Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
Ebook285 pages6 hours
The Crosses of Auschwitz: Nationalism and Religion in Post-Communist Poland
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
()
About this ebook
In the summer and fall of 1998, ultranationalist Polish Catholics erected hundreds of crosses outside Auschwitz, setting off a fierce debate that pitted Catholics and Jews against one another. While this controversy had ramifications that extended well beyond Poland’s borders, Geneviève Zubrzycki sees it as a particularly crucial moment in the development of post-Communist Poland’s statehood and its changing relationship to Catholicism.
In The Crosses of Auschwitz, Zubrzycki skillfully demonstrates how this episode crystallized latent social conflicts regarding the significance of Catholicism in defining “Polishness” and the role of anti-Semitism in the construction of a new Polish identity. Since the fall of Communism, the binding that has held Polish identity and Catholicism together has begun to erode, creating unease among ultranationalists. Within their construction of Polish identity also exists pride in the Polish people’s long history of suffering. For the ultranationalists, then, the crosses at Auschwitz were not only symbols of their ethno-Catholic vision, but also an attempt to lay claim to what they perceived was a Jewish monopoly over martyrdom.
This gripping account of the emotional and aesthetic aspects of the scene of the crosses at Auschwitz offers profound insights into what Polishness is today and what it may become.
Related to The Crosses of Auschwitz
Related ebooks
Facing a Holocaust: The Polish Government-in-exile and the Jews, 1943-1945 Holy Week: A Novel of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Soviet Soft Power in Poland: Culture and the Making of Stalin's New Empire, 1943-1957 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest's Journey to Uncover the Truth Behind the Murder of 1.5 Million Jews Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5German Blood, Slavic Soil: How Nazi Königsberg Became Soviet Kaliningrad Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Entangled in Fear: Everyday Terror in Poland, 1944–1947 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLabour And The Gulag: Russia and the Seduction of the British Left Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPolish-Jewish Relations 1939-1945: Beyond the Limits of Solidarity Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Poland, the Jews and the Holocaust: Promised Beginnings and Troubled Past Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRethinking Holocaust Justice: Essays across Disciplines Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSurviving Katyn: Stalin's Polish Massacre and the Search for Truth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Neighbors Respond: The Controversy over the Jedwabne Massacre in Poland Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn Fitting Memory: The Art and Politics of Holocaust Memorials Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStalin's Holy War: Religion, Nationalism, and Alliance Politics, 1941-1945 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Polish Catholic Church under German Occupation: The Reichsgau Wartheland, 1939-1945 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKatyn 1940: The Documentary Evidence of the West's Betrayal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rome’s Most Faithful Daughter: The Catholic Church and Independent Poland, 1914–1939 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKiev: A Portrait, 1800-1917 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Whose Memory? Which Future?: Remembering Ethnic Cleansing and Lost Cultural Diversity in Eastern, Central and Southeastern Europe Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUprooted: How Breslau Became Wroclaw during the Century of Expulsions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom Prejudice to Persecution: A History of Austrian Anti-Semitism Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJews, Race, and the Politics of Difference: The Case of Vladimir Jabotinsky against the Russian Empire Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDietrich Bonhoeffer and Arnold Köster: Two Distinct Voices in the Midst of Germany's Third Reich Turmoil Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIntimate Violence: Anti-Jewish Pogroms on the Eve of the Holocaust Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Travails of a Tanzanian Teacher Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFlight and Concealment: Surviving the Holocaust Underground in Munich and Beyond Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAn Unpromising Land: Jewish Migration to Palestine in the Early Twentieth Century Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Holocaust and Catholic Conscience: Cardinal Aloisius Muench and the Guilt Question in Germany Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unsettled Heritage: Living next to Poland's Material Jewish Traces after the Holocaust Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNo Haven for the Oppressed: United States Policy Toward Jewish Refugees, 1938-1945 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Holocaust For You
THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dressmakers of Auschwitz: The True Story of the Women Who Sewed to Survive Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Auschwitz: A Doctor's Eyewitness Account Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Resistance: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Happiest Man on Earth: The Beautiful Life of an Auschwitz Survivor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Nazi Hunters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Doctors From Hell: The Horrific Account of Nazi Experiments on Humans Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mein Kampf: My Struggle: (Vol. I & Vol. II) - (Complete & Illustrated Edition) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Killing the SS: The Hunt for the Worst War Criminals in History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5999: The Extraordinary Young Women of the First Official Jewish Transport to Auschwitz Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Banality of Evil: N.A. Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHitler in Los Angeles: How Jews Foiled Nazi Plots Against Hollywood and America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Summary and Analysis of The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Delayed Life: The True Story of the Librarian of Auschwitz Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret Holocaust Diaries: The Untold Story of Nonna Bannister Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Intellectuals: From Marx and Tolstoy to Sartre and Chomsky Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Holocaust Industry: Reflections on the Exploitation of Jewish Suffering Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hitler's American Model: The United States and the Making of Nazi Race Law Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Choice: Embrace the Possible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary and Analysis of Man's Search for Meaning: Based on the Book by Victor E. Frankl Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fragments of Isabella: A Memoir of Auschwitz Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What Is A Jew? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler's Ghettos Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related podcast episodes
V. Nesfield and P. Smith, "The Struggle for Understanding: Elie Wiesel's Literary Works" (SUNY Press, 2019) 0% found this document usefulThe Jewish Story Season 5: The Lebanon War Part I: Before we can discuss the outbreak of war between… 0% found this document usefulAn Israeli’s Home Is His Fortress: Hagar Kotef, Professor of Political Theory at SOAS, University of London, discusses her book , analyzing the concept of “home” as both a physical endeavor and an object of attachment, against the backdrop of the Zionist settlement and... 100% found this document useful56. Civil War in Palestine 100% found this document useful27. Who Came First? 0% found this document usefulThe lost Czech scrolls: The Torah scrolls stolen by the Nazis, rescued by an English Jewish community 0% found this document usefulBojan Aleksov, "Jewish Refugees in the Balkans, 1933-1945" (Brill, 2023): An interview with Bojan Aleksov 0% found this document usefulBojan Aleksov, "Jewish Refugees in the Balkans, 1933-1945" (Brill, 2023): An interview with Bojan Aleksov 0% found this document usefulBojan Aleksov, "Jewish Refugees in the Balkans, 1933-1945" (Brill, 2023): An interview with Bojan Aleksov 0% found this document usefulThe History of Polish Chicago 0% found this document usefulChris Webb, "The Belzec Death Camp: History, Biographies, Remembrance" (Ibidem, 2016): An interview with Chris Webb 0% found this document usefulChris Webb, "The Belzec Death Camp: History, Biographies, Remembrance" (Ibidem, 2016): An interview with Chris Webb 0% found this document useful
Related articles
How the Long Persecution of the Rhineland Jews Shaped Karl Marx Literary HubArticle
How the Long Persecution of the Rhineland Jews Shaped Karl Marx
Aug 6, 2019
8 min readTucker Carlson’s Self-Loathing International Tourism The AtlanticArticle
Tucker Carlson’s Self-Loathing International Tourism
Aug 6, 2021
3 min readUnwilling Accomplice MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military HistoryArticle
