Jewish Injustice

         One would find it almost inconceivable that half of a town’s population could be brutally murdered on one single day. Men, women and children beaten excessively and viciously killed simply because they were a Jew. It may seem inconceivable; however, the disheartening fact is that this occurred in the town of Jedwabne. This small Nazi-occupied town of Poland was ripped apart with pure devastation on July 10, 1941.

         The days leading up to this catastrophic event were just as repulsive. It is believed that the assaults and other events leading up to the massive murder spree in July were those of revenge. Perhaps, the Poles sought revenge against the Jews for their collaboration with the Soviets, during their occupancy in Poland from 1939 – 1941. However, the Jews who were murdered had no part in that collaboration. The massacre was organized by Jedwabne’s town mayor, Marion Karolak, as well as most, if not all, of the remaining town council. It has not been established as to whether the initiative for this unfounded attack was at the direction of the German’s or by the mayor and town council on its own. Regardless, of where the evil ideation originated from it is estimated that 1600 Jews, including women and children were murdered in hideous manners.

         German soldiers ordered the Jews to bring out all of the holy books and the Torahs from the synagogues and houses of prayers and burn them. The Jews made an attempt at refusal but to no avail. The books were gathered and the Torahs were unrolled, douced with kerosene and set on fire. The Jews were forced to dance and sing around the fires while the German soldiers, Poles, and people from surrounding areas gathered yelling insults at them at beating them freely and profusely. Some of the Germans would stand to the side to take pictures.

         Germans would tie Jews to carriages and force them to carry them through the town. They would beat them until they could hardly stand, much less walk, and then they would take them to the swamps with their open wounds and make them stand in the infested waters. The older Jews who would try to protest due to their miserable state would be taken to even deeper swamps and thrown in. As unimaginable as these things are the worst part is the fact that there were uproars of happiness, cheers and laughter from the Germans and the Poles.

         This is just a mild example of the turmoil the Jews experienced. On July 10, known neighbors of the Jews and the Germans started the murderous attacks. Men, women and children were dragged from their homes to be beaten, burnt and murdered. The Jewish homes were searched for any remaining Jews to ensure that all of them him been murdered. The horrific mass murder spree did not come to an end until there were only seven of the town’s Jews remaining. This day in Poland’s history has been deeply buried and it is thought that the more research that is done, the more heartbreaking and saddening information will come forth.

         One thing that comes to mind, as you read books and watch movies about towns such as Jedwabne, is just how out of touch were the German’s with what was going on in regard to the Holocaust. It has been made very evident by the events in Jedwabne and other Jew prevalent towns that the Germans strongly exhibited distaste and hatred for the Jews. How much persuasion did Hitler actually have to put forth to get the Germans to do the horrible things that have been noted throughout history? Hitler had no previous involvement in the slaughtering tragedies that the Germans had inflicted upon the Jews in Poland. Was it truly Hitler’s fault? Or was it the Germans way of saving face to the rest of the world to blame one individual evil man over their own evil ways as an entirety? If you take a little bit of time to research the actions of the Germans prior to Hitler, you too may wonder the same thing.