Jedwabne response to the cardinals Glemp sermon dated March 4 2001(given in Polish)

I read this expose in Polish and I was uphold, totally unpleasantly surprised and couldnt understand so outrageously unprecedented statements made by Cardinal. Conclusions not only outside the truth and the facts ,but innuendos , suspicions ,assertions so outrageous, that its almost impossible to imagine that they came out of the lips and were written by The Head of Catholic Church in Poland. I have multiple reasons to respond. irst of all I was born near !edwabne. "y home village was # $m distance from !edwabne, % $m distance rom &ad'ilow, () $m from *i'na, about +, $m from *asos'. -ome of my relatives lived near of these little towns, and they $new directly what happed during the !uly (#.( in these places mentioned before. Incidentally my mother feed many !ews or partisans during the /erman occupation nights and sometimes bagged the nightly visitors not to stay in our home during the day. If /ermens found a !ew or partisan in the home, the punishment was0 the death of the houses inhabitants. -econdly I went to the grammar school with the !ewish girl born and saved during the 1a'i occupation. In late (#.) and after, I met the !ews traveling from village to village and doing some commerce. 2dditionally, as a small boy I heard from my father accounts about $illing spree and tragedies ta$en place in &ad'ilow, or !edwabne... 2s an adult, I was participant of the scientific trip to Israel, founded and paid by its government. I dont mention other scientific endeavors on the sub3ect of the said !ewish tragedy, or my scientific bac$ground. 2fter my university, and other studies, I heard from direct witnesses about the tragedy in !edwabne. To name a few, I want to mention distant cousin from *i'na. Her name is "rs. 4omurat5 she is now about )) years old. 6n !uly (, (#.( she was about (, years old and she was present in !edwabne on that memorial day. -he rode on the horse wagon from *i'na with her parents on that date. They came to the !ewish family to ta$e away some finished garments and other tailors wor$. The !ewish woman was a tailor. -he gave the all ready made garments to "rs. 4omurats parents, but they were afraid to move bac$ immediately to *i'na due to the fear and panic in the town of !edwabne. 6n that day she heard that the !ews were ensemble on the main s7uare and forced to demolish 8enins monument and had to live their houses9 The !ewish seamstress $new what is going too happened. In plain view of her neighbors and "rs. 4omurat, her parents, she too$ her two little daughters and drowned in the little pond despite bagging of the people around. 6n the end she too$ her own life. The little pound is still there. 8ater she heard her parents tal$ing that the :ol$sdeutches, some /ermans and a few inhabitants of !edwabne were forced to watch the !ews gathered on the s7uare, but when the group of !ews was forcibly wal$ed and pushed to the barn, some of the !ews fled in to high crop around the path and apparently watching !edwabiniens were loo$ing in other direction.

Incidentally there were one, or two /erman families in !edwabne, but they did not cooperate with the occupiers in any way, or shape, despite urgent tal$s from 1a'i /ermens. "y father told me , when he was driving horse wagon about two wee$s after burning of the !ews near &ad'ilow , the smell from it was unbearable. 2ugustyna ;aborows$a, she was about (< years old as of (#.(, and lived with her parents in =arwowo, ( $m distance from &ad'ilow. -he remembers very well the date !uly ) in (#.(. 2nd she told me that on that date of !uly ) Th, /ermens forced some Poles to help them, as they pretended to gather the !ews for cleaning the main s7uare in little town of &2d'ilow. The /ermans had the lists with !ewish 2ddresses >incidentally according to the publications and research given to The /ermans by9a !ew? and as$ Poles to gather the !ews, but some Polish People refused. 6ne farmer was $illed on the spot5 an other was beaten by /ermans and suffered bro$en bones. @nfortunately some scared and afraid inhabitants under the /erman pressure watched the !ews and as$ed them to live their houses, but none of them survived up to the end of *orld *ar II. @nfortunately the !ews $new what will happen, due to the fact that /ermans $illed many !ews in *asaos' on !uly A (#.(. ;aborows$a remembers vividly one fact concerning the burning a live of !ewish population in &ad'ilow. It was given this account by the direct watcher of the $illing spree tragedy by the barn near &ad'ilow. .*hen the !ews were inside the barn and barn was put on fire. 4esperate !ews bro$e the gates and try to flee, but were sprayed by bullets from /ermans automatic weapons, and many were $illed and brought bac$ to the barn, or the ditch dogged to put the corps and they were covered with dirt. *hen the covering was almost done the dirt was start moving and a !ewish boy appeared from the dirt. The /ermans did not $ill the boy, but this boy was ta$en by "r. @stinowic' and lived with his big family for about six months. 8ater the /ermans came and too$ this !ewish boy away and he perished without a trace according to 2ugustyna. 2n other reason would be that I $now a little the mentality and costumes of the people around these little towns, and I heard from my relatives about the behavior of the !ews, when &ussians came and reoccupied neighboring counties on the beginning of (#.(. "any families from !edwabne and neighboring villages were ta$en to -iberia, and especially families of the resistance movement to the /ermans or &ussians occupation. The whole family off my older friend was ta$en9 They come bac$ in (#.) without their father and some children9 @nfortunately many local !ews were instrumental in it. They too$ the police 3obs, received the arms from &ussians and too$ almost whole administration in their hands, when the /ermans moved out from !edwabne area on the end of (#<#. Its worth to mention that in !edwabne in the main s7uare was Pilsuds$is monument present before the beginning of the *orld *ar II. @nfortunately, a new &ussian administration mostly in !ewish hands demolished >(#<# or (#.,? it. Instead they installed 8enins statue.

