Some Comments From Viewers

Some comments from viewers

Date: Sun, 10 Mar 1996 13:16:39 -0800

From: "Mr. J" 

To: grunberg@logtv.com

Subject: Shtetl

X-URL: http://www.clarityconnect.com/webpages/grunberg/grunberg.html



Slawomir -



I didn't get a chance to speak with you after ths showing of the movie in

New York last weekend.The film was wonderful - incredibly moving.I

thought the camera work was great - you were really able to capture the

feeling and mood of these people.



I look forward to watching it again on Frontline.When does it show?



Josh London




>Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 12:44:55 -0500 (EST)

>From: Abe Peck 

>Subject: Shtetl

>To: grunberg@logtv.com

>Cc: Abraham.Peck@UC.Edu

>

>Dear Mr. Grunberg,

>Just a few remarks on the film that you so beautifully photographed, "Shtetl."

>It is by far the most important film to appear on the sensitive and painful 

>issue of Polish-Jewish relations before,during and after the Holocaust.

>As you may know, for many Jewish survivors of the Holocaust who lived in

>Poland, the intensity of their feelings toward fellow Christian Poles is often

>fifilled with a bitterness more harsh than the feelings they have toward their

>German oppressors.

>Thereis a reason for this which has to do,I think, with the fact that the

>German murderers were abstract, evil shapes with no names or histories. Those

>Poles who gave up Jews to the Germans, or killed them outright were often

>schoolmates, best friends, and neighbors.

> Yet most Poles have the comfort of claiming a "victim" status, and the death

>of millions of Poles at the hands of the Nazis is evidence of such a status.And

>there was an altruism among some Poles that resulted in the survival of some

>Jewws. 

>All of these issues and many more are raised in this film in a manner

>reminiscent yet different than Landzmann's "Shoah." I found the interviews far

>more compelling in Shtetl and the figures of Nathan Kaplan and Zbysek Romaniuk

>are memorable for the various images of Jews and Poles that they portray. The

>visits of Romaniuk to America and Israel opened up all sorts of questions about

>the possibility and limintation of a dialogue between Poles and Jews born after

>1945.



>Best, Abraham J. Peck




>Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 12:38:43 -0800

>From: Orfus 

>To: grunberg@logtv.com

>Subject: Shtetl

>

>Dear Slawomir,

> Please send me the full VHS version of your documentry film Shtetl. 

>Our family has been very moved by your film and we would like to have a 

>copy for our personal library. It had been my desire to visit the 

>Polish shtetl of my ancestors very similar tothat of Nathan Kaplan's. 

>After seeing your preview, my curiosity has been further aroused. As fate 

>would have it, my teen-age daughter will be visiting Poland next month. 

>She is leaving on April 13th as a participant of the March of the Living. 

>Please advise how you would like payment. I can remit a cheque in US 

>funds or can provide you with a Mastercard. Whatever is more convenient. 

>Please ship ASAP as I would like to show it to my Passover Seder guests 

>next week. Has Ms.Teitelbaum of the Toronto Jewish Film Society been in 

>touch with you? As reported previously, she may be occupied this week 

>with her Film Festival. Thank you.

> Sid Orfus




>To: grunberg@logtv.com

>Subject: Shtetl

>X-URL: http://www.clarityconnect.com/webpages/grunberg/grunberg.html

>

>Slawomir -

>

>I didn't get a chance to speak with you after ths showing of the movie in 

>New York last weekend.The film was wonderful - incredibly moving.I 

>thought the camera work was great - you were really able to capture the 

>feeling and mood of these people.

>

>I look forward to watching it again on Frontline.When does it show?

>

>Josh London

>

>btw, I'm the guy who spoke with you before the film started.I lived in 

>Russia for a while, did documentaries, .........




>Date: Sat, 30 Mar 1996 11:04:09 -0600

>From: Thomas Guback 

>To: grunberg@logtv.com

>Subject: Shtetl

>

>Congratulations on the excellent Shtetl homepage! I will be interviewing 

>Marian Marzynski in April for WILL-TV, and the www page provides much 

>important background information. It's wonderful to have it so close at hand.

>I did have a problem, however, accessing (a) the script, (b) Reflection 

>on the Shtetl by Hoffman, and (c) letter from Zbyszek to Nathan. I merely 

>received a sign saying "Error. No such file." I had no problem accessing 

>the press release, however.

>

>Also -- congratulations for the Grand Prix! I am sure Shtetl will be a 

>very strong contender for an Oscar nomination, and an award.

>

>Thomas Guback

>Associate Producer, WILL-TV

>Urbana Illinois



Ed: the abovementioned technical problems have been corrected






>From: Allen Edel 

>Date: Fri, 16 Feb 1996 14:55:38 -0800

>Return-Path: 

>To: grunberg@logtv.com

>Subject: Comments on website

>X-URL: http://www.clarityconnect.com/webpages/grunberg/shtetl.html





>Everyone loved the film. I had many comments especially about your 

>camerawork. People couldn't understand how you were able to be so 

>unabtrusive, so that the subjects felt able to talk so comfortably. 

>A photographer mentioned that your accomplishment was especially 

>impressive since you were using just one, hand held camera.

>

>-Allen

>

>








>Date: Sat, 2 Mar 1996 20:37:46 -0700

>X-Sender: shpack@burgoyne.com

>To: grunberg@logtv.com (Slawomir Grunberg)

>From: Barbara Shpack 

>Subject: Re: SHTETL - documentary film



>Mr. Grunberg,

>I am extremely interested in your film. My family Shpack, Kaplan, Wasserman

>and Ferbman are from Bransk. I have been unable to find very much

>information on the town or my ancestors, although I do have a cousin who

>survived, Bertha Shpack Wojnowich. Her story is amazing and very sad also as

>she tells about those of our family who died and her own inability to find

>her son, Marc Pam, (age 3) whom she gave away right before the end of the

>war after her husband was shot in the back as the family was walking down

>the street together. How she would like to find him! 

>

>Thank you for sending me this very valuable information, I will visit

>SHTETL's web site and hope to be able to see the film very soon.

>

>I have just recently become a professional Jewish genealogist and have hoped

>to someday be able to go to Bransk myself.

>

>Recently I looked over the Social Security Death Index and found some

>possible relatives to Bertha who might have excaped, I will follow through

>on their children, maybe we are related and this will give Bertha some peace.

>

>Thank you for your documentary,

>With deep gratitude and thanks,

>

>Have a very good Shabbos and a Happy Purim,

>Barbara Sora Shpack

>






>Date: Sun, 7 Apr 1996 01:16:09 -0500

>From: PASSTU@aol.com

>To: grunberg@logtv.com

>Subject: Re:Shtetl

>

>Dear Slawomir:

>I watched the Shtetl tonight. A brilliant documentary!!!!Outstanding in all

>respects!!!

>Your photography was superb!!!!

>I'll write much more later, give you some indepth comments about your

>excellent documentary. I was really impressed by it - your work is

>excellent!!!!

>Right after I watched Shtetl, I telephoned a friend, Fred Sommer, who has his

>doctorate in German and is now getting his master's in history, and who, like

>me, is interested in the subject matter of the film.I told Fred how much I

>enjoyed the film, and he told me he will watch it when it shows on PBS. Fred

>asked me to ask you if you have heard of Karl Emil Franzos - Fred wrote his

>doctoral dissertation on him. Do you know who he was?

>Keep up the great work!! I would like to see more of your films.

>Best, always,

>Paul

>P.S. I will show Shtetl for my aunt Alice, who is 92. I know shewill enjoy

>the film.

>P.P.S.Also, I will tell my friend Piotr Jandaczek, a seminarian from

>Przemsyl, in Washington, D.C. I will be interested in his response/reaction

>to the documentary. Piotr and Ihave discussed Polish-Jewish relations

>before, and his views have differed from mine on this matter. And I will

>e-mail my friend Jerry Woolpy to tell him to be sure and see Shtetl. 

>P.P.P.S. I forgot to mention, in response to your inquiry, that my paternal

>grandmother's maiden name was Zambrowicz.

>Will talk again soon.

>




>Date: Mon, 15 Apr 1996 07:57:45 -0400

>From: John Davenport 

>To: grunberg@logtv.com

>Subject: Web site for Shtetl looks great.

>X-URL: http://www.clarityconnect.com/webpages/grunberg/default.html

>

>Fantastic job on your website. I'm looking forward to seeing it on Wed.

>Publishing the script is a great idea. Why not? In every video or film I 

>see there is dialogue that I can not discern no matter how many times I 

>replay it.

>

>I'm developing a class "Creating a working web site in 30 days", for the 

>fall of 1996 and will include a link to the Shtetl page. 

>

>Keep up the great work. I'll be watching... John

>






>Date: Sat, 13 Apr 1996 23:18:25 -0400

>Reply-To: Discussion of Polish Culture list 

>Sender: Discussion of Polish Culture list 

>From: "S.Korotynski" 

>Subject:SHTETL, Marzynski - a more complete picture.

>To: Slawomir Grunberg 

>

>Biorac pod uwage Marzynskiego, nalezy spojzec na jego filmy przez

>pryzmat jego osobowosci przesiaknietej na wskros tylko jedna mysla:

>w jaki sposob, za pomoca kamery, pokazac Polakow od jak najgorszej

>strony!?.

>Najlepszymi przykladami takiego obsesyjnego niemalze podejscia do

>polskich tematow sa jego trzy filmy:

>"God Bless America and Poland Too" z 1990 roku, opowiadajacy o

>starym, polskim emigrancie z Chicago odwiedzajacym ojczyzne po

>kilkudziesieciu latach w Stanach; "Messenger to Poland" z 1989r.

>pokazujacy Polske w czasie pierwszych wolnych wyborow; oraz

>"Welcome to America" z 1984r. opisujacy rok z zycia czworki mlodych

>Polakow-emigrantow w Chicago.

>Filmy zostaly zrobione dla i finansowane przez siec PBS (dla ktorej

>pracowalem przez ostanie 10 lat), nosza miano "dokumentow".

>Watpliwy to dokument, w ktorym 'dokumentalista' ma swobodna reke

>falszowania historii, naginania faktow, oraz tendencyjnego

>uprawiania propagandy.

>

>17 kwietnia zostanie wyswietlony SHTETL w ramach programu

>Frontline, a wiec bedzie pokazany w _calej_ sieci PBS (340 stacji).

>Dla ciekawostki dodam, ze film ZEGOTA, rowniez zrealizowany

>przez PBS, pojawil sie TYLKO na _dwoch_ stacjach tej sieci i

>w dodatku o godz. 23:30.

>

>Ponizej pozwolilem sobie wpisac wypowiedzi znalezione na SCP.

>Aczkolwiek nie zgadzam sie ze wszystkimi tezami zawartymi

>w tych listach, to jednak wydaly mi sie one na tyle interesujace,

>aby zamiescic je na tym forum.

>

>Sylwek Korotynski








> The Public Broadcasting System has announced its threat to show SHTETL on

>Frontline on April 17, 1996.

>

> The film, termed a "documentary" is historically inaccurate.Its purpose

>is no other but to promote negative bias against Poles.Its

>producer/narrator, Marian Marzynski, who was rescued as a Jewish child by

>Poles during WWII, completely changed the original purpose of the film as

>planned by a Nathan Kaplan (now deceased), to make it more commercial - -

>to appeal to Jews in the United States, Israel and elsewhere to spread

>misinformation, breed hatred and foster interethnic conflict between Poles

>and Jews.The producer also involved the youth of Israel in this "Project

>Hatred Against Poles".

>

> Zbigniew Romaniuk, a young Pole with a passion for preserving Jewish

>history in Bransk, Poland, was approached by Marzynski and Kaplan to make

>a movie on the life of Jews in Bransk.He gave his time, knowledge of

>local history and goodwill toward a production that would be accurate and

>objective.This intention was shared by Kaplan who died before the film

>was finished.The final product shocked and distressed Romaniuk.History

>is distorted.Poles are shown in the worse possible light.Help to Jews

>by Poles;betrayal of Jews to the Germans by other Jews,round ups of

>Poles for torture, imprisonment or death after the "liberation" by the

>Soviets with Jewish collaboration, - all are cut out.Marzynski now

>refuses to respond to Romaniuk, although when he needed Romaniuk's help he

>contacted him often.

>

> Marzynski claims that Poles gave "over to the Germans" most of the Jewish

>orphans they hid.That absurdity is contradicted by the conditions of the

>time, i.e. German orders to put to death any Pole who gave the slightest

>aid to a Jew.Poles giving the hidden orphans to the Germans would have

>offered themselves for death.Marzynski also claims that the was an altar

>boy in a Catholic church at the age of about six and a half.That is also

>absurd.Altar boys had to be at least nine and know Latin to respond to

>the priest.

>

> About three years ago, another PBS "documentary", The Liberators, was

>intended to show the role African-American soldiers, members of the 761st

>Tank Battalion, played in the liberation of Dachau and Buchenwald.It was

>televised nationally on Veterans Day receiving glowing reviews, hailed as

>an antidote to Black-Jewish tensions.Offended, Black veterans of the

>761st and Holocaust scholars, confirmed that this unit never took part in

>the liberation of these camps.

>

> PBS used public funding to show a "documentary" without first checking

>historical accuracy.The same is occurring with SHTETL, except in this

>case, the distorions of history will have far reaching consequences.

>

> Polish-Americans and members of the public at large are outraged at this

>inappropriate use of support dollars and are calling for the withdrawal of

>Shtetl from broadcast due on April 17, 1996.Please join us:

>

> By e-mail to PBS press contacts:

> Jim Bracciale, jim_bracciale@wgbh.org;

> Karen Klein, karen_klein@wgbh.org;

> Eileen Walsh,eileen_walsh@wgbh.org.

>

> By fax to PBS executives:

> Jackie Cain 213-665-6067

> Marie Campbell 617-254-0248

>

> For more information contact by fax:Irena Szewiola Fax #818-892-5531








> The letter reproduced here was forwarded to PBS executives by the Polish

>Historical Society on April 11, 1996.

