From: pindor@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca (Andrzej Pindor)
Subject: Re: Antisemitism in Poland.
Organization: UTCS Public Access
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 17:51:22 GMT

In article <1992Sep2.163905.17481@lmpsbbs.comm.mot.com> marios@ecs.comm.mot.com (mario smarduch) writes:
>In article <BtxGB7.8qB@news.cso.uiuc.edu> jbroda@ux4.cso.uiuc.edu (Jacek Broda) writes:
>> I am a student at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. I am 
>> greatly interested in the current situation in Poland. How widespread is 
>> antisemitism? Any information would be greatly appreciated. I am writing 
>> a term paper on the subject.
>>                             
>
>Jacek,
>
>I just came back from Poland ( I was there for 3 weeks), there is no antisemitism
>whatsovever in Poland, with the exception of few jokes here and there. As a 
>matter of fact some of the key people in the Polish governemnt are of Jewish
>descent, how's that for antisemitism. You should maybe inquire into the German

Very interesting. I've also just come back from Poland (3.5 weeks) and 
somehow I am not so sure. It seems to me that Mario has not been looking 
very carefully around. For instance I saw graffitis like 'Juden raus', or 
David star with letters 'SS' (in a well-known gothic font) written over 
it. Maybe it does not prove that there is antisemitism in Poland, but 
should at least make Mario hesitate to use the word 'whatsoever'. I've 
also heard people complaining 'Man, those Jews are to blame for everything' 
(Panie, wszystkiemu winne te Zydy). 
Mario's comment that 'some of the key people in the Polish governemnt are of 
Jewish descent' is also very interesting. I've heard the same claims, but
made with an intent of abuse of unpopular politicians. And the claims are
usually made in a form of a gossip. To give an example (about two years old),
when a honeymoon with Mazowiecki Government was over, a gossip about 
Mazowiecki being of Jewish origin became quite popular. Cardinal Glemp
considered it proper to announce publicly that Mazowiecki family comes from
old Polish gentry. He must have thought that being branded a Jew was not
very good for Mazowiecki. Otherwise he wouldn't go to all this trouble,
wouldn't you think? Of course he might have been totally wrong and Mario's
impressions, after 3 weeks in Poland are much closer to truth.

To be fair I have to admit that some of the people in Poland, whom I greatly
respect, claim that in fact there is no antisemitism in Poland. Argument goes
as following:
You cannot have antisemitism without Jews and a number of Jews in
Poland, percentage-wise, is zero up to a decimal point (and perhaps two).
People using a word 'Jew' as a term of abuse (if Mario did not hear
such a use, he must have had his ears plugged; I've heard it number of times
in public places), do not (and can not) mean actual Jews, because they 
have, in most part, never even seen a real Jew (which is no doubt true).
The word (Jew) has negative connotations for historical reasons (they 
admit that there was antisemitism in Poland in the past), but at present
it has lost it original meaning and is used in a generic sense to express
a low opinion of someone (say, like word 'bastard').

I'll leave everyone to ponder this interesting problem by him/herself.
I have just thought that Mario's sweeping statement required qualifications.

>mario s.
>
Andrzej Pindor
-- 
Andrzej Pindor
University of Toronto
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pindor@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca