carried out his task with great
sensitivity and intelligence. The attitude of the Home Army to Jews
was complicated, varying from time to time and also from place to
place. On the basis of original sources, Zimmerman demonstrates how
difficult it is to make generalizations about aspects of
Polish-Jewish relations. This is an exciting and important book.'
Peter Kenez, Emeritus Professor of History, University of
California, Santa Cruz
'This well-researched and clearly written monograph deals with a
very important but inadequately investigated topic - the reaction
of the Armia Krajowa (Home Army) … to the mass murder of the Jews
carried out by Nazi Germany in Poland. Although the topic has
aroused considerable controversy … it has never been subject to a
full scholarly investigation, making use of the large archival
resources now available in Poland and abroad. This has now been
accomplished by Professor Zimmerman. His approach is balanced and
dispassionate and he consistently allows the documents to speak for
themselves and to show all sides of a complex story. His book will,
in my view, become the definitive account of the subject, which is
crucial for an understanding the larger problem of the attitude of
Polish society to the mass murder of Polish Jews carried out on
Polish soil.' Antony Polonsky, Emeritus Professor of Holocaust
Studies, Brandeis University, and Chief Historian, POLIN Museum of
the History of Polish Jews, Warsaw
'Joshua Zimmerman's [book] is not only the most recent addition to
the growing field of historical study of Polish-Jewish relations in
World War II, but is also certainly the most complete in current
literature. Brilliantly combining the divergent perspective of the
Polish underground leadership and of the Jewish resistance, and
accounting for their internal diversity, Zimmerman presents the
stark choices each actor had to face, and why what was best to one
was often seen as detrimental to the other. Skilfully combining
analyses of pre-war and wartime Polish politics, military choices,
anti-Semitism, the impact of the German genocide, and the
perspective of liberation/occupation at the hands of the Soviets,
as well as personal world-views of the individual commanders, the
monograph explains why not enough help was forthcoming from the
Polish side, and why Jews were perceived, and sometimes perceived
themselves, as no longer being part of it.' Konstanty Gebert,
Gazeta Wyborcza, Warsaw
'Zimmerman's book is a masterpiece. Zimmerman joins the ranks of
other great Jewish historians who have published outstanding works
on Polish-Jewish wartime relations free of prejudice.' Filip
Mazurczak, Visegrad Insight
'[Zimmerman's] neutrality, painstaking dedication and fluency in
Polish [has] helped him sift through the various cobwebs of
perception on both sides and gain access to files others would
never have found.' Haaretz (Haaretz.com)
'Zimmerman's book offers a balanced perspective, personalizing the
topic by presenting profiles of several righteous individuals as
well as unrepentant anti-Semites.' Steve Lipman, The Jewish
Week
'What makes [Zimmerman's] book new is not only his extensive use of
archival and secondary materials, but his attempt to provide a
comprehensive synthesis over the whole period, from the formation
of the ZWZ (Home Army) to the crushing of the Warsaw Uprising. In
this he succeeds admirably.' Yad Vashem Studies
'Joshua Zimmerman's book … is an important work on a topic that is
among the central themes of Holocaust history … There is a need for
a historical study that presents a 'comprehensive treatment of
different patterns of behavior towards the Jews at different times
during the war and in various regions of occupied Poland' …
Zimmerman's book is an important attempt to present such a study in
English, and he succeeds in his aim to maintain 'an absolute
commitment to strive for impartiality'.' Israel Journal of Foreign
Affairs
'The war was over, but the legacy of that period continues to haunt
Polish-Jewish relations. It is therefore vital to have a book like
Zimmerman's that so judiciously analyzes relations between the
Polish Underground and the Jews and brings a full sense of their
complexity to the debate. This is a book richly deserving of
praise.' Eva Plach, Slavic Review
'Zimmerman has set a standard of comprehensiveness, excellence,
meticulousness, and balance. While the content of this work is
exceedingly disquieting, the work of the historian is deeply
satisfying.' Michael Berenbaum, Holocaust and Genocide Studies
'Joshua Zimmerman has bravely taken on this controversial topic and
has produced a remarkably fair, objective, and scholarly monograph.
For anyone interested in a careful and nuanced view of this
difficult period in Polish and Jewish history, this book is
essential … Joshua Zimmerman's The Polish Underground and the Jews
is a major contribution to this history. It is required reading for
anyone wishing to understand some of the darkest days in Polish
history which, however, also witnessed astonishing acts of decency
and heroism. Essential.' Theodore R. Weeks, The Polish Review
'Some books are timely, others are useful and still others are
good. Joshua D. Zimmerman's The Polish Underground and the Jews
1939–1945 is all three … Zimmerman has set a standard of
comprehensiveness, excellence, meticulousness and balance. While
the content of this work is exceedingly disquieting, the work of
the historian is deeply satisfying.' Michael Berenbaum, Jewish
Journal
'… Zimmerman's book is a major contribution to scholarship … it is
the work of a professional academic writing for other specialists.'
Ben Barkow, The Jewish Chronicle
'This study is essential reading for modern Polish history and the
Holocaust, complicating narratives about local agency in thwarting
and executing German genocidal plans. It provides a framework for
the expanding literature on Polish behavior in local communities
during the Holocaust … the majority of the book's readers will no
doubt be interested in occupied Poland and the Holocaust, those
studying underground movements and partisan warfare should also
find this a provocative and important study.' Jadwiga Biskupska,
H-Poland
Ask a Question About this Product More... |