Bondage To the Dead: Poland and the Memory of the Holocaust

Modern Jewish History

by Michael C. Steinlauf

A summary of Polish-Jewish relations up to and during the Holocaust outlines how the Polish people were involved in the Holocaust as witnesses, the subsequent denial of involvement after the war, and the communist manipulation of Holocaust memory in the struggle between the Solidarity movement and the Polish government.

Genres: Holocaust, Jewish, History, Nonfiction

189 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1996

Reviews

[Christa · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent overview of history distant and recent of Jewish presence in Poland and Polish imagination and vice versa. Steinlauf presents difficult topics as they are - complex, messy, contradictory - yet the book is organized and clear. If it's difficult to read, it's not because of the writing style, but because of how thoroughly it demands philosophic participation of its reader. A perfect first-read on the subject. Thorough notes and index are a invaluable resource for exploring further the paradoxes that Steinlauf not only discusses but also inhabits.

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A concise, thorough examination of something very tragic, very pervasive, very deep rooted, and very sad. As both a history teacher and a Polish-Canadian, I have witnessed all the angles examined in this engrossing book; an uncomfortable, fascinating, necessary read, if one wishes to understand the combined legacy of WWII, Jewish culture, and the conflicted Polish psyche.

[Elisabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books on the relationship between Poles and Jews before, during, and after WWII that I've ever read. As a Polish American, this was a difficult but important read that looks at the pervasiveness of antisemitism, even (and in fact, in part because of) the Holocaust and the reinvented narrative of Polish history under Communism. This book will also explain a lot of the antisemitic tropes going around now. These tactics aren't new.