Incidentally, my extremely critical remar$s about Cardinals expose are not personal in any way, or shape. Im not anteing !ewish, or I dont have a shred of animosity towards anybody, at all. 6nly I want to underline the material facts and try to show gross negligence, untruth, and unfounded innuendos about the mentioned expose and expressed views by Churchs Hierarch. @nfortunately Cardinal /lemp didnt ma$e any effort whats so ever to inform himself about !edwabne and his opinion contained in the expose is totally off mar$ under any circumstances. 8ets start from the title 0 !edwabneB wina u'nana sprawiedliwie. Is this guilt ac$nowledged 3ustifiablyC 2re you, Cardinal, the 3udge and prosecutor and apparently unwilling tool of propaganda in one person by declaring the verdict and passed criminal 3udgmentC 2s you $now, the communist polish court struggled with the 3udgment and final was not as harsh as yours. I dont want to mention that communist courts in political matters were so bias but in this case did not put people in 3ail and struggled with passing the verdict... 4ear Cardinal, Dou had one year to inform yourself about !edwabne and you failed miserably >this is your own words0 Ea year ago I was informed by a serious !ewF that the !edwabne $illing will be let $now to the world?. If you thought a little, you would $now about propaganda machine used for financial and political gains. 2nd you did completely nothing, but stated...!edwabneFgd'ie mord na ;ydach 'ostal do$onany pr'e' Pola$owF.2re you read anything about it, are you (,,Gsure about this presumption, are you not ashamed of this statement. E=illing of !ews was done by PolesF. 4id you read any publications exceptF 1eighborsF of . /rossC @nfortunately I must say that in your 3udgmental style you went further with your innuendos than . /ross., tal$ing for example about the thoughtful research needed about the Inhabitants of !edwabne only. If you read some Prof. -tr'embos' publications, some even /erman or !ewish publications, or contacted ather Hd. 6rlows$i, or Iishop -tefane$. , to name a few sources. 4o you put e7uation between :ol$sdeuche and the PoleC 4isgruntled criminal brought outside form other part of the Poland or /ermany is !edwabienienCC 4id you ever heard about Hinsat'gruppen, or Huaptsturmfuhrer Herman -chaperC Cardinal, Dour next statementF-'c'egolnie mord do$onany pr'e' spalenie 'ywcem ludnsci 'ydows$ie3, sped'one3 sila pr'e' Pola$ow do stodoly, 3est nie'apr'ec'alnyF. *hy is soF ex cathedraF assertion without any shred of doubt. The recent publications, eyewitnesses accounts partial forensic evidence at the scene of the crime indicate the only un7uestionable is that the massacre by burning a live of !ewish population >about (J, K to +,,? in the barn is truth. Dou suggest that the only Polish people rushed the !ews with force to the barn. 2ccording to the direct eye witnesses , according partial investigation of the bullets found on the crime scene there were other people too >4o Dou $now why the Investigation of the crime scene was stopped in !edwabneC?, not only disgruntled polish people were present there. 2 little bit further you stated Epeople $new the truth about the massacreF in !edwabne >K mine addendum?. 4id all the people $now whole truth, nothing but the truthC Des, the

