A NOT UNCOVERED TREASURE OF THE CHURCH
GRZEGORZ POLAK
A dozen years ago, and it was at the time of intensification of the conflict of Oświęcim, I saw on one of German TV stations a report in front the gate of the former camp in Auschwitz, beginning with the words: ‘Der polnische Antisemitismus’ …(Polish anti-Semitism). At that moment I was shocked, but I treated as a separate case of a complete sense of decency.
For some time we can speak about a clear tendency in Germany to relativize the fault of the Germans, a public discourse and blaming other nations on German media for holocaust and creating the opinion about the Germans as the anti-Semites.
Two years ago ‘Bild’ wrote about anti-Semites from the National Army, a few days ago another German magazine ‘Die Welt’ published a text about Poles helping the Germans in murdering the Jews.
I think that after what the Germans did, they do not have a moral right to speak about anti-Semitism of other nations, especially Poles, who were the next ones after the Jews in a queue to extermination.
The fault of Poles and the Germans is as proportional as an ant to an elephant. Whereas, the Germans would like to make us a hippopotamus at least. Such a propaganda has been collecting fruits for a long time and has been creating a new self-consciousness of the Germans who may stop being ashamed of what their fathers and grandfathers did.
My friend cooperating with the Germans, about whom I have already mentioned on these pages, told me recently that when a talk with German colleagues was about Holocaust, he heard them saying: ‘but you did help us!’.
This tone of narration, in which a poor Pole does not only look passively at ghetto, but also helps in murdering the Jews, gets very popular in cosmopolitan mainstream media.
Whereas, it is not true at all that it is impossible to oppose substantive arguments to the thesis of Tomasz Gross or Jan Grabowski.
Appointing Fr. Paweł Rytel-Andrianik a spokesman of the Episcopate raised my hope not only for a more active and effective communication between the hierarchic Church and media and the society, but also for revealing incredibly valuable treasure which is the achievements of this priest and his brother Artur, documenting the phenomenon of Poles’ help brought to the Jews during the war occupation. The brothers collected 20 thousand interviews and about 12 pages of documents!
Their investigation proves that saving Jewish nation was proportional to the religiousness of Poles and that on the areas where it was bigger, more Jews were saved.
Achievements of Andrianik brothers is a golden horn, not uncovered treasure of the Church yet. It does not make sense to hope for secular media, we must take advantage of this treasure by ourselves. Prelate Priest Ireneusz Skubiś cannot the only publicist who promotes the extremely pro-Polish activity of brothers Artur and Paweł Rytel-Andrianik, whose aim is to build a close bond between Poles and the Jews.
AA
„Niedziela” 25/2015