>

>"To: Marie Campbell

>Frontline, Fax # 617-254-0243

>

> Dear Ms. Campbell,

>

> The April 17th broadcast of SHTETL must be stopped.

>

> I just learned that Mr. Marzynski, after a long unresponsiveness, began

>furiously to communicate with Romaniuk in Poland.Today alone he faxed

>several pages.Mr. Romaniuk will read them on Friday when he arrives from

>Bransk in the city of Bialystok.

>

> Mr. Marzynski has failed to answer a few simple questions raised by him

>in SHTETL about the number of Jewish children allegedly "given over" by

>Poles to the Germans.

>

> If he were just a survivor or an interviewee, we would have no right to

>demand answers as he could claim the defense of personal confidentiality.

>The First Amendment would give him privilege to prevaricate and the Fifth

>Amendment protection from self-incrimination.

>

> However, in his serial, Marzynski is not only an official director and

>narrator but also a producer.Thus, as a professional journalist he has

>the responsibility to his viewers and must maintain Frontline's

>credibility.As a producer, he does not represent only himself, but the

>entire corporate structure of PBS and your station, subsidized by federal

>tax grants.Furthermore, since you and the serial are supported by

>federal funds, he, as well as you, must be responsive to the constituency.

>

> Please kindly explain to Marzynski that we, the public, have an

>obligation to expose unethical journalists/documentary producers, if PBS

>and your station do not have adequate control mechanisms to see through

>their prevarications.We do not blame you personally, or even Frontline,

>for this deficiency.Errare humanum est.One person or an orgnization

>cannot grasp all aspects of science and humanities.

>

> In the near future, we will ask your station about its mechanism of

>avoiding errors and bias through a system of bipartisan consultants,who

>undoubtedly, advise you on the controversial Holocaust matters (see

>enclosed NYT 1/1/94)Even journalism's giants, the Pulitzer-winning R.

>Durante of The New York Times and P Cooke of The Washington Post, were

>eventually caught at massive, albeit "politically correct", frauds.

>

> For the time being, I hope that you will prevail on Mr. Marzynski to

>answer the simple question:how many Jewish boys and girls he knows who

>were "given over to Germans" at his orphanage ?If he fails to do so, or

>reverts himself, you must act appropriately and inform PBS about it and

>all its affiliates immediately, as well as BBC and your other customers.

>PBS was not established to fan interethnic hatred.By airing SHTETL, PBS,

>- having been forewarned of discrepancies, will take part in the exposure

>of school children to discrimination against Polish-Americans and Poles

>worldwide.

>

> Today, I will seek confirmation that this letter was read by you and/or

>your supervisor.Polish-Americans will seek all possible administrative,

>legislative and legal redress on this matter through the office of the

>Polish-American Guardian Society of Chicago, established and financed

>specifically for this purpose.

>

>Respectfully yours,

>Irene Zdziarski

>PHS, Holocaust Committee

>

>c:Jackie Cain, PBS Los Angeles, CA. fax: 213-665-6067

>K. Quatrone, PBS, Alexandria, VA., fax:703-739-0775

>Steve Bass, PBS, Boston, MA., fax: 617-491-2825

>Margot S. Strom, FHO, Brookline, MA., fax: 617-232-0281

>

>Jim Bracciale, jim_bracciale@wgbh.org,Internet

>Karen Klein, karen_klein@wgbh.org,Internet

>Eileen Walsh, eileen_walsh@wgbh.org,Internet"

>

>cs to interested parties

>








>Date: Wed, 17 Apr 1996 23:21:30 -0400 (EDT)

>From: 76113.2326@compuserve.com

>To: grunberg@logtv.com

>Subject: Information about Shtetl

>

>I watched the premier showing on frontline tonight and I was deeply moved.

I am a second generation pole in this country.My

>grandparents on both sides were immigrants from Poland.In 1985 I visited

my relatives in Poland for the first time and many of the 

>places shown in the film looked so familiar.In the credits one of the

names was my mother's maiden name.I believe it may have

>been her sister-in-law.It went by fast and I cannot remember the first or

last.the name consisted of a surname and then Szpak -

>and then another name.

>

>I would like to buy the film but cannot afford $95 right now.Is there any

other way to get a list of the credits so that I can check

>out the name of my possible relative.Just recently I have become

interested in doing our family geneolagy and have begun it.this

>new information would be so wonderful to have.Thank you for any assistance.

>

>I would like to say I am so terribly sad about all that happened.I was

born in this country in 1940 so I was an infant when all this 

>was going on in Poland.Even though I am an American, I am very interested

of my heritage and roots.

>

>Respectfully,

>Carol Makuch Pilarski

>










>TO:

>KQED TV, San Francisco, CA., fax: 415-553-2254

>Marie Campbell , PBS, Boston, MA., fax: 617-254-0248

>Jackie Cain, PBS Los Angeles, CA. fax: 213-665-6067

>K. Quatrone, PBS, Alexandria, VA., fax: 703-739-0775

>Steve Bass, PBS, Boston, MA., fax: 617-491-2825

>Margot S. Strom, FHO, Brookline, MA., fax: 617-232-0281

>

>April 16, 1996.

>

>Re: Frontline "Shtetl", April 17 at 8 pm

>

>Dear PBS executive,

>

>I would like to protest the showing of the "Shtetl" movie on the PBS Frontline

>on Wednesday, April 17 at 8 pm. I am told thatthe film, termed a

>"documentary" is historically inaccurate. Its purpose is no other but to

>promote negative bias against Poles. There is another PBS movie presenting a

>more accurate account of Polish-Jewish relations titled "Zegota". It was shown

>only on two stations, whereas "Shtetl" is scheduled to reach 340 stations. The

>"Zegota" was shown at 11:30 pm but "Shtetl" has a prime time spot.

>

>I have nothing against presenting different opinions in your programs, as long

>as you will be accurate in the documentaries and give equal representation to

>the different views. I see repeatedly inaccuracies and bias, favoring certain

>Jewish point of view and the above is another example of it. That is why I and

>many others stopped to contribute to the PBS and will do so as long as you

>continue this practice. We will urge others in the entire United States to stop

>contributions to your biased programming unless you make the necessary changes.

>

>Sincerely,

>Edmund Lewandowski

>711 Charcot Ave. # B

>San Jose, CA95131

>tel. (408)232 4781

>








>Date: Thu, 18 Apr 1996 00:14:24 -0400

>From: Brumfamily@aol.com

>To: grunberg@logtv.com

>Subject: Shtetl

>

>I am a Christian woman from Illinois with roots in Poland.I was facinated

>by your story.I have always wondered how so many people could live

>surrounded by the terrible things that were happening to neighbors and

>friends and so few could respond in a way that could still be called

>Christian.I realize that it was a frightening time for many.Not being

>there, I cannot say with any certainty what I would do.I would only hope

>that I would help people that needed me.Thank you for sharing your thoughts

>and memories.We all must remember the horrific events of World War II.As

>more and more facts are coming out of Bosnia I wonder if we learned enough.

>I am new at this so I hope that I will get this right.A web class is

>starting in May and I will be there.God bless you.Pat@Brumfamily.aol

>










>Date: Thu, 18 Apr 1996 02:54:16 -0400

>From: NLymberis@aol.com

>To: grunberg@logtv.com

>Subject: shtetl the film

>

>A very moving and emotional education.Really a brilliant piece of filmwork.

> A few Poles who were really willing to risk their lives against a backdrop

>of age old anti-semitism.It could only happen once-or could it.Is what is

>happening in America

>a very early sign of oppression starting with the populace or merely normal

>shifts of public opinion.People have become fearful again and it is

>beginning to become a larger phenomenon than normal based on my short 53

>years of experience.More than ever we must stand vigilant and protect our

>freedoms while at the same time protecting our way of life from violent and

>criminal behavior.I heard many excuses and reasons in the film from Poles

>for the anti-semitic behavior.Similarly I am hearing reasons and excuses

>today from my friends and acquaintances as to why certain types of

>individuals-criminals,gays, fill in the blanks- should be excluded.It is

>important to constantly be reminded that hatred and bigotry can lead to evil

>acts and that it begins somewhere.The film also helps explain the continued

>struggle of the Jewish people today. Thank you for your efforts and for

>touching my soul.

>








Date: Thu, 18 Apr 1996 12:10:00 +0000 (GMT)

From: Evelyn Rubak 

Subject: RE: Shtetl on PBS Tonight

To: ari 

MIME-version: 1.0

Posting-date: Thu, 18 Apr 1996 12:26:00 +0000 (GMT)

Importance: normal

Priority: normal

A1-type: MAIL

Hop-count: 2



Hey, we watched it last night and it was INCREDIBLE.One of 

the best pieces on anything that I've ever seen.I had no 

idea about the use of gravestones as pavement.There were so 

many issues brought up, and it was so neat to think about each 

person's motivations, things that they could not share, and 

the things that they did feel mutually.The Israeli students 

were coming from one perspective, and the narrator another, 

and Bishek (sp) several others.Wow.What a cool thing they 

did.I learned so much, and I was sad, and I was psyched 

about the guy from Baltimore, and I can hear thousands of 

stories of escapes and know that there are thousands more just 

like them...and that is great that Mr. Grunberg filmed it.

He's the B&B guy and was your prof/mentor.Wow.That was an 

amazing film.I would totally buy the tape.I know we all 

were looking for members of our own families in that town.

There are still so many difficult and divisive issues 

concerning the role of "ordinary" citizens in the Holocaust.

A fantastic documentary.



OK I cannot be enthusiastic anymore without some form of 

caffeine aid.Talk soon.Thanks for the em man.








>Date: Thu, 18 Apr 96 14:34:34 PDT

>From: mzamczyk@VNET.IBM.COM

>To: grunberg@logtv.com

>Subject: Shtetl

>

>Dear Mr. Grunberg:

>I saw Shtetl last night; it is the best piece of work I have seen on my

>countrymen indifference to the slaughter of Polish Jewry. On Easter Sunday

>1943, I stood in a square in Warsaw, in full view of the burning Ghetto,

>and I overhead a conversation between two women, dressed in their finest

>spring dresses, "it is fantastic, the Germans are taking care of our "little

>Jews".

>Thank you for airing the truth; notwithstanding all the revisionist waiting

>at the gate.

>

>Michael Anatole Zamczyk

>

>Dear Sir:

>

> As a Polish Catholic who spent 3 1/2 years in Auschwitz as a prisoner of

>Hitler's SS, I feel compelled to express my objections to the April 17th

>telecast of Frontline's SHTETL.It is a fraud and it is shameful the

>Public Broadcasting System is party to it.

>

> I have dedicated many years to speaking on the Holocaust and how great a

>catastrophe it was for the Jews and Christians of Poland.Foremost for me

>is to recall and relate my experiences with scrupulous accuracy.Nothing

>is more powerful than truth and honesty when telling this terrible story.

>Nothing is more reprehensible than the manipulation and embellishment of

>the historical record to force a specific interpretation.

>

> This film distorts and misrepresents the centuries-long relations between

>Jews and Poles especially during the Holocaust period.Because Poland had

>been subjected to so much Nazi and Communist propaganda during World War

>II, it was easy for me to recognize some of the same tactics SHTETL uses

>to falsely accuse and condemn the Polish people.

>

> Its purpose is clear:to damage our image in any way possible, not only

>because we are Poles but also because we are Catholics.

>

> Like myself and anyone else who suffered through the Holocaust, SHTETL's

>Jewish producer undoubtedly is unable to restrain his passion when dealing

>with this subject.But nobody -- not even a Jew -- has the right to

>tamper with the truth simply because the truth may not be to his liking.

>

> The techniques are self-evident.One is to focus on what is the rare

>exception, magnify and exaggerate it and, when useful, misrepresent it.

>Every interaction between Poles and Jews is closely scrutinized with the

>hope some sort of inference of anti-Semitism might be extracted from it.

>

> Producer Marian Marzynski deliberately holds his interviews with aged and

>uneducated Polish farmers rather than with professional individuals who

>would have been able to recognize his devious intentions -- to portray the

>Poles as guilty as the Germans.

>

> His other technique is to capitalize on the fact the average viewer's

>knowledge about Nazi atrocities is generally limited only to the Jewish

>experience.SHTETL's resolute silence on anything that could show how

>Polish Catholics like me went through the same hell the German barbarians

>prepared for the Jews allows the anit-Polish allegations Marzynski

>formulates to appear more acceptable.

>

> Marzynski opens SHTETL with a dedication to his father who was killed

>"only because he was a Jew".I understand his deep emotions when he says

>it because this is the disaster the Germans inflicted upon Poland's Jewish

>citizens.But "only" is an eclusive word which does not take into account

>the fact that Poles also were killed "only because we were Poles".This

>is why so many Polish men, women, children, priests and intellectuals were

>murdered inside and outside the concentration camps.Through a bizarre

>stroke of luck, I myself evaded the Auschwitz gas chamber by only a few

>minutes.

>

> SHTETL deliberately conceals such essential information.Instead, it

>wants the viewer to believe we were merely onlookers untouched by German

>brutality.To show Polish Catholics beaten, shot, hanged or gassed by the

>Nazis would naturally pull out the underpinnings from the anti-Polish

>scenario he tries to construct.But it vividly illustrates what the

>German and Soviet propagandists proved to the world:a half-truth can

>often do more than a whole lie.

>

> Were there Poles who betrayed Jews ?Whatever the number, it was

>relatively insignificant.But if betrayal is to be a primary focus of

>SHTETL, Marzynski should not have obscured the fact that Jews betrayed

>other Jews not only in Bransk but elsewhere in Poland.Moreover, there

>were some Jews who even betrayed the very Poles who were hiding them and

>both were murdered as a result.