Unwilling Accomplice
Aug 7, 2018
6 min readThe Church & the Holocaust Newsweek InternationalArticle
The Church & the Holocaust
Mar 6, 2020
3 min readThe Church & the Holocaust NewsweekArticle
The Church & the Holocaust
Mar 6, 2020
3 min readPutin’s War on Ukrainian Memory The AtlanticArticle
Putin’s War on Ukrainian Memory
Apr 23, 2023
6 min readUkraine Matters. But Bosnia’s Genocide Was Met With Silence Ed Vulliamy Guardian WeeklyArticle
Ukraine Matters. But Bosnia’s Genocide Was Met With Silence Ed Vulliamy
Apr 8, 2022
3 min readThey Thought They’d Be Going Home. Instead They Were Shot The Big IssueArticle
They Thought They’d Be Going Home. Instead They Were Shot
Apr 18, 2022
3 min readA Nation Worth Fighting For The AtlanticArticle
A Nation Worth Fighting For
Mar 22, 2022
5 min readDiary Of A Massacre History of WarArticle
Diary Of A Massacre
Dec 23, 2021
7 min readThe Pope Who Helped Bring Down Communism ReasonArticle
The Pope Who Helped Bring Down Communism
Oct 21, 2021
8 min readVatican Opens Archives Of World War II-Era Pope Pius XII NPRArticle
Vatican Opens Archives Of World War II-Era Pope Pius XII
Mar 2, 2020
3 min readPoland's Holocaust Law Triggers Tide Of Abuse Against Auschwitz Museum The GuardianArticle
Poland's Holocaust Law Triggers Tide Of Abuse Against Auschwitz Museum
May 7, 2018
4 min readFive Years of Books British Columbia HistoryArticle
Five Years of Books
Sep 15, 2023
This issue marks my fifth anniversary as books editor. In the spring of 2018, I opened the BCHF Buzz, the BC Historical Federation’s (BCHF) e-newsletter, and read that British Columbia History magazine was looking for help with the books section. Aft
8 min readThe Museum at Auschwitz The Paris ReviewArticle
The Museum at Auschwitz
Feb 5, 2019
6 min readA Polish Jew's diary, 1943 Who Do You Think You Are?Article
A Polish Jew's diary, 1943
Dec 28, 2023
3 min readSaving Ukraine’s Sacred Art Reader's Digest UKArticle
Saving Ukraine’s Sacred Art
Jan 17, 2023
7 min readTexan Promised Land The OldieArticle
Texan Promised Land
Mar 6, 2024
3 min readNazi Death Camp Survivors Mark 79th Anniversary Of Auschwitz Liberation On Holocaust Remembrance Day The IndependentArticle
Nazi Death Camp Survivors Mark 79th Anniversary Of Auschwitz Liberation On Holocaust Remembrance Day
Jan 27, 2024
2 min readOne Family’s Divergent Views of the Bolshevik Revolution Tell a Tale of Russia’s Complicated Past – and Present The Christian Science MonitorArticle
One Family’s Divergent Views of the Bolshevik Revolution Tell a Tale of Russia’s Complicated Past – and Present
Nov 5, 2017
11 min readAuschwitz Is Not a Metaphor The AtlanticArticle
Auschwitz Is Not a Metaphor
Jun 6, 2019
9 min readCommentary: Selective Outrage Won't Do Los Angeles TimesArticle
Commentary: Selective Outrage Won't Do
May 10, 2018
Nothing stays above politics forever, not even the Holocaust. Last week, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas was caught spewing anti-Semitic vitriol, including the notion that Jews were responsible for the Holocaust. The denunciations from American Jewi
3 min readQ&A BBC History MagazineArticle
Q&A
Nov 23, 2023
The Jewish 'Avengers' (or Nokmim, in Hebrew) were a paramilitary group of about 50 Holocaust survivors who sought violent revenge for the murder of millions of Jews during the Holocaust. Many of the group, including its leader, the poet Abba Kovner,
3 min read1st Us Public Holocaust Memorial Merges Past With New Tech AppleMagazineArticle
1st Us Public Holocaust Memorial Merges Past With New Tech
Nov 23, 2018
3 min read1st Us Public Holocaust Memorial Merges Past With New Tech TechLife NewsArticle
1st Us Public Holocaust Memorial Merges Past With New Tech
Oct 27, 2018
3 min readMonuments To The Unthinkable The AtlanticArticle
Monuments To The Unthinkable
Nov 14, 2022
43 min readThe Secrets That Might Be Hiding in the Vatican’s Archives The AtlanticArticle
The Secrets That Might Be Hiding in the Vatican’s Archives
Mar 4, 2019
4 min readRecords From Once-Secret Archive Offer New Clues Into Vatican Response To Holocaust NPRArticle
Records From Once-Secret Archive Offer New Clues Into Vatican Response To Holocaust
Aug 29, 2020
The Vatican has long maintained that Pope Pius XII did everything he could to save Jewish lives, but newly unearthed papers have renewed accusations of complicit silence against him.
4 min readThe Holocaust Who Do You Think You Are?Article
The Holocaust
Jan 30, 2024
2 min readIn Ukraine, A Harvest Of Death As Bodies Of The Fallen Are Returned To Their Hometowns Los Angeles TimesArticle
In Ukraine, A Harvest Of Death As Bodies Of The Fallen Are Returned To Their Hometowns
Jun 28, 2023
5 min read
Reviews for The Crosses of Auschwitz
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
The Crosses of Auschwitz - Geneviève Zubrzycki
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1