On Poland

by Sara Blau

I was very disturbed by some remarks quoted in the article, “March of Living Tweaking Message” (May 2).

March of the Living is a wonderful program that seeks to educate youngsters about the atrocities of the past, enlighten them on the threats of anti-Semitism and intolerance that are still all too pervasive in the present and to help them understand the integral role that Israel plays in the future of the Jewish people. And although including current Polish Jewry and the history of prewar European Jewry in the March of the Living experience is certainly a valuable addition to its current objectives, there are several messages alluded to in this article that would be tragic to embrace.

First, Eli Rubenstein’s comment that

we should not conflate Poland and Germany, stating, “Instead of blaming the Nazis, people started almost to replace the Nazis with the Poles,” grossly undermines the role that Polish citizens played in aiding and abetting the “Final Solution.” Although there are stories of Polish people who helped protect Jewish families, people whose kindness can never be repaid and to whom our nation will be eternally grateful, they were certainly not the majority. Furthermore, although perhaps the Poland of today regrets the role it played in the destruction of so many Jewish lives, it can never erase the past, and for a Jewish person to pretend otherwise is an insult to those who perished and a dismissal of our promise never to forget.

Secondly, Rubenstein’s statement that “hope is not just in Israel, it’s in Poland,” diminishes the centrality that a sovereign Jewish state in the land of our forefathers plays in the future of the Jewish people. One lesson that I would have hoped we have learned from the atrocities of the Holocaust is that anti-Semitism and intolerance can creep into even the most enlightened society.

Teaneck, N.J.

Westchester Jewish Conference

Westchester’s Jewish Community Relations Organization