>

> More people were executed for rescuing Jews in Poland than in any other

>occupied nation in Europe.More people willingly took this risk despite

>the fact Poland was the only country in Europe where the Nazis declared

>death as a penalty for giving a Jew any kind of aid.Marzynski admits

>5,000 of the 11,000 trees at Yad Vashem honor Poles.But this number is

>only a fraction of the total, many of whom were murdered together with the

>Jews they were hiding.

>

> Despite SHTETL's strenuous efforts to smear the Polish people and

>suppress the story of our suffering, it does reveal certain significant

>facts.The many photos shown of individuals from the pre-war Jewish

>community disclose the great freedom and opportunity Poland offered

>Europe's Jews for 800 years.Poland gave them haven when they were

>expelled by other nations.I am proud the land of my birth welcomed them

>and permitted the development of a rich and resilient Jewish culture.So

>much, in fact, that Jewish education, prosperity and well-being often

>surpassed that of the average Pole.

>

> What I found to be the most disturbing and saddest scene is the one where

>the students at the school in Israel meet the central Polish figure in

>SHTETL, Romaniuk.I was shocked at the virulent anti-Polish prejudice and

>hatred they displayed.I have seen hatred before, mostly during my years

>in Auschwitz.Now I understand better why my own daughter, when she told

>her Jewish friends her Catholic father is an Auschwitz survivor, was met

>with anger and called liar."Impossible", they told her because no

>Christians ever were in Auschwitz.

>

> But I can only pity these young people.They also are victims -- victims

>of those like Marzynski who inculcates others with their own prejudice and

>hatred.For whom integrity is subordinate to a personal agenda.Who

>tells the Israeli students his father died in a Warsaw ghetto and, in

>another part of the film, says his father cut a hole in the floor of a

>train, jumped out to join the partisans and was killed in a battle.I

>believe PBS is obligated to point out this contradiction when it airs the

>film.

>

> I can also pity them for their exposure to false witnesses like Marzynski

>uses to condemn Poles in a situation which suggests a partisan action

>against Russian communists and their collaborators and not an action

>directed specifically against Jews.

>

> In conclusion, the film confirmed my long-held suspicion that most of the

>misrepresentations about Poland and her Jewish citizens evolve from the

>fact the country is so visibly Catholic.It does not require a trained

>eye to see SHTETL's preoccupation with pictures of Christ, crosses and

>crucifixes, priests and the religious ceremonies in which they take part.

>The silent message resonates loudly.The subtle and the subliminal prompt

>the viewer to attribute Marzynski's anti-Semitic scenario to the Catholic

>Church as the ultimate source.

>

> It is astounding that someone like Marzynski, whose life was saved by

>Polish Catholics when he was a child, would display such malevolence to

>the religious beliefs of those to whom he owes his life.

>

> As someone who was part of this terrible tragedy for both Poles and Jews,

>I must ask why only so many anti-Polish films continue to be made which

>stress nothing but the negative betwen Jews and Poles.We have had strong

>and positive relationships throughout history and they seem to have been

>totally forgotten.In memory of everyone, Jew and Christian who perished

>in the war, we must look at what unites us instead of what divides us.We

>owe it to them.

>

> Sincerely yours,

>signed: Michael Preisler

> Auschwitz #22213"








>Date: Thu, 18 Apr 1996 19:00:12 -0400

>From: 104121.3323@compuserve.com

>To: grunberg@logtv.com

>Subject: Shtetl

>Content-length: 455

>

>Thank you for an important documentary of a time that was almost lost.It

is heartening to know that so many were interested in their "home" and kept

photos, letters and memories that will (hopefully) last for posterity.It

is interesting to observe how full the town (Bransk?) was when Jews lived

there, and how poor it seems today.I am sorry for the families that were

lost and those never to be. -- Anne Recht, Third Generation Jewish American 

>








>Date: Thu, 18 Apr 96 23:26:11 -0700

>From: Willy Ramos 

>To: grunberg@logtv.com

>Subject: (no subject)

>

>My wife and I watched the program last night and we were very moved by 

>the story. Though we were not living when the atrocities were committed 

>we can empathize with the victims of that horror. 

>

>Marian and Nathan remarked on several occasions about their inability to 

>reconcile the Poles' duality of kindness and evil. Though I don't offer 

>this as the ultimate answer it may shed some light on the decision 

>process followed by the Polish villagers. I draw this from my family's 

>experiences in Cuba.

>

>The Poles' fear was not from the authorities because as was mentioned in 

>the program there were only 5 German officers occupying the town. The 

>fear came from their neighbors and even family. The villagers could have 

>suffered the same fate as the Jews simply by helping them. Petty 

>grievances between them could escalate into life-threatening situations. 

>The law was administered and enforced by the occupying army and that law 

>forbade citizens from helping Jews.

>

>In Cuba there exist some parallels. The Cuban military is in complete 

>control of all weapons. However, they are not patrolling all the 

>neighborhoods. The communities are kept in check by neighborhood 

>"snitches". These persons keep tabs on all members of the community by 

>walking around and listening to the gossip. Any suspicion of 

>anti-Revolutionary activity is enough to get you arrested. In the '60's 

>and early '70's suspicion was all that was needed to put you in front of 

>the firing squad.

>

>How do the snitches do it? They basically have the power to make or break 

>your life. Your children will not be educated, you will lose your job, 

>you will lose your home, your food rations will be reduced all because 

>the snitch believes you have done something against the Revolution. 

>However, if you play the game by being a member of the party and taking 

>it upon yourself to "police" your community, you can count on being 

>treated a little better than your neighbor. You may eventually be allowed 

>to purchase an automobile, move to a less crowded apartment, and be given 

>a promotion at work.

>

>It is a common thing to have children turning their parents in to the 

>authorities because of things said in the privacy of the home. On the 

>outside the community looks orderly and serene but there is no serenity 

>for the common Cuban. Their life is one of complete distrust. They 

>must whisper any resentments against the regime for fear of being 

>overheard. They toe the line for fear of being detected by a snitch. They 

>become party members not for the strength of their beliefs but for their 

>families' survival.

>

>How could a villager give a group of Jews honey one minute and shoot them 

>in cold blood the next? The answer may lie in the fear and danger that 

>Jewish family brought to their doorstep. Could the Jews have been sent 

>there to trap them? Did a neighbor see anything? Will the Jews talk if 

>captured? Is it worth risking the lives of their own family to save the 

>lives of the Jews? Those questions must have crossed the minds of those 

>villagers.

>

>The villagers, the Jews, the Cubans, you, and I are all human. Above all, 

>we must remember that the decisions made by the villagers whether right 

>or wrong can only be judged in the full light of the truth. Only God has 

>that ability. They are no more inherently evil than any other group of 

>people on the planet. What they did or did not do to help the Jews can 

>only be understood by being in their position at the time it happened.

>

>I found the comment made by one of the survivors to the effect that she 

>wanted to focus on the "helpers" instead of the "killers" disappointing. 

>The Polish historian was right in wanting to know where she got the 

>numbers and the names. It is by studying the aggressors and what 

>motivated them to do what they did that we will ever be able to avoid a 

>recurrence of the holocaust. 

>

>Please forgive me if I offended you by comparing the doings in Bransk 

>with what is occuring today in Cuba. Though the overtness of purpose and 

>outright persecution of a minority is not evident in Cuba, many of the 

>means to enslave and imprison its people certainly are. Castro's 

>oppression is killing the spirit of a beautiful nation. Just as Bransk 

>lost a wonderful legacy so will the world lose Cuba.

>




>Date: Sat, 20 Apr 1996 23:48:06 -0400

>From: .@dub-mail-svc-1.compuserve.com,

>To: grunberg@logtv.com

>Subject: Shtetl

>Content-length: 446

>

>I just want to commend you on the incredible documentary, Shtetl. I have just

>finished watching it for the second time and find it fascinating. I so

often wonder

>if our family would have helped the Jewish people in our town had we been in a

>situation like that. I fervently hope so. This is a film that must be shown

again and

>again.

>

>I am sincerely grateful to you and appreciate this type of documentary very

much.

>

>Marcia Fuglestad

>






>Date: Sun, 21 Apr 96 08:48:58 -0700

>From: Lloyd Guller 

>To: grunberg@logtv.com

>Subject: Shtetl

>

>I am teacher in Eastside High School, Paterson, New Jersey (the one made 

>infamous by the movie "Lean On Me" about Joe Clark, the principal with a 

>baseball bat and a bullhorn). The student body is entirely black and 

>hispanic. Out of the approximately 250 teachers, perhaps 20 are Jewish. 

>Two of us are orthodox (although I'm a bal tchuva [gee, I wish I could 

>spell that]).

>

>One of our teachers, Ms. Jacobs, was born in a displaced person's camp 

>after the war. The duty of teaching the State required "Holocaust 

>Studies" program feel on her. Although I teach math and computer science, 

>most of her students come to me for help on their assignments. Also, Ms. 

>Jacobs makes use of many of the photos I've downloaded from Compuserve 

>and the like.

>

>Last night, motzei Shabbos, the local PBS station carried your film 

>(11:55 p.m.). The previous time that it had been on, my wife did not want 

>to see it because see was afraid that it would upset her. Last night she 

>agreed, figuring that she would be asleep before any of the "horrible" 

>thing would be shown. She stayed awake for the entire presentation. We 

>both loved it.

>

>I know that this has been a lo-o-o-o-o-o-ng way around to get to a simple 

>point, sorry. What I would like to ask is if you have any materials 

>about you film available for the students in my school and is the film 

>available on videotape?

>

>Thank you for your time.

>

>Sincerely,

>

>Lloyd Guller

>Yoel Nissan

>








>Date: Sun, 21 Apr 96 11:25:15 -0700

>From: Susan Gold 

>To: grunberg@logtv.com

>Subject: (no subject)

>

>News of the program "SHTETL" spread like wild fire in the Montreal area. 

>Those who were unable to view it on Wednesday evening were fortunate to 

>view it on Thursday. There is still a community of survivors in 

>Montreal.

>I am first generation Canadian of parents born in Poland. They arrived in 

>Montreal in 1947. While they were fortunate to spend most of the war in 

>Russia, their families were in Poland. 

>I was moved by the film "Shtetl" which aired on PBS last week. Like other 

>survivors of the Holocaust, my parents arrived alone. It is assumed that 

>the entire families perished. My mother told me after having watched 

>Shtetl that she can now assume that her beloved parents died in 

>Treblinka.

>I am always haunted by the same question...was there any righteous Pole? 

>Even a young Polish man, whose interest in Judaism is indeed genuine, 

>denies obvious anti-semitism...and when push comes to shove, is unable to 

>include Jews in the history of the village of Bransk.

>What might he have done during war-time? Would even he look the other way 

>as did the generation before?

>We must stand up for our principles, no matter the consequences.

>

>Bravo for enlightening us!

>

>






>Date: Sun, 21 Apr 1996 11:35:36 EDT

>From: WCLH07A@prodigy.com (MR BRANDON W BARON)

>To: grunberg@logtv.com

>Subject: Shtetl

>

>Shtetl was beautiful.It was definitely on par with NIGHT and MAUS 

>for its ability to convey the gravity of the holocaust.I want to 

>thank the filmaker for his efforts, and tell him that any struggle 

>involved in making the film was well worth it in my eyes.Personally,

> I found the most touching part to be Jack Rubin's return to Bransk.

>The man himself, fifty years later, eating the scraps he used to eat 

>and doing the jobs he used to do, gave me an amazing sense of 

>understanding his youth and his experience.He is a testimony to the 

>plain resiliance of the Jewish people.

>If only a clear marketplace existed for something of such quality 

>on commercial television.If only writers and directors for networks 

>and studios who call themselves artists had the passion and integrity 

>of this storyteller.

>I am a writer in New York City and I have very little money.But 

>there will come a time when I will be able to contribute to PBS and 

>to buy tapes such as Shtetl.And I will do so.

>






>Date: Sun, 21 Apr 1996 10:07:02 +0000

>From: Glenn Grant 

>Reply-To: glenjoyc@connectnet.com

>To: grunberg@logtv.com

>Subject: Thanks

>X-URL: http://www.clarityconnect.com/webpages/grunberg/order.html

>

>Just wanted to say how moved we were by "Shtetl." My grandfather left 

>his Polish village, Rypin, for America in 1910, and never went back. A 

>friend who did told him about the headstones used for sidewalks, and it 

>sickened him. I heard about it as a child, but never truly believed it 

>until I saw "Shtetl." What a tragedy. Why aren't Jewish organizations 

>doing more to unearth these treasures?

>

>Do you know if "Shtetl" will be on again on KPBS TV in San Diego? I 

>haven't been able to find it listed. Also, I've been unable to find 

>anything on Rypin through the Internet. I know there is a town memorial 

>book, as I saw it in Israel many years ago. Any advice you have will be 

>appreciated.

>

>Sincerely,

>

>Glenn Grant

>Joyce Mishoulam

>






>Date: 19 Apr 96 12:22:02 EDT

>From: LEON KOKOSZKA <103622.352@CompuServe.COM>

>To: Marzynski 

>Subject: Shtetl

>

>Congratulation!

>Showing this film on public television will now tell all Americans who is realy

>responsible for the Holocaust. If wasn'tfor those terreble Polacks who,

>according to former primeminister Shamir, "sucked antysemitizm with their

>mothers milk", Hitler could never commit his crimes. I also find out that as 39

>year-old and born as Pole, I am responsible for the sins of few criminals

durrin

>W W II.

>Those are only few messeges this film convey to the audience, and most of yours

>accusations against entire Polish Nation went uncontested.

>This was not documentary. This was full-blown propaganda and if that was your

>intention, you succeded.

>



>Leon Kokoszka

>






>From: POMORSKI PAWEL 

>Subject: "Shtetl" comment

>To: grunberg@logtv.com

>Date: Fri, 19 Apr 96 14:27:13 EDT

>Mailer: Elm [revision: 70.85]

>

>

>In September of 1939, the invasion of Poland was carried out jointly by

>Germany and the Soviet Union, which then partitioned the country between

>themselves.Between September 1939 and June 1941 the town of Bransk, which

>is the is subject of the film, was within the Soviet occupation zone.

>

>This is completely ignored by the "Shtetl" documentary.Why?Did

>nothing significant take place during almost two years of Soviet occupation?

>What were the relations between Poles and Jews like during those years?

>

>The fact that these issues were not discussed in such an exhaustive three

>hour documentary can only leave one with an impression that this is a subject

>about which the author does not want the viewer to know about.Why?

>

>Pawel Pomorski

>Toronto, Canada

>








>Date: Sat, 20 Apr 1996 13:17:20 -0400

>From: LCojac@aol.com

>To: grunberg@logtv.com

>Subject: saw shtetl...

>

>The film was wonderful. I enjoyed it a great deal, though much of it was

>painful to imagine. I have been searching my own family's Jewish roots in

>Poland. My great grandfather left there in 1869. If I never find any more

>about his family and where he came from, I will at least have this history of

>shtetl as the closest understanding I have to what happened and why he left

>that place. You did a great great job of recording the odyssey. I bet it wins

>many awards.

>






>Date: Mon, 22 Apr 1996 16:32:56 -0700

>From: Orfus 

>To: grunberg@logtv.com

>Subject: VideoShtetl

>X-URL: http://www.clarityconnect.com/webpages/grunberg/default.html

>

>Dear Slawomir,

> Congratulations on the recent showing of your film SHTETL on PBS. It 

>was great. The many family and friends that saw it were very impressed 

>and much moved by your production. We thought that it was done honestly 

>and thoroughly. Because it was a documentary, one could not forsee the 

>result of a meeting or interview. Only the editing could tilt the result 

>one way or another. Because the young Polish was witness to mostly 

>everything, we believe the situation and history was honestly represented 

> As I mentioned to you previously, my 17 year old daughter was in 

>Poland last week on the March of the Living. The purpose of the March is 

>to let the world know, that whatever atrocities the Nazis and their 

>allied Polish anti-semites did to eradicate the Jewish race, we are still 

>here. They marched proudly displaying Israeli flags while the Polacks 

>spat at them in Warsaw and threw rocks at them in Lodz, injuring some of 

>the participants. Even to-day, 50 years later, with only a smattering of 

>Jews living in Poland, they still carry on without shame. I thank my 

>ancestors for having the foresight and determination to leave that 

>hell-hole called Poland. I will close with a quote from a recent visitor 

>to Poland that is a member of our state legislature. Upon her return, she 

>wrote, "I was glad to leave Poland and have no desire to return. All the 

>"D" words come to my mind, as I remember...depressing, decaying, 

>decrepit, dull dirty."

> Sid Orfus

>






>Date: Mon, 22 Apr 1996 22:08:50 -0700

>From: David Newman 

>Reply-To: david@telenaut.com

>To: grunberg@logtv.com

>Subject: thank you thank you

>X-URL: http://www.clarityconnect.com/webpages/grunberg/

>

>Hello:

>

>I was spinning the channels tonight, and I came across the Shtetl

>show on KTEH in San Jose here in San Francisco on cable channel 30.

>

>Amazing. Amazing.

>

>This is a wonderful show. Thank you.

>

>I found your site by searching Infoseek with Bransk and Holocaust and 

>Jew as key words.

>

>In 1990 I went to visit the town where my great grandfather was born, 

>and my great great grandfather - in Mellrichstadt, Germany.

>

>I empathize and I feel very lucky to be seeing the show right now.

>The classroom scene in Israel is on now.

>

>You have done a powerful job. This shold be required viewing in all 

>schools.

>

>David Newman

>San Francisco

>






Newsgroups: soc.culture.polish

Subject: 3 J. POLISH nation libel

Date: 23 Apr 1996 17:42:18 -0400

Lines: 224

Reply-To: papurec@aol.com (PAPUREC)





POLISH-AMERICAN PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE

Dana I. Alvi - Chairwoman P. O.Box3206

Tel & Fax310 - 829 -1527 Santa Monica, CA. 90408



E-mail:dana_alvi_PAPUREC@earthspirit.org

PAPUREC@aol.com



April 23, 1996

 3 J. POLISH nation libel



 re: Broadcast of "SHTETL" by PBS



 The letter reproduced here was sent to the Executive Producer of

"Frontline", David Fanning, on April 18, 1996, by Professor Richard C.

Lukas of Punta Gorda, Florida.



"Mr. David Fanning

Executive Producer, Frontline, PBS

125 Western Avenue

Boston,MA02134



Dear Mr. Fanning,



 I viewed SHTETL and participated (by phone from my home) in the panel

discussion following the presentation on the PBS station in Miami.



 SHTETL does not enlarge our vision of what happened 50 years ago in

Poland.What it does is to confirm negative stereotypes of Poles and

their relations with Jews.Marzynski, who put together this mixture of

canard and calumny, made it quite clear in the panel discussion that facts

and accuracy were not important to him.He claimed he wanted to make a

moral statement.It boggles my mind to hear someone so dismissive about

facts, accuracy and balance and then expect to be taken seriously.

Unfortunately, PBS did.



 There are many historical inaccuracies and distortions in the film, some

of which I dealt with in the panel discussion.I am certain a tape of

this discussion will be at your disposal.



 I did not have an opportunity to develop the credibility question too

much during the panel discussion but the bablings of Yaffa Eliach are open

to serious questions.Every time she relates the story of the so-called

Ejszyszki pogrom, it varies in the telling.Yet, it was a major part of

the film.



 My main criticism of the film is its obvious anti-Polonism which,

curiously, many Jews seem to find acceptable while they condemn

anti-Semitism.The American media have ridden the horse of Polish

anti-Semitism long enough.It is time to explore the complexity of

Polish-Jewish wartime relations not by anecdote and subjective opinion but

by a serious, objective and comprehensive historical investigation.That

makes dealing not only with anti-Semitism but also with anti-Polonism.

After SHTETL, PBS has a responsibility to air a fair presentation of this

subject.



 Should PBS decide to follow through with my suggestion, I would be

pleased to serve as a consultant.



Sincerely,

signed, Richard C. Lukas, Ph.D., L.H.D."



 NOTE a):Dr. Lukas is the author of seven books, including the

much-acclaimed "Forgotten Holocaust:The Poles Under German Occupation,

1939-1944";"Out of the Inferno:Poles Remember the Holocaust";"Did

the Children Cry ? Hitler's War Against Jewish and Polish Children,

1939-1945".The publisher is:Hippocrene Books, Inc., 171 Madison Ave.,

New York, NY10016.



 Dr. Lukas is the winner of the Janusz Korczak Literay Competition award

for "Did the Children Cry ?"Below is an excerpt by the publisher and

information respecting the award:



 "In 1980, a number of Polish-American organizations and the

Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith (ADL) established the Janusz

Korczak Literary Competition for the best books about children. ... Dr.

Korczak, an educator, writer and humanist, was a Polish Jew who ran an

orphanage for Jewish and Polish children in Warsaw during World War II.

When the Germans sent his Jewish wards to a Nazi extermination camp in

Treblinka, Korczak chose to go with them."



 "In 1995, the winner of the Seventh Janusz Korczak Literary Competition

award in the Books About Children category was "Did the Children Cry ? ...

" written by Dr. Richard C. Lukas. ... A panel of independent judges chose

the book by a majority vote.The book chosen had also received a coveted

recommendation by the American Library Association in its book review

periodical "Choice"."



 "The winner was announced to the publisher by the ADL on December 1,

1995;the awards ceremony was set for January 23, 1996.A puzzling

silence of forty days ensued, ... "



 "On January 10, 1996, the publisher was informed by a fax from the ADL

that the book was not "appropriate" for the prize which was therefore

withdrawn. ... "



 "The ADL administers the Janusz Korczak Literary competition;it screens

the submissions from the publishers and selects the books that the

independent judges are asked to evaluate in order to choose the winner.

"Did the Children Cry ?" was one of the books sent to the judges in the

spring of 1995.The evaluation and the judging took about six months

before the book was chosen by the judges as the winner of the

competition."



 "At least one of the judges who served on the Korczak Awards committee

almost from the beginning was not aware of any other levels of review

after final choice was made by the judges.She could not recall any

instance when a judges' verdict had been overruled."



 "Having set aside the judges' decision, the ADL could have quickly

informed the publisher that their letter of December 1, 1995, was

"premature", and that the award was in fact being reviewed by the ADL.

Instead, the ADL took forty days to tell the publisher the prize had been

withdrawn."



 "As a result, the reputation of a well known and highly regarded

professional historian has suffered an undeserved blow.The ADL has

imposed on this Janusz Korczak competition ADL's perspective of Poland's

history in World War II.Setting aside the independent judges' verdict by

the ADL changes the character of the contest and the integrity of the

award itself.It raises serious questions about ADL's ability to

administer impartially this literary competition.It also creates a

dilemma for publishers who by submitting books for the competition may

expose an author to this kind of treatment.By Jacek Galazka, former

judge in the Korczak Literary Competition."End of excerpt.



 The ADL (its director, Abraham Foxman, saved by Poles), as an

administrator - but not a judge - attempted to impose its censorship.In

quick reaction American, Polish, Canadian and Jewish groups condemned

ADL's action.Some of the jurors resigned in protest.The Catholic

League for Religious and Civil Rights joined the protest immediately.

William A. Donohue, President of the Catholic League found ADL's action

"incomprehensible".The Polish-American Defense Committee stated:"From

the perspective of this committee, the ADL action was simply another

example of its anti-Polish, anti-Catholic, anti-Christian, bias."In

early March 1996, the ADL decided to proceed with the original decision by

the "independent" book jury.



 NOTE b):Dr. Lukas' reference to "the babblings of Yaffa Eliach" is

based on the following:In the April 3, 1995 issue, on page 66, the U.S.

News and World Report, through its journalist, Richard Z. Chesnoff,

published on information from Ms. Eliach:"Holocaust historian Yaffa

Sonenson Eliach [Eliach, her parents, 2 brothers saved by Poles, one baby

brother smothered to deth by Jews], one of only 29 Jews who survived the

slaughter of the 3,500 Jews of the Polish town of Eishyshok by SS-directed

Lithuanian guards, remembers the chilling taunts of Christian villagers

when she and her family finally came home after liberation. ... Four

months after liberation, a gang of Polish partisans, accompanied by a

neighbor, stormed the family house.Yaffa, then 7 years old and hiding in

a closet, watched through a crack in the closet as her mother held Yaffa's

infant brother in her arms and pleaded: "Kill me first, not my baby."In

reply, the partisans fired nine bullets into the baby's body before

pumping another 15 rounds into Yaffa's mother.Similar scenes were

repeated all across Eastern Europe. ... "



 Accustomed to anti-Polish myths presented as history and propagandized by

some survivors, - even "historians", as well as by major media, we decided

to check Ms. Eliach's earlier statements concerning her mother's death.

Working with other Polish groups, we discovered about 7 conflicting

versions, including one by her childhood friend who, while bragging of

killing innocent people, published in his book that neither Eliach nor her

elder brother were anywhere near their home at the time of their mother's

death.



 In "SHTETL", Eliach offers yet another version and admits, what she

previously denied, that Soviet officers lived in their house at the time,

and introduces yet other elements, i.e. the granade and gold.She said

that after the killing of her mother (all the goings on in complete

darkness), "the KGB came, the NKVD came ... And my father knew them all."

In one version, she also claims that her father was part of the Jewish

council, which means the Judenrat responsible for rounding up and

delivering the Jews to the Germans.



 Putting all her stories together, a picture emerges that:as a prize for

cooperation with the Soviets (probably in rounding up Polish

anti-communist partisans), her family took over several properties of

other people (probably Jews who were killed).They lived in the best

house in town, that's why the Soviet command stayed there.Her father's

dealings with the NKVD is revealed in her statement that her "father knew

them all".During the day or evening, there was a big party at their

house.In one version, Eliach said, the party was to celebrate her baby

brother's circumcision.This baby brother was saved by Poles.The family

picked him up soon after July 14, 1944 when they returned to Ejszyszki.

They would not have waited till October 20th to have him circumcised.The

party was, more likely, to celebrate the catching and jailing of Polish

anti-communist partisans, which happened earlier.After drinking several

Jews stayed over and fell asleep.After nightfall, Polish partisans

attacked the jailhouse in town to rescue their men and to kidnap the

Soviet command quartered at Eliach's house.Eliach said in SHTETL:"and

we heard shooting downstairs ... other Jews around the house were jumping

from the windows and running".In the process of disarming the Soviets,

Eliach's mother and baby brother were killed in crossfire.The attack by

the Poles on October 20, 1944, is recorded in an NKVD report.



 Eliach's ever changing stories lack credibility.We will post the many

versions in future segments.Her charges of Polish anti-Semitism and

minimizing the saving of Jewish lives by the Poles, is to cover up the

atrocities of Communst Jews in Poland on tens of thousands of Poles, in

which her father most likely took part.



 Eliach is credited with providing and arranging the display of 1,500

photos of (purportedly pre WW II) Ejszyszki Jews, at the taxpayer funded

U. S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.In an April 27, 1995

article in the Canadian Jewish News, by Frances Kraft, titled "Eliach's

photos capture life before the war", is a statement by Eliach which

clearly shows off this "professor's" and "historian's" state of mind:

"Eliach noted the modern garb depicted in most photographs.Because of

the influence of radio, newspapers and television, "whatever was the

fashion in New York was the fashion in Ejszyszki."She explained."




>Date: Wed, 24 Apr 96 17:26:08 -0700

>From: Shmuel Hazi 

>Organization: SUNYAB School of Management

>To: grunberg@logtv.com

>Subject: (no subject)

>

>All I can say now is that it was a very interesting film.

>I taped it, for my friends.

>

>I still think about it, because it's so true, nothing has changed since

>then.My evidence could be some stupid, ignorant,.... "businessmen"'s 

>hope to build a supermarket next to a dead factory, where the Germans 

>killed 4 million people?? I wonder what does make them think that it's 

>right to do so.

>

>Being from Hungary, where people still hate Jewish people, I can only say 

>that we need to make films like this.

>

>Once again, great work!

>

>

>Sincerely;

>

>

>Shmuel Hazi








>Date: Wed, 24 Apr 1996 13:56:59 PDT

>Reply-To: Discussion of Polish Culture list 

>Sender: Discussion of Polish Culture list 

>From: Edmund Lewandowski 

>Subject:"Shtetl" - A new view

>To: Slawomir Grunberg 

>

>I had a discussion about the Shtetl with my friend who does not have

>an access to the e-mail. He asked me to post the below text. I think

>it adds a new view to the ones presented already.

>

>Edmund Lewandowski

>============================ (fwd) =====================================

>Re: Marzynski's "Shtetl"

>

>It is a movie made with a clearly recognizable preconceived notion: it should

>prove that - whatever good will is being shown by Mr. Romaniuk - there are good

>guys (the Jews) and the bad guys (the Poles). This is being achieved by

>manipulating the facts: omitting some evidence that would disprove the above

>thesis and at the same time including some unrelated evidence in order to make

>it stronger.

>

>Examples of such omissions:

>1."The righteous Pole" from Bransk who gave his life to assist the Jews (let's

>remind that any form of such help was punished by death on the spot). Rev.

>Henryk Opiatowski was shot by the Germans for providing the shelter to Jews.

>

>2.Lack of mention of the phenomenon of massive Jewish collaboration with the

>Soviet secred police (NKVD) during the first occupation of those teritories

>during the WWII. From 1939 to 1941 (before Germans entered in the war with

>Russians) the Soviet Union took over and occupied eastern part of Poland. This

>collaboration could have augmented anti-Jewish sentiments of the Bransk Poles.

>

>

>An example of inclusion of an unrelated fact in order to prove Poles hate Jews:

>A story of a Jewish woman about an alleged massacre of Jews in .... Ejszyszki,

>a town near Vilnius, hundreds of miles from Bransk. The fact is that it was a

>military operation against NKVD and this group of Jews were siding with the

>Russians. They were on the wrong side. The executors of the operation spared

>the child, they were after their enemy, not the children. I am sorry, it was

>a war, from 1939 till 1945.

>

>Janusz Kiewicz








POLISH-AMERICAN PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE 

Dana I. Alvi - Chairwoman P. O.Box3206 

Tel & Fax310 - 829 -1527 Santa Monica, CA. 90408



E-mail:PAPUREC@aol.com



April 25, 1996

 3 I a.POLISH nation libel



 re:Broadcast of "SHTETL" by PBS.



 On April 20 1996, under "3 I. POLISH nation libel", we posted our letter

addressed to the Managing Editor of the Daily News - Los Angeles Life,

responding to an article of April 17, 1996.We received several requests

to post the entire article.Here it is.



 "Daily News / Wednesday, April 17, 1996 / L. A. Life - page 5

 The screen.Ray Richmond on TV.



 'Frontline' broadcast of 'Shtetl' draws anger of Polish-Americans. 



 A Holocaust documentary airing tonight on PBS has drawn criticism from

some Polish-Americans as being "an anti-Polish, anti-Catholic hate film"

steeped in "Jewish propaganda".



 Irena Szewiola, a retired teacher and administrator living in North

hills, attacks the three-hour film "Shtetl", broadcast as a special

edition of "Frontline" at 8 tonight on KCET (Channel 28), as a glaring

example of "the way Americans are always bombarded with - and brainwashed

by - the Jewish point of view."



 "It is false history, the kind that results in hatred against Poles and

the ostracizing of Polish schoolchildren", said Szewiola, president of

Polish Assistance of California who has helped organize a fax and Internet

campaign discrediting the film.



 "Shtetl" tells the story of how, on a single day in November 1942, some

2,500 Jews who lived in the small Polish "shtetl" (Yiddish for "little

village") of Bransk were rounded up and shipped to their deaths in

Treblinka's gas chambers.



 The film follows an American Jew, Nathan Kaplan, whose family had fled

Bransk before the war, as he joins filmmaker Marian Marzynski (another

Holocaust survivor) and a 29-year-old Polish-Catholic historian named

Zbyszek Romaniuk to uncover the truth about what happened in Bransk during

the war.



 Encountering shame, denial and more than a bit of lingering

anti-Semitism, it emerges that many gentile farmers in Bransk not only

turned their back on the Jews during the Nazi occupation but also did some

slaughtering themselves.



 "Shtetl" producer Marzynski accused those like Szewiola of being "unable

to see the elephant in the zoo" and - at worst - anti-Semitic.



 While Marzynski was charged by Szewiola and members of the

Connecticut-based Polish Historical Society with making a flagrantly

Polish-bashing film rife with historical exaggeration, he maintained that

he didn't even include the most vivid cases of Polish brutality and Nazi

complicity in the film.



 "There was one local forester who used to shoot Jews like rabbits, 20 or

30 of them at a time, and then finish them off with a 2-by-4", he said. 

"The reason I didn't include him is that I didn't want "Shtetl" to be an

indictment, but a discussion."



 Aaron Breibart, a senior researcher with the Simon Wiesenthal Center in

Los Angeles, believes that the Polish groups responsible for bashing

"Shtetl" have a clear agenda to "diminish the stain of Poland's

reputation" during World War II.



 In some ways, Breibart doesn't blame them.But he would take a different

tack.



 "If I were a Pole, I think my issue would be embarrassment more than

righteous indignation", he said."End of article.



 NOTE:To date, the Daily News / L.A. Life has not responded to

objections to this article.We ask that Poles demand an apology, even

those who are not readers of this newspaper.The address is:Mark

Barnhill, Managing Editor, Daily News - L. A. Life, Box 4200, Woodland

Hills, Calif.91365



 Jews should be reminded that "those who live in glass houses should not

throw stones".The unceasing cries of "Anti-Semitism !" everytime someone

disagrees with a Jew, finally promote the crucial question:"Why all this

anti-Semitism, everywhere ?Answers and information of Jewish atrocities

against Poles, other Christians and Palestinians are reaching the public's

attention.A worthwhile quote from "The Seventh Million" (1993) by Tom

Segev, page 502:



 "Most Israelis, in fact, seem to lack the optimum necessary to accept the

humanistic lessons of the Holocaust, and, in recognition of that, some

people have gone so far as to advocate forgetting the Holocaust

altogether.A few months after the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising

in the territories, Haaretz [newspaper] launched a public debate by

printing a most unusual essay by Yehuda Elkana called "For Forgetting". 

At the time, Elkana was director of the Institute of the History of

Science and ideas at Tel Aviv University and director of the Van Leer

Institute in Jerusalem.A Holocaust survivor, he had been taken to

Auschwitz as a ten-year-old child.His experience there led him to the

conclusion that "what happened in Germany can happen anywhere, with any

people, including my people".Yet he believed it was possible to prevent

"such events" through proper education and an appropriate political

context."



 "The article came in the wake of the increasing number of press reports

of "excesses" committed by Israeli soldiers in the territories.Elkana

had seen all this in the past, he wrote:"I have seen a bulldozer bury

people alive, I have seen soldiers who, losing their senses, broke the

hands of civilians, including children".He asked himself what the source

was of the acts committed by Israeli soldiers in the territories and

reached the conclusion that what motivated Israeli society's attitude

toward the Palestinians was not personal frustration but rather a deep

existential fear nourished by a specific interpretation of the Holocaust

and by the willingness to believe that the entire world was against the

Jewish people, the eternal victim."



Dana I. Alvi, PAPUREC@aol.com








Subject:



Sztetl (Marian Marzynski)

 Date:



26 Apr 1996 14:03:55 GMT

Newsgroups:



misc.writing.screenplays 

 From:



TNDX93C@prodigy.com (Donata Guerra)







This Frontline documentary -- despite three hours' lengthand spanning 

North American cities to Poland to Israel -- was riveting!Andthe 

first I'm aware of documentarian Marian Marzynski's work.(His video is 

available from Frontline.)



He was able to conjure frightening imagery by recording witnesses on 

their return to Bransk,Poland where their memories served as backdrop to 

the places they revisited.One Baltimore survivor described a Nazi 

massacre along a stretch of road leading to Bialystok, where his 

sleighful of forest survivors, including three children who had lost 

their parents, was pursued during a two a.m. blizzard.



At certain points, the passionate filmmaker himself overwhelmed the 

camera. There was no doubt of his intent to uphold an uncompromising 

moral banner.



A heated viewer response to Sztetl has arisen atthe Frontline Web page 

and in soc.polish.culture (mostly in Polish, and from numerous native-

born academics). 



One writer notes Marzynski was run out of Poland in 1969.I recall 

reading aboutmodern-day anti-Semitic incidentswhile researching a 

story idea(dealing with a relationship between Polish American 

Catholics and Jews generations removed from the War).Controversial 

areas easily put one on slippery ground, but Marzynski is a good example 

of someone who will not back down.



This highly-focused man has created a stirring filmic experience from 

perhapsthe greatest central divide on the history time line






Subject:



Re: Sztetl [a stray digression]

 Date:



28 Apr 1996 19:31:18 GMT

Newsgroups:



soc.culture.polish 

 From:



abstrak@isisnet.com (Andrew Strak)







Grzegorz Ciach (gciach@iihr.uiowa.edu) wrote:





: >Therefore it is almost impossible to understand Polish_jewish 

: >relationship and resentments without a broader historical context. Who 

: >"victimized" whom for several centuries? Hence, my "model" differs 

: >slightly from others.



: Is it really the most important, for the present and for the 

: future, to establish officially "who victimized whom for several 

: centuries?Do we have to consider our relations mainly in those

: categories, and for any price?There are numerous other aspects

: that we should care for, maybe even more than this one.



Unfortunately, we are full of the past, which reflects on our "forward" 

thinkig and designs for the future. I am afraid that to the average 

Jewish mind its polish past reveals as a one continuous path of 

oppresion and sufferings from polish hands. Therefere, the polish anti-semitism 

must be endemic and incurable as an irrational hate of perverted minds 

and no reconciliation is possible. In reality, however, large groups of 

polishsociety had legitimate reasons for anti-jewish resentments but 

those issues are today largely ignored. Since the conditions of the past 

had their rational causes that are gone forever, there should be a good

chance for reconciliation today. 



Andrew Strak




>Dear "Frontline"/PBS:

>

>This letter is written in protest of your projected showing on Wednesday of 

>Marian Marzynski's documentary "Shtetl."Like Claude Lanzmann's "Shoah,"

Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List," and numerous other treatments of

Polish-Jewish relations during the Second World War that have been widely

propagated in the American mainstream over a period of many years,

Marzynski's "Shtetl" offers a grossly one-sided, unjustly derogatory and

ultimately dishonest characterization of the Polish response to German

occupation of their country.It is outrageous that yet another anti-Polish,

revisionist view of this history will soon be passed off on a gullible

American public under the sacred mantle of Holocaust Remembrance.



Yaffa Eliach, featured in "Shtetl," is another of this ilk whose varying and 

>widely propagated accounts flagrantly distort the truth.U.S., News and

World Report last year also presented her tale of an alleged Polish pogrom

in which members of her family were murdered.Polish partisans were indeed

responsible, but Eliach's version of the story leaves out crucial facts.

>

>Soviet forces entering the former territory of Eastern Poland in the Summer 

>of 1944 were under orders from Stalin to annihilate the formidable Polish 

>anti-fascist resistance.Eliach's father was an agent of the Soviet political 

>police, who were directing this atrocity.This was a life and death

matter, as well 

>as an act of stunning treachery against those who hoped to see a free

Poland emerge from the war.Unfortunately, it was common for Jews who had

spent years in hiding to begin denouncing Poles to the NKVD as soon as the

Red Army arrived.It is hardly surprising that such people -- or those

associated with them -- sometimes became casualties in a civil war that

continued for two years after Germany surrendered.Eliach's mother and

infant brother died in a raid, staged by Polish partisans against a Soviet

command post, which succeeded in its aim of releasing a large number of

Polish prisoners.This was not a pogrom.Note Eliach's incriminating

mention in the film of the presence of Russian officers in her family's home

and of her father's giving the names of local people to the KGB and the

NKVD.Note also her indication that these killings took place three months

after "liberation" by the Soviets.If the Poles were so keen to murder

these Jews, why hadn't they done so during five years of occupation?Why

did the "victims" of this so-called "pogrom" include also Soviet security

officers?I wish to object, in the strongest possible terms, to PBS's

endorsement and perpetuation of this and other related calumnies directed

specifically against the Polish nation.

>

The "biggest lie" of Marzynski's "documentary" is that it leaves out any

mention of the whole compass of guilt for war and occupation in order to

focus its indictment on ordinary, Polish (!!!) people -- neighbors and

townsmen -- not only in Bransk, but wherever Poles and Jews had lived in

proximity.To depict the terrorized 

>and destitute Polish peasants of this period as executioners of the Jews is

a blatant 

>and impudent slander, as worthy of censure as any species of "Holocaust

denial."

>German plans for these people hardly differed from their intentions toward

the Jews: they would be slave laborers as long as they were useful, and

eventually they too would be exterminated.To despise these people for

their inability to stop the 

>German machinery of death requires a grotesque displacement of guilt.To

portray widespread Polish wartime resentment of Jews as purely an expression

of a 

>deeply-ingrained racism involves the manipulative omission of such facts as

the 

>Zionist endorsement of the Nazi-Soviet partition of Poland, and the

conspicuous 

>collaboration of Jewish elements in the ethnic cleansing of over a million

Poles from the Soviet zone of occupation between 1939 and 1941.Likewise,

much of what is fashionably referred to as post-war "Polish anti-Semitism

without Jews" could more properly be seen as an understandable reaction to

the obtrusive role of some Polish Jews -- Stalin's Puppets -- in the bloody,

post-war communist takeover of the country, or to repeated attacks, such as

that implicit in "Shtetl," on the Polish national character.