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locals they $new, but not all the world population. Propaganda feed some partial facts, unsubstantiated claims, most innuendos, presumptions, or first impressions. 2re you familiar Cardinal that near by !edwabne, the whole village, its people all buildings and inventory was burned to the ground. 6nly one person at the time of this tragedy enfolding was saved her self. This fact is almost totally forgotten by the media. @nfortunately nobody else but certain people with defined goals tried to form an informed opinion about this massacre in order to attain their own political or economical goals. Dour aw$ward comparison of the =atyn massacre of +A B<+ thousands of Polish 6fficers ,/enerals and other inteligencia to !edwabne burning a live and $illing of about (J, !ews is totally inappropriate, at list. 1ot to mention different set of circumstances, different goals of =atyn perpetrators. In the history of different wars you cant find similar massacre to =atyn. These officers were $illed in the bac$ of their heads with cold blood by 1=*4 bullets. Hven 1a'is did not $ill by bullets in the bac$ of the head at once such big number of militaries and inteligentia, or the !ews for that matter. They invented gas chambers and grueling labor practices. Cardinal... your next statement that E'abo3ca 'espolowy 3est 'nanyF >that communitarian murderer is $nown? is so troubling... *ho $nows who the direct murderer in massacre of !edwabne isC Tell me. The /ermansC The PolesC :ols$deuchesC Tugs brought from outsideC 2ll of them, or one of them, or few from mentioned groupsC 1ext, 4ear Cardinal, as spiritual leader> 4id you reed sermon of bishop -tefane$ to that effectC?, you are tal$ing about moral aspect of the tragedy in !edwabne, and you are trying to connect to some obscure generational responsibility consisting of apologi'ing for the sins of the ancestors. >E9; u'naniem odpowied'ialnosci po$oleniowe3, $tora polega na pr'epras'aniu Ioga 'a gr'ech pr'od$ow I pr'epros'eniu potom$ow po$r'ywd'onychF?9 @nfortunately despite my $nowledge of the "oral Theology I couldnt find this type of strange concept. 2re you tal$ing about biblical moralityC Cardinal , your next statement is totally outrageous and so incompetent that we have to investigate some of your other abilities ,when you express your self in the fallowing words0FPr'yc'yny u$s'taltowania sie ta$ 'd'ic'alych I nienawistnych postaw Pola$ow wobec ;ydow, niespoty$anych w innych c'esciach Pols$i, tr'eba 'badac.F I dont mind that your polish is not the best in that expression. In Hnglish I would translate as 0E *e have to encourage the research of the wild and hateful attitudes of Polish People from > !edwabneB mine addendum? un$nown in other regions of PolandF. 2re you acting as a 3er$C To single out a few thousand of hard wor$ing people and ma$e them full of hatred and so dangerous and being in need of special research is so outrageous, that I dont have any words to express it. 4id you $now that in Tr'cianne, an other place of $illing /erman spree was even worse than in !edwabneC In your spiritual leadership, as a motto you too$ E!ustice in 8oveF. In your said expose show me some traces of loving person with 3ust approach to the tragedy. -orry I cant see any. 4ear Cardinal your statement about the need and desire ofF the thoughtful researchF nie le$cewas'my r'etelnych badan? is so incomprehensible in the context of your divagations, that I want to answer by the proverb Emedice cura te ipsumF.

2 little bit further you try to mitigate your tone of reasoning and you invo7ue some murders in &wanda... Ial$ans, or neighbors in Palestine >mied'y sasiadami w Palestynie?. *hos the neighbor there to whomC 6n the end of your expose you gave us an advice,0 E we have to loo$ on us with 3ustifiable loo$ intrinsically on ourselves in truth and humility E>sprawiedliwe spo3r'enie na siebie w po$or'e i w prawd'ie ?F. Is this advice directed only to us not to you CardinalC In 2n other apparently mitigating statement, 4ear Cardinal you are tal$ing about Eprovo$ed enblindness >'aslepienie? of the people from !edwabne and not to stretch this type of attitude to the whole Polish 1ation. Is this not too little to lateC To be franc with you 4ear Cardinal, people from !edwabne were not so much enblinded and provo$ed. 2ccording to my humble opinion 0 it was a combination of some type of revenge for deaths of many partisans their catholic pastor, inteligencia denunciated to the &ussians , and their $illings done by some !ews on Poles , some polish tugs wanted ta$e revenge on !ewish people stayed in !edwabne , some of the apparently most guilty ones evacuated in hurry with fleeing &ussians >later enlisted to the &ussian 2rmy? and &ussians themselves. In addition at that time, anger was common between Polish Population for imposing !ewish rule after &ussians occupied !edwabne and neighboring counties in late (#<# and (#., to !une (#.(. If we add armed !ews who terrori'ed inhabitants of !edwabne, as punishment forced expatriation of partisans and intelligence, or farmer families to -iberia, destructed Pilsuds$is monument and inherent hate of communist regime in the area we can have a fuller picture. In view of that it can be understood, that about (#A,, in !edwabne the youths independence movement was initiated against communists by =lemens /ors$i and others in the High -chool. *hen it was discovered, the brutal security establishment crushed it, and the socialist regime deprived the participants the right to study. Its worth to note that even in (#A., the left over from resistance movement showed the uneven fight with brought by military force regime, in particular in Pr'ytuly, near !edwabne. In respect to the tragic !edwanbes murder, this is not to say that this type of behavior should ta$e place and be vented by helping /ermans to burn alive and to $ill innocent or, even with some guilt their !ewish neighbors. 6ne participant, even under the fear for his life is too many, but the ideal or heroes are not always there.

P.-. The 2uthor of this writing can be contacted at email bensonwolfAALgmail.com. The view presented is based on extended reading of different publications, direct many witnesses accounts, $nowledge of the !edwabne itself. He was there thousands of times, as well his social and scientific bac$ground, special interest in the insurgency movement at that critical time, as well as ways and means of propaganda tools against some independent nations. He welcomes any other view, or additional facts, or healthy discussion about the mentioned sub3ect.

There is his hope that Cardinal /lemp would fine the ways and means to correct and admit mista$es he made in his expose, better late that never.