Zegota (Paperback)

~ (Author), Tecia Werbowski (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

At her Bat Mitzvah three years ago, my daughter chose as her subject "the righteous among the nations" - those non-Jews who had risked their lives during the Holocaust in order to assist Jews. A granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, at 13 she was trying to grapple with the enormity of the tragedy her grandparents had lived through. She found a glimmer of hope in the example of those who had come to the aid of the reviled and the defenceless, at peril of their own lives.

The same desire to search for goodness in the blanket face of evil emanates from Zegota, a slim and unpretentious book about the rescue of Jews in wartime Poland. Its authors, Irene Tomaszewski and Tecia Werbowski, both Montrealers, are respectively of Polish-Christian and Polish-Jewish origin. Tomaszewski was born in a Soviet concentration camp after her family had been deported from Poland in 1940; Werbowski survived through the courage and kindness of a couple of village teachers who sheltered her as a child (her brother was shot to death in hiding).

The book aspires to reconcile the historic wedge between Pole and Jew. The authors write, "our lives encapsulate.... a millennium that ended with a German and Russian attempt to destroy the Polish state and a German determination to exterminate the Jewish people".

Founded by Zofia Kossak, a Catholic and conservative nationalist whose prewar views were at the very least tinged with anti-Semitism, and Wanda Krahelska-Filipowicz, a long standing socialist activist, Zegota was a clandestine organization linked to the Polish underground and dedicated to assisting Jews in occupied Poland, where even extending a helping hand was a capital crime. Zegota's activites include finding housing for Jews who escaped the ghettos, providing them with medical services and procuring false documents for them.

The authors conducted interviews with both rescuers and those rescued, many of wom came to Canada after the war (several are now Montrealers). Their stories, simply set down, make arresting reading. More than the chilling statistics (the death rate in Poland during World War II was 20 percent: 10 percent of the Christian population and 90 percent of the Jewish),it's the small, telling details that take hold of the reader's mind.

One of Zegota's members was a grandmother who ran a fruit and vegetable kiosk. She hid money and documents beneath barrels of sauerkraut, and covered Jewish children on the lam with sacks of potatoes.

But despite its good intentions, the book suffers from a disturbing relativism. In their introduction, the authors observe that they will not discuss anti-Semitism, nor will they dwell on (presumably Jewish) "anti-Polanism." But surely what accounts for the deep feelings of hatred and alienation among many Jews toward Poles is the long history of Polish anti-Semitism and the fact that, as the authors themselves point out, for Jews today "Poland is only a graveyard." -- Montreal Gazette July 23, 1994

Mention of aid by Poles to Holocaust Jews in publications in the West, if made at all, is scanty and unadorned, giving the impression that such aid was itself scant and unimpressive. Now, finally, for the first time a book has been published in the West (Canada) dealing entirely with the activities "Zegota," the only organization in war-time Nazi-occupied Europe whose sole mission was the rescue of Jews. The help rendered by Poles it turns out was indeed impressive.

"Zegota" is the coded name of the Council of Aid to Jews, organized at the end of 1942 on the initiative of a group of Poles sympathetic to the plight of Jews and supported with funding for its operations by the Polish government in exile in London. It was comprised of a representative cross-section of Poles working together with the Jewish Fighting Organization (Z.O.B.) and served as a model of what Polish-Jewish relations could and should be.

For those readers familiar with Polish history of this period, there will be few revelations as to what aid Poles gave Jews, for others, the revelations will be impressive and beyond belief, made as they are against the stark background of the times and place. The authors, both victims of Poland's wartime trial, one a Christian, the other a Jew, give a harrowing account, however brief, of what life was like for Poles and Jews alike in Nazi-occupied Poland and what and how help was rendered. Zegota must be considered a noble page in Polish history. Albeit the shameful acts performed by a segment of Polish society against Jews- the extortionists in particular who surrendered Jews tothe Nazi authorities for sums of money- there were also acts of heroism and sacrifices that went well beyond the ordinary task of helping. It is estimated that between 40 and 60 thousand Jews survived in the war living amid Poles and that another 10-15 thousand Jews survived in partisan hands hiding out in the forests. And as cited by the authors, at least 3,000 Poles gave their lives for helping Jews, while thousands more were imprisoned, tortured and sent to concentration camps. Zbigniew Brzezinski described Zegota's work as "tantamount to Schindler's List multiplied a hundred-fold."

The book is in sharp contrast to the more widely published accounts in English on Polish-Jewish relations in wartime Poland. Its effect, intended or not, is to counter the stereo-typical image of Poles as inherently anti-Semitic, an anti-Semitism "fed at the breast of Polish mothers." Zegota tells the stroy of Polish-Jewish cooperation of the people involved in a most dangerous undertaking. It raises the question as to why did Poles aid Holocaust Jews, expecially when it was a mater of risking their own lives or the lives of loved ones.

While the authors do not make an attempt at delving into the reasons, enough can be gleaned from the accounts of both the rescuers as well as the rescued to indicate that the abiding motivating factor was empathy and the feeling of self-justice. The high ethical standard of the rescuers cut across the strata of Polish society. The rescuers were intellectuals, workers, peasants, church members, young