>

> If the events of these times are to be set before an uninformed public at 

>taxpayer expense, this ought to be done in a fair and balanced manner.At

the very 

>least, your viewers deserve to know what Zbigniew Romaniuk's feelings were

when he saw how the essence and purpose of his long relationship with the

late Nathan Kaplan had been deviously massaged to achieve effects quite

different from anything Kaplan or Romaniuk ever had in mind.

>

>Marzynski hijacks the original shared intent of these two men and arrives at 

>in indictment of wartime Polish Society reminiscent of Claude Lanzmann's

"Shoah."If PBS would ever present an even-handed account of those times,

audiences would be informed about the honor and heroism of Poland's struggle

and about the horrific ordeals which befell that nation.The Poles were the

first people in Europe that stood up to Hitler and the only ones who

resisted from start to finish.They created the largest underground

movement in occupied Europe, and their armed forces were in the war longer

and engaged the enemy on more fronts of the European theater than those of

any other Allied country.When the war ended they still fielded, after the

three Great Powers, the fourth largest army deployed against Nazi Germany.

>

>Poland was, moreover, the only occupied country which did not support a 

>collaborationist regime -- even the Jews had their Judenrat -- and which

contributed no military formations to Germany's war effort.It might also

be worth noting here that it was the Polish underground which informed

Western leaders of the mass murder of Polish Jews by the Germans, and that

it was the Polish government in exile -- alone -- that agitated for some

action to be taken, while the Western Powers deliberately buried this

information.

>

> Further, despite the harshest conditions in occupied Europe, including 

>summary execution for anyone (together with family members) rendering any

assistance to a Jew, tens of thousands of Jews survived the war hidden in

occupied Poland only because of the extraordinary courage and decency of

many times that number of Poles.How many Jews, I wonder, would risk their

children's lives to help a Pole?And how does one reckon with the colossal

effrontery of comfortable Westerners who see fit to pass severe moral

judgments on any Pole who did not exhibit supernatural heroism under those

harrowing circumstances or who insist on tarring an entire people with the

deplorable behavior of an unorganized handful of criminal types, such as may

be found in any society?



>And speaking of hatred, isn't it precisely the point of this whole exercise 

>to make us into guardians of truth and tolerance, and skeptics of

demagoguery?Who but demagogues are engaged in the falsification of history

and the propagation of hatred?One of the most chilling scenes of "Shtetl"

is the encounter between the 

>bumbling, well-meaning Romaniuk and a group of carefully-instructed Israeli

high 

>school seniors, whose harshly accusatory unanimity carries overtones of a 

>totalitarian mindset.

>

> Some may contend, to the extent that the documentary "Shtetl" deals in 

>factual material, it merits showing.But Marzynski's method, like that of

his role 

>model Claude Lanzmann, is open to question.Compromising remarks and

attitudes are evoked from unsophisticated people, selected images of which

are dramatically tapped and wielded to achieve a predetermined effect.

Facts can be selected, shaded and framed in such a way as to insinuate

almost anything -- as advertisers, PR types, movie makers and propagandists

are all well aware.There can be no doubt that the psychological impact of

this movie has been painstakingly calibrated.Whose interests are being

served by airing a program that is certain to generate little more than

sympathy for Jews and ill feelings against both the Polish people of half a

century ago and their decedents of today?Such a question suggests much

more about the real purpose of "Shtetl" than whole sound tracks of solemnly

repeated platitudes about History and Remembrance.

>

> >Marian Marzynski's interpretation encounters no such disapproval. It

paints a 

>picture that has been exhibited many times already:in the form of novels,

movies, 

>documentaries and TV docudramas, not to mention endless "news' commentary

and editorializing.There is even a classic, widely disseminated comic book

memoir of the Holocaust.In it, Poles are depicted graphically as swine.

"Shtetl," of course, 

>delivers essentially the same message.What hasn't been presented yet,

with anything remotely approaching this prominence, is the Polish viewpoint

on these events. Indeed, it has been effectively censored from mainstream

consciousness; for the average American, who can certainly identify the

Holocaust, is not even aware that the present controversy exists.

>

>On a day when the likes of Marion Brando -- who ought to be in a position to 

>know -- feels compelled to publicly humiliate himself for simply calling

attention to the obvious, namely the preeminence of Jewish influence in

Hollywood, or for quite reasonably calling on Jewish media moguls to exhibit

the same consideration for other groups that they insist be given to their

own, on such a day I can scarcely harbor any illusions that the impassioned

protests of Polish Americans will purchase a nickels' worth of leverage at

PBS.Nonetheless, I do protest, if only so that it cannot be said that I

was silent, if only so that the best of you, be it the merest handful, may

perhaps observe yourselves in the mirror tomorrow morning and be revolted by

what you see.

>

>Sincerely,

>Bob Lamming








>As one would expect, there was dissimilar reaction to the recent

>television presentation of "Shtetl" by the Polish and Jewish communities

>in the US. It is difficult for either community to be completely

>objective about issues of this type. I detect a degree of disappointment

>and annoyance within the Polish-American community with respect to the

>subject matter in "Shtetl".

>

>I would hope that Polish-Americans would be sensitive to the centuries

>of suffering imposed upon Jews in the Jewish Pale of Settlement, an area

>within which Jews were forced to reside during the 19th century. This

>area not only included what is now most of Poland, but also the Ukraine,

>Belarus, and part of Lithuania.

>

>During that time, Jews were subjected to Pogroms, abuse, harrassment

>and severe legal restrictions by the Russian, Prussian and Austro-

>Hungarian regimes which had partitioned Poland. Unfortunately, the

>local Polish population in many communities participated in these

>abuses. During the time of the Holocaust, many Lithuanians, Poles, and

>Ukrainians aided the Germans in their persecution of the Jews. It should

>also be emphasized that many Lithuanians, Poles and Ukrainians did not.

>In fact, there were many Poles who risked death of themselves and their

>families for sheltering Jews during the Holocaust. These Poles are among

>the "Rightous Gentiles" who are honored by monuments in Israel.

>

>What exacerbated the situation was the fact that the vast majority of

>Jews lived in the Pale of Settlement of that time. Therefore, the

>effects of the Holocaust were more pronounced in that area. I believe

>that there were similar abuses in Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia and

>elsewhere. However, it was to Poland where most Jews were sent to die in

>concentration and death camps.

>

>The roots of anti-semitism began in the 16th century when the Polish

>nobility imported Jews to act as Tax-Collectors for areas under Polish

>control which included parts of Lithuania and the Ukraine. Of course,

>this would not make them popular with the local populace. In addition,

>over the centuries, Jews sequestered themselves into closely knit

>communities and did not assimilate with the local populations. This

>was both a cause and effect of much of their persecution. Jews

>were forced to live in Ghettos or in specific areas within each town.

>In truth, the church, at that time, also fanned the winds of prejudice.

>

>That was then and now is now. There has been a new re-birth of Poland.

>While it is extremely difficult to forget the past, both the Polish and

>Jewish communities must build bridges for a more cooperative future. We

>must dispel the seeds of prejudice from our young people and build for

>the future. Poland was the lightening rod, by the Solidarity movement,

>which caused the Soviet empire to crumble. In a few short years they

>have built an increasingly prosperous nation, especially compared to

>Russia, Belarus and the Ukraine. A new day has arrived and the cobwebs

>of the past should be discarded.

>

>Leonard Markowitz priluki@aol.com








Date: Mon, 29 Apr 96 03:40:24 0500

From: Laurence Salzmann 

Organization: University of Pennsylvania

To: grunberg@logtv.com

Subject: your latest film

X-URL: http://www.clarityconnect.com/webpages/grunberg/shtetl.html



I think Mr. Marian Marzynski uses the Zbyszek in a way that is unfair. 

It is easy to make yourself look good at the expense of others. You do a 

disservice to a man who has very good intentions. Try not using your 

fellow man in your next film. You would be more honest to yourself and 

the rest of us.

Laurence Salzmann








Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 22:04:35 EDT

From: TSHV36A@prodigy.com (MR REID SILVERBOARD)

To: grunberg@logtv.com

Subject: Shtetl



I am Reid Silverboard.My mother is Evelyn Silverboard who appeared 

in your film.I know how hard and how sweet was for my mother to 

participate in the film, but I am glad she did. I finally found out 

when my family who had stayed behind died, and I found out where.

Treblinka will never be the same word to me. Thank you for the film.

 Reid Silverboard






Subject:



 Re: orientation

 Date:



 Tue, 30 Apr 1996 05:06:00 GMT

Newsgroups:



 shamash.mochin 

From:



 dschwar 







David wrote:

>I would be careful about making disparaging remarks about "the

>old men in the shtetl." In most respects, they were probably

>head and shoulders beyond anyone alive today ...

>Our often arrogant demand that they speak to us in a more

>"direct" ways tends to reveal our ignorance of their purposes

>which don't necessarily include educating us on our own terms.



This is just too good to pass by.David just revealed how most

people (but of course not you or me) really think.

We pretend to be interested in what we each have to contribute

but when you get right down to it, people fall into two categories.

1.)Those whose positions we agree with and thus have great respect for.

2.)Those whose positions we disagreee with.



We pretend to learn from each other, but really do we?If the only

people we listen to are the ones we already agree with, then do

we do any really deep learning?



The problem of transformation is, I think, one level deeper than this.

The real difficulty lies with noticing the filter we use to listen with.

Us humans have an opinion about everything, and when ever someone speaks we

have an opinion.Disagree or Agreee, or "Agreee but" (really just a covert

way to disagree).One filter we listen through is this agree/disagree, but

if it goes unnoticed, no transformation is possible.No deep learning.

We just filter out what we already know is wrong, and allow in what we

already know is right.



We almost never just listen.And listening is the greatest gift anyone

can ever give, to both the speaker, and to yourself.



The old men in the shtetl had something to say, and something they intended

to contribute.Transformation can occur in that moment when we notice that

filter we are listening through (like agree/disagree) allows no possiblity

of deep learning, and create a new way to listen - right now.



In Zen it is called "beginners mind."



Just spend some time tonight reading your e-mail, and listen to the

monologue that you use to filter your mail.Is reading e-mail an

opportunity for transformation or deep learning or is it something else?





David, Sharon, and Jordan Schwartz



A family that works.



A family that makes a difference.



dschwar@cinternet.net

http://www.cinternet.net/~dschwar

http://www.cinternet.net/~dschwar/Corvette




Date: Wed, 01 May 96 22:23:21 -0400

From: Anonymous User 

Organization: Rutgers University

To: grunberg@logtv.com, piotrek@eden.rutgers.edu

Subject: "Shtetl"



Dear Mr. Grunberg, 



It's only been two weeks since "Shtetl" was released and I've already 

seen it twice - both times with a group of (non-Jewish) Polish friends. 

The image of our country and our people was distorted to such an extent 

and on so many occasions, we didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Just to 

mention some translation aspects that haven't been written about by other 

protesters of the film on your webpage: there are huge chunks of 

interviews left out in the subtitles; translation is often inaccurate; 

things taken for granted by the interviewees but unknown to the general 

(American) Jewish audience are not said aloud in the translation; 

meanings hidden in intonation are omitted; and so on - always with the 

effect of showing Christian Poles in a bad light.



"SHTETL" DOES MORE DAMAGE TO THE JEWS THAN TO THE POLES (the two don't 

always have to be opposites, by the way - I have Polish-Jewish friends in 

Warsaw who will insist on not dropping the "Polish" part, or even putting 

it first). The film promotes ignorance, prejudice, and hostile feelings 

in those Jews who don't know Poland, and similarly, it will produce 

prejudice, ignorance, and hostility in those Poles who don't know Israel. 

"Indeed" - many will think - "if they (Jews) spread false, hideous 

propaganda that is openly anti-Polish, why shouldn't we be anti-Semitic?" 

Don't you see this danger? We can go ahead with this phoney war, of 

course, but is that a world Jews would like to live in - the world of 

neverending warfare?! Why don't we try to promote real understanding 

instead? The more publicity "Shtetl" gets, the WORSE for (Christian) 

Polish-Jewish relations. 



I should strongly encourage you to ponder all that in your mind before 

you embark on another production like "Shtetl". Maybe one day you decide 

to build peace, not wage war. I sincerely wish us both that you do. 



Piotr Ligaj

piotrek@eden.rutgers.edu






Subject:



 Re: The Jewish question

 Date:



 01 May 1996 14:58:17 GMT

Newsgroups:



 soc.culture.polish 

From:



 jake@coco.read.tasc.com (Jacob D. Goldstein)







In article <4m54np$ffb@ratatosk.uio.no> 

lakleczk@bioslave.uio.no (Leszek Andrzej Kleczkowski) writes:



> Jack Telesman (jteles@lerc.nasa.gov) wrote:

> : fili@ux7.cso.uiuc.edu (Rafal D Filipczyk) wrote:



> : > It is an interesting and going to the bottom of the subject question:

> : > Why were the Jews persecuted and despised in so many countries over

> : > such a long period of time, dating from ancient times?

> : > There must be a reason! Is the blame only on the side of the persecutors

> : > or perhaps not fully? I saw Shtetl. The subject was touched very lightly 

> : > by one of the Poles but never elaborated on. The filmmaker did not bother

> : > to analyze the reasons very deeply. Perhaps some of our Jewish friends

> : > could answer the question. 

> : > (Absolutely nothing is implied above, the question is fully objective!)



> : Maybe you can tell me what group of people living in Poland before

> : the war was well likedand acceptedand considered to be Poles.

> : (Gypsies, Germans, Russians ?)



> All groups of people who _wanted_ to be considered as Poles were

> considered as such.Others, who did not want to be associated with

> anything Polish, but still demanded to be treated as Poles, when it

> suited them, still could count on having Polish citizenship. It

> sounds like those days you could have your cake and eat it at the same

> time.Hope this answers your question.



Leszek,

What did it mean to be a Pole?

-- Jake --

--

************************************************************

Jacob D. Goldstein 

jake@tasc.comTASC

Voice: (617)942-2000 55 Walkers Brook Drive

Fax: (617)942-9507 Reading, MA 01867 






Subject:



 Intolerant Response (was Sztetl docu.)

 Date:



 1 May 1996 21:22:59 GMT

Newsgroups:



 misc.writing.screenplays 

From:



 TNDX93C@prodigy.com (Donata Guerra)







I have received two unpleasant posts from a correspondent here who 

apparently did not care for my favorable view of Marion Marzynskis 

documentary Sztelt. I reprint the gist of our private exchange,but 

exclude the posters name.



The person responded with insults to my request for reasons regarding 

his/her conclusions about the documentary. 



The poster is correct in one thing:I am not Polish, but merely have 

Gentile Bialystok relatives descended from a German Jew, Ivan (Jan) 

Berlinski of Hamburg. The great Claude Lanzmann remarked in Shoah, when 

Polish peasants claimed aforgetting ofnames for those who had been 

taken away,words to the effect that it was shameful not to remember 

another persons name.I wont forget the names of my forebears.And, 

yes, one of my great-aunts was sold outside Warsaw for a loaf of bread 

during the War.



The betrayal and sell-out of human beings, and the assumption of their 

properties, along with a morally reprehensible rationalization of crimes 

against humanity, does not play well among the truly human in any 

newsgroup.



I regret taking this action, but am also relieved that in other strings 

here,some of the stingingly philosophical disagreements have been 

substantially "gentled".

------------------------------------------------------------

prodigy (r) mail:Personal Message 04/26/1996

------------------------------------------------------------



to:Donata Guerra

 From: X

Subject: Re: Sztetl (Marian Marzynski) 

Sent On: 04/2605:54 PM PM ET



Date:Fri, 26 Apr 1996 15:48:21 -0600 (MDT)

Subject: Re: Sztetl (Marian Marzynski) 



you are surely joking. this documentary was a piece of crap. it had no, 

repeat, NO merit. The guy who made it is NOT a film-maker.





------------------------------------------------------------

prodigy (r) mail:Personal Message 05/01/1996

------------------------------------------------------------

to: Donata Guerra

Subject: Re: Sztetl (Marian Marzynski) 

Sent On: 05/0102:58 PM PM ET



Date:Wed, 1 May 1996 12:50:48 -0600 (MDT)

Subject: Re: Sztetl (Marian Marzynski) 



i know you are not polish. so stay away from the polish news group.





To:X



DearX,

They are right -- your bad spelling is matched only by your rude lack of 

breeding.



Are you seventeen?Or younger?



I will post your rude and ignorant e-mails to me on the Screenwriting 

Newsgroup.



And you had the affrontery (sp)to ask me to collaborate with you.You 

do not have the social skills or even the intellectual and social 

maturity to communicate well with anyone.



Please do not post to me again.



Also, I will publicly post this e-mail to you.



Yours,



Donata



(Addendum to X:You cannot warn me away from any newsgroup.I know you 

are not a screenwriter, but have I admonished your participation here?

Now I let the group decide.)






Date: Thu, 02 May 96 16:36:25 -0700

From: Bernard Bayer 

Organization: Ohio State University

To: grunberg@logtv.com

Subject: The Program Shtetl



Thank you, Mr. Marzynski, and all who were connected with making Shtetl. 



My father was born in Zabludow (or Zabludova), another Shtetl, near 

Bialystok.He came to this country before World War I and brought his 

sisters and their children over. They all settled in Chicago.His parents 

(my grandparents) remained in Zabludow and were alive in 1929.



I hope to recover my family's history.



 Bernard Bayer




Subject:



 Doanta Gurerra is not being entirely honest

 Date:



 Fri, 3 May 1996 11:35:38 -0600

Newsgroups:



 misc.writing.screenplays 

From:



 ="mail** A. F. Jurek **mon.co 







It was she who sent me a letter filled with boast-full sentences of her 

career as a screenwriter. It was she who questioned my ethnicity and made 

vulgar comments about it when I failed to see it "her" way on the 

dismally absurd documentary "Shtetl". She has shown herself to be 

intollerant, racist demagogue in love with deviant rhetoric which she 

uses to slam those whom she does not approve of.




Maximum power for the do-it-yourself traveler. 



 Subject:



 Shoah in Cinema

 Date:



 3 May 1996 13:55:56 GMT

Newsgroups:



 soc.culture.polish 

From:



 TNDX93C@prodigy.com (Donata Guerra)







soc.culture.polish

[1] Shoah in Cinema

jpi@dit.lth.se wrote:





>In article <4loifm$etu@usenetp1.news.prodigy.com>,

>Donata Guerra  wrote:

>>Shoah in Cinema



>Whoever (in America, I guess, all is possible, but this?) ever doubted 

>that European men with powerful intellects possess a unique charisma?



No doubt you are preening yourself. 



>How Lanzmann comes in this context? He is a skilled movie-maker, no 

doubt.

>But neither powerful inteellect, nor charisma, let alone a trivial one.



Ah, but now you are jealous.Believe you me, he's attractive.



Notable:



>>THE THIRD MAN(1949)The great Graham Greene script set in dark, post-

war 

>>Vienna treats of moral corruption, little vices and little lies that 

add 

>>up to the same old evil again.(Zither music builds into suspense.)



>This is a superb war/post-war movie. But are you sure Shoah or anti-

Semitism

plays some part in it?



To the extent that the evil root of Nazism and Fascist opportunism is 

portrayed, the roots of anti-Semitism can be discerned.In the 

documentary Sztetl, the evil roots of murder are greed.



What did German Nazis do with Jewish property?They ate it.



>>ASHES AND DIAMONDS (1958) Polish director Andrzej Wajda's tragic 

>>portrayal of the Warsaw Resistance Movement and its betrayal at the end 



>>of the fighting.Interesting moral dilemma -- former young fighter 

>>charged with one last job: assassinating a CP official.(I saw this in 



>>1974, again in 1993 - it was fresher and newer second time around.)

[...]>Donata Martinec Lewandowski Guerra



>1. 

>WARSAW???



Polish.Otherwise don't follow.Perhaps that is because a certain A.F. 

Jurek, posting to my review of Sztetl in misc. writing. screenplays, 

objected to my posting here on the grounds that I am not Polish.

I think Jurek's objection was more to my admiration for Marzynski, and 

less that I am lemon-meringue American.



>2.

>A superb war/post-war movie, too. But how about Shoah/anti-Semitism in 

it?

>Anti-communism is the issue, isn't?



You are correct in your specificity.But in my own historical 

consciousness, I cannot think of Poland without Jews, even after they 

have been exterminated by Germans, or driven out over the years by their 

own countrymen.




Subject:



 Shtetl

 Date:



 4 May 1996 23:16:11 GMT

Newsgroups:



 soc.culture.polish 

From:



 Ted Radlak <76275.2361@CompuServe.COM>







FROM: Ted Radlak, 76275,2361

TO: Jacob D. Goldstein, INTERNET:jake@fandago.Read.TASC.COM

DATE: 5/4/96 7:27 PM



Re: Copy of: Re: Fishy Matters [was Israel is a Terrorist Entity]



Hi Jacob!



Thank you for the apology, I hope you believe that I am not 

an anti-semite. I too apologize for what I said that may have 

been misunderstood in the course of the open and honest discussion 

I was trying to have with those who espouse a different vantage point. 

All points of view are valide and need to be understood, this helps to 

diffuse tension. Nothing raises an individual's or groups ire more than 

to be ignored or dismissed, thus implying they are crazy, stupid or too 

inconsequential or inferior to to be honoured with an honest response.



I don't have a problem with the film "Shtetl" per se, but the problem I 

have is that looking at the big picture it already adds to a very negatively 

balanced view of Polish culture. We are not perfect and should strive to 

always improve ourselves, but we too need to be heard and understood. 

The 300 million or so very influential citizens of this earth who live in 

N.A know nothing virtually of my people and what they do know is 

inordinately negative and hateful quite often resulting in hatred and 

racism directed at us as I too have experinced. By omitting, obscuring,

 manipulating and ignoring the big picture we are lying and deceiving. 

For this reason I feel that we in Polonia have been and are continually 

being abusedand degraded. This especially angers me, since I feel the 

effects first hand and it is quite honestly very painful emotional. I find 

any injustice painful, because I can sympathize. As in science when you 

take a small sample of something for study the chance for deviation 

and distortion is so much greater, hence the possibility of gross inaccuracy.

I don't want to romanticize Polish history or falsify facts, but what I 

have read over the years is tantamount to libelous lies. This will no doubt 

further undermine the recovery of this decent and noble nation that deserves 

peace, understanding and support in its healing which along with other 

nations such as the Jews and Armenians(I apologize for omitting anyone) 

has support so much. "Shtetl" is a virtually Polish witch hunt that is manipulative 

and malevolent and will promote more hatred and misunderstanding of 

Poland and Poles. It's like kicking a cripple who is trying to get onto his feet 

in the teeth. This is not the only example of this in the popular media. Look 

at the prevaricating garbage written by Jerzy Kosinski in "Painted Bird". 

Imagine how betrayed those decent villagers feel now for their kindness. 

Look at "Sophie's Choice", yes Polish suffering is acknowledged and there 

is an endearing and tragic union of understanding between this Pole Jew 

in the film, but Sophie is called a Polish whore and her father was condemned 

as an anti-semite who helped the Nazis. Well, I'm sure we could find and 

there are many documented cases which were revealed at the Nuremberg 

Trials of Jewish complicity. Anyway, I may have overstated my point. 

Anyway, I feel that we are being bullied as I was being bullied as a child 

on the school yards of Toronto for being a "Fucking Polak". 

I belive people who are wrong, unfair and ignorant in their behaviour 

should be educated and if that does not work punished with compassion 

as a lessen. I do not wish to add to anyone's suffering, but I want to 

relive my suffering and the suffering of my people too and I want to 

be able to criticize a "Jewish" viewpoint without being condemned 

and denounced as an anti-semite. Maybe I get too emotional and 

vociferous sometimes and I apologize for that. For some people it is 

hard to get past their anger and suffering to be rational and balanced. 

I certainly am trying very hard. My only objective is peace which 

allows everyone to make their lives better and as they wish.



I hope I have been balanced and fair and rational here Jacob. 

I wish there were more people like you who listen and try to 

understood. This does so much to diffuse anger and hostility and 

bring down the walls of distrust between people.



But more importantly I would like that Gefilte fish recipe some 

day. My mother who is now deceased used to make it from a recipe 

she learned in Kiev, Ukraine. It was delicious. The longer she has 

been gone the more I crave comfort food like that.



Shalom,Ted.






Subject:



 Re: 3 K a. POLISH nation libel

 Date:



 3 May 1996 05:35:40 GMT

Newsgroups:



 soc.culture.polish 

From:



 Ted Radlak <76275.2361@CompuServe.COM>







BRAVO! BRAVO! BRAVO! for your intelligence and eloquence. I hope 

people like you will help end injust racism promoted by Jews and 

ignorant Anglo-Americans who are exposed to their propaganda 

onceand for all. I have been fighting it for as long as I have 

been aware of it, it's a tough David and Goliath type fight, but 

I hope David(Polish Community) will defeat this relentlessly 

vindictive, venomous and racist Jewish Hollywood. Yes, ofcourse 

is is Jewish, how else could Tom Hanks get two oscars. Ha! Ha!






Subject:



 Re: 3 K a. POLISH nation libel

 Date:



 Mon, 6 May 1996 16:19:33 GMT

Newsgroups:



 soc.culture.jewish.holocaust 

From:



 Barry Megdal 







Ted Radlak wrote: (in soc.culture.polish, talking about the film Shtetl)

[cut by moderators]



Your remarks aside, I would like to inject a few facts into the discussion.



My father is a Holocaust survivor from a small town called Hrubieszow, 

Poland.Clearly the Germans get primary blame for the Holocaust.But 

the widepsread antisemitism he experienced before the war was very 

real.And what was even more real was what he experienced when he was one 

of a group of only 200 Jews left in the town, after the Germans sent the 

rest of the population to be gassed at Sobibor.He and the others 

were kept to clean out the Jewish homes, and send their contents to 

Germany.But many other Jews remained in hiding.



We hear often of the Poles that risked their lives to save Jews.There 

may not have been many, but I admire them for risking their lives to 

help others.However, far too many (and far more) Poles behaved in the 

opposite way.Heobserved on a daily basis the Polish police and 

Polish civilians actively searching for and turning in Jewish families 

that were in hiding; often dragging them out into the street 

themselves.They were then taken to the cemetery by the Germans, and 

shot -- men, women, and children.The Poles didn't have to do this -- 

they did it purely out of hate.



But there is more.When he was forced to witness these shootings of 

Jews, and then bury the victims, there were typically a crowd of Polish 

civilians waiting and watching.Not protesting the murders of children, 

just watching and waiting.Why?For a chance to steal the clothes 

and shoes of the victims before the surviving Jews were forced to bury 

them.He had to threaten the waiting Poles with the shovel he was using 

to bury the victims.



No, the Poles didn't create the death camps.But in all too many cases 

they were willing and active participants in the comparable atrocities 

that took place in inumerable cities, towns and villages throughout Poland.



This is the reality that Shtetl is trying to deal with, and this is the 

reality that my Father knows, that other survivors know, and that I know.



- Barry Megdal






Date: Mon, 13 May 1996 11:30:39 -0400

From: Alex di Meo 

To: grunberg@logtv.com

Subject: sshtetl

X-URL: http://www.clarityconnect.com/webpages/grunberg/shtetl.html



Ignoring any strong feelings of disgust that I might have on the dishonesty and 

manipulation of well-meaning, ingenuous or disadvantaged, or all three, Poles on camera 

in the film Shtetl, I am appalled by the total absence of any reference to the 

architects and executers of the Holocaust - - the Germans or Germany. Not even the 

euphemism "Nazis" occurs. It's high time that Germany and the Germans were put back into 

the Holocaust and the Second World War. They were the enemies and criminals - - not the 

Poles, which one can only infer from reading your Web Site. Of course, the Germans of 

today are not (I pray)the Germans of World War II, but it was the Germans and Germany of 

that time and Poland was their first victim and the country of all occupied countries 

that suffered the most brutal occupation. Three million Polish Jews and three million 

Polish Christians perished. The historical revisionism pillories the Poles must be 

stopped.




Date: Tue, 14 May 1996 13:33:14 -0400 (EDT)

From: OST@hws.edu

Subject: Re: Shtetl w Polsce

To: grunberg@logtv.com

X-VMS-To: IN%"grunberg@logtv.com"



Dear Slawek,

Thanks for the e-mail materials.And even more, thanks for

your company last night.The presentation was a real success.

I haven't seen students get involved in a discussion like that after

a film in a long time.The film was really wonderful -- it's more

riveting on a big screen than on TV.So, we all loved it, and

your prsence made possible a wonderful discussion.And finally, it was

great going out for a beer afterwards, too.Felt like I had a chance

to really get to know you, and I hope we can meet again sometime.

You know, lately a few of us (David, myself, and two others,

last count) have been getting together once a month, calling ourselves

the "old Jewish men's club" (someone picked up the name somewhere),

meeting for drinks, smokes, talks, whatever, and it's actually

been great.Force ourselves to slow down a bit.So, I'm telling

you about it because it'd be great if you came some time, too.

I think we're meeting next in two weeks, when you'll be gone,

but when you get back?



In any case, have a great time in Belorus and elsewhere.

See you soon,



David






Date: Wed, 15 May 1996 22:40:19 -0400

From: STEFGLAY@aol.com

To: grunberg@logtv.com

Subject: Shetl



Although my roots are in Lithuania, and not Poland, I was riveted to the

chair as I watched your program.It was not only fascinating but also scary

to realize how the old feelings of jealousy and ignorance remain to this day.

 And I wondered about the young womanwho comes to my house every week and

all of the women who come to America to work in so many Jewish homes really

feel about us!



Thank you for this wonderful journey.



Stephanie Glaymon






From:HWS3::GRUNE14-MAY-1996 19:10:45.57

To:HWS3::OST, WEISS

CC:

Subj:Stedl



Thanks so much for the opportunity to see this important film. I wish

more would have seen it. I like this particular documentary style

which I always considered as "pure" as documentaries can go. 

I saw a documantary in this style that you might want to see when

you come across it: Unversoehnliche Erinnerungen" (Irreconsilable

Memories) where two Germans (a Luftwaffe pilot and a member of the

Communist party of Germany) recall their participation in the

Spanish Civil War. I can did out details if you are interested.

Thanks again, I would have stayed longer for the discussion but

was in quite an emotional turmoil.

Peter






From: SmallFry@prodigy.com (MR STEVEN FREIMAN)

Date: Wed, 22 May 1996 19:24:07, -0500

To: grunberg@logtv.com

Subject: shtetl



As a survivor and a Polish Jewess, I loved your shtetl comments and 

the way it was done but the indifference between the Poles toward the 

Jews made me phisically ill. I cannot understand the Chicago calling 

show with so much hate toward Jews and this was supposed to be for 

the younger generation. It shows that we were not liked before and 

not even now, after the war, Poland does not inhabit Jews. We still 

aren't loved, anyway. 

 Sincerely yours,

 Surviver.








Date: Fri, 31 May 1996 16:42:22 -0400

From: Filminfo@aol.com

To: grunberg@logtv.com

Subject: Shtetl





Dear Slavomir:



I'm returning the cassette.Its a wonderful, touching, thought-provoking

program. As it turned out many of my friends had seen it on television and

were talking about it-- all in the same lauditory terms.The ending

particularly (was he no different than any one else is the question?) was

powerful 

It is so important that these memories not be los. A film like this becomes

an important memorial.Congratulations.Best, Sue




Date: Tue, 11 Jun 1996 16:02:13 -0700

From: Paul Rose 

To: grunberg@logtv.com

Subject: Portrait of Antisemitism

X-URL: http://www.clarityconnect.com/webpages/grunberg/shtetl.html



Among the many astounding subjects for discussion in Shtetl should be the 

encounter towards the end by Jack Rubin and the poacher who had tried to 

sell his father a deer.I don't know of any other representation which 

so graphically exposes the imperceptible moment at which apparently 

friendly or reasonable attitudes towards Jews suddenly slide into 

antisemitism.An amazing film, full of source material that will be of 

permanent - and indispensable - value for all future historians and 

anyone interested in antisemitism and the Holocaust.Paul Lawrence Rose, 

 Mitrani Professor of History, Pennsylvania State University






Date: Tue, 11 Jun 1996 23:03:53 -0400

Reply-To: Discussion of Polish Culture list 

Sender: Discussion of Polish Culture list 

From: John Radzilowski 

Subject:"Shtetl" in Retrospect

Comments: To: apap@informatics.sunysb.edu

To: Slawomir Grunberg 



The following is scheduled to appear in Tygodnik Swiat

Polski (Detroit) in the near future.





"Shtetl" and the State of Polish-Jewish Relations

John Radzilowski



 Like many Polish Americans, I sat down to watch the film "Shtetl" on PBS

(April 17) with a mixture of hope and trepidation. Would this be another

"Shoah"? Would Poland be systematically defamed once again on television with

no hope of an effective response? Or would the complex issue of Polish-Jewish

relations be treated in an evenhanded manner? As it turned out, ""Shtetl" was

both better and worse than I had hoped.

Certainly, "Shtetl" was no "Shoah." Marian Marzynski's film has the feel

of a bitter personal memoir on videotape. Although Marzynski often tries to

distort what he has caught on film, in most instances he does so rather

transparently. A less honest or more skilled filmmaker could have turned this

into a far more anti-Polish film.

The filmmaker was born in Poland to a Jewish family shortly before the

war. As a very small child, he was hidden in Catholic orphanage. By the time

the end of the war, Marzynski had been so changed by his rescuers that he was

unable to recognize his mother. Although this small tragedy was one of

millions of similar stories played out in Poland after the war-and not only

among Jews-it becomes the catalyst for Marzynski's personal take on the war

and on Polish-Jewish relations. In 1968, his family left Poland during the

anti-Semitic purges in the Communist Party. These experiences have left the

filmmaker with a festering wound. (Marzynski has done other films with a

Polish theme-an earlier film provoked controversy in the Polish community by

portraying Solidarity-era emigrants as aimless bums.) At the end of the day,

this film is more about Marian Marzynski than anything else. This is a

particular problem in "Shtetl" since Marzynski is not only filmmaker, but

translator and narrator as well.

 To help exorcise his personal demons, Marzynski returns to Poland with

Nathan Kaplan, a Jewish American searching for his own roots in the small

Polish town of Bransk, near the Russian border. Kaplan had been in contact

with Zbigniew Romaniuk, a young Polish local historian from Bransk. Romaniuk

had been trying to reconstruct the history of the Jews of Bransk, who at one

time made up the majority of the town's population. The first third of the

film follows Marzynski, Kaplan, and Romaniuk as they walk around Bransk,

talking to the old residents and trying to learn more about the town's Jews

and their fate. The following two thirds of the film follow Marzynski and

Romaniuk as they travel to the U.S. and Israel, seeking out former Jewish

residents of Bransk, and then back to Poland with Jack Rubin who left Bransk

as a young man.

 Romaniuk is in some ways the hero of the film. He comes across as an

honest man, trying to do his best, facing indifference and intolerance from

all sides, and forced to deal with a filmmaker who wants him to say only

certain things and not others. In a letter to the filmmaker later made

public, Romaniuk complained that the film was one-sided and promoted ethnic

hatred. Marzynski has dismissed these criticisms by claiming that Romaniuk

just doesn't know English well enough to understand the film.

 As history, "Shtetl" is indifferent at best. For the average viewer, there

was no reference to conditions in wartime Poland, nor any mention of the

deaths of 3 million Polish Christians during the war. Lacking this context,

the film presents a distorted view of Polish-Jewish relations during the

period of the Holocaust. "Shtetl" tells us nothing about the rich 800-year

history of Jewish culture in Poland, or about the history of Poland.

 In fairness to the filmmaker, he did not set out to make a "pure"

documentary, and those who view it as such for any reason will be mislead.

For example, Marzynski spends a great deal of time attempting to track down

Poles who killed or stole from Jews. In two or three cases he is successful.

In one moving scene, an elderly Polish woman openly condemns her neighbors

who helped kill Jews. By contrast, the filmmaker spends little time tracking

down those who helped save Jews at risk to their own lives and those of their

families and neighbors. Only grudgingly, and in passing, does he mention that

this one small town produced no less than seven "righteous Gentiles" who have

been commemorated at Yad Vashem. (This is particular interesting given the

low rate at which Poland's "righteous Gentiles" have been recognized.)

Clearly, the real story of Bransk is one of both heroes and villains, and a

large number of people who were neither.

 The film mentions nothing about the town's occupation by Soviet forces

during or after the war. At one point, an elderly Jewish woman describes a

particularly horrific massacre allegedly carried out by Poles after the

Germans had left in a town some distance from Bransk. (The filmmaker

apparently added this scene because his narrative of Bransk lacked any truly

gory details.) What the woman failed to mention, however, was that the town

was an NKVD outpost. The home the Jews were staying in was occupied by Soviet

soldiers, and some of the Poles apparently felt-rightly or wrongly-that the

Jews had been collaborating with the new occupiers. (This was at the start of

an open civil war in Poland that lasted until 1956.)

 There is no reference to the cynical way both the Soviets and the Germans

encouraged ethnic rivalry and hatred among Poles, Jews, Belorusyns, and

Ukrainians. In addition, the filmmaker simply dismisses any reference to

"bandits" when in fact eastern Poland was overrun by criminal gangs made up

of Poles, German and Soviet deserters, Jews, Ukrainians, and others. At times

these groups operated as, and claimed to be, partisans, other times they

robbed, raped, and killed without regard to nationality or religion. They

fought amongst themselves, as well as with German troops and Polish AK forces

(the AK spent a great deal of time attempting to stamp out these bands or

bring them under control). The sense of utter lawlessness and social collapse

that made ordinary people huddle in their homes in fear at night, is not at

all conveyed by this film, and so the viewer is left with little

understanding of what motivated people living in that time.

 Marzynski's chosen theme is Polish anti-Semitism. Thus, he tries to build

a case for Polish animosity toward Jews before the war. Since there was

anti-Semitism and conflict between Poles and Jews before the war, we expect

him to find it. Yet, even here, the picture is muddled. The film crew

encounters-quite unexpectedly to the filmmaker-a number of Poles who have

favorable memories of their Jewish neighbors. Other Poles are less favorable.

Polish-Jewish interaction before the war was first and foremost in the realm

of the local market. So it should be no surprise that the memories of many

Poles relate to trade and money. One particularly odd aspect of the film is

the filmmaker's attempt to turn minor transactions and encounters that took

place over 50 years ago, into events of cosmic significance. The price paid

for a deer carcass in 1938 or the fate of a piece of fur become portentous

omens of Polish intolerance.

 One of the most disagreeable and unfortunate aspects of the film are the

techniques that seem calculated to show Poles in the worst possible light.

Marzynski manages to interview the town loudmouth who spouts off some rather

silly statements about Jews-just what the filmmaker wants to hear. During

several interviews, Marzynski's commentary indicates that he considers the

interviewee to be lying. One embarrassing moment occurs when the

filmmaker-with much build up-confronts a farmer who allegedly killed some

Jews only to discover that the man in question is someone else, someone dead

many years. "It seems I have accused an innocent man," Marzynski remarks.

Indeed. Perhaps the most bizarre scene in the whole film involves Marzynski's

attempt to interview a Pole he suspects of being a murderer, only to discover

that the man is completely senile and virtually unable to speak in coherent

sentences. Undaunted, Marzynski presses on with the interview, gaining only a

few cryptic sentences.

 On several occasions, the film crew interrupts Polish farmers at work in

their barns. They are dirty and poorly dressed. Their houses are old and in

bad condition. At least twice, the camera focuses in for a close-up shot of a

peasant's unbuttoned fly. By contrast, the interviews with Jewish Americans

take place in clean, comfortable suburban homes. The message is clear: Poles

are dirty, stupid liars.

 But, then, "Shtetl" is not really about history at all. It is about the

filmmaker's own personal feelings: about himself, Poles, Poland, and Jews. In

this respect, the film is best understood as a snapshot of the state

Polish-Jewish relations.

For the Polish Americans who were still watching after the first part of

the film, "Shtetl" offered some rather surprising moments. Although the

filmmaker does his best to offer up a smorgasbord of Polish anti-Semitism,

quite unexpectedly, and for the first time ever in the American mass media,

Polish Americans got to see how anti-Polish many Jews are. During one

interview in the U.S., the interviewee calls a neighbor, also a former

resident of Bransk who left as small child. Via the speaker phone, the woman

spins a bizarre tale about how every Sunday after Mass the Poles would tie

Jews to the tails of their horses and drag them past the church.

 Marzynski tries to convince the viewer that Romaniuk's attempt to study

the Jews of Bransk is meeting with massive opposition. Indeed, Romaniuk has

met with resistance as shown by the anti-Semitic slogans scratched outside

his apartment door. Nevertheless, Romaniuk was also elected vice-mayor of

Bransk and has the support of the local priest and the town council. The film

fails to explain these discrepancies.

 Romaniuk's encounters with the Jewish Americans are quite interesting.

They are stunned to discover a gentile-a Pole even!-who is learning to read

Hebrew. They simply do not know what to make of him. He does not fit into

their categories. Marzynski makes an attempt to tell the viewer that Romaniuk

has been more fully accepted by Jewish Americans than by Poles. Romaniuk is

sat down at party with several Jewish Americans with ties to Bransk.

Marzynski then has the nerve to tell the viewer that these people have been

more hospitable to this Pole (when perhaps they should turn him away) than

the Poles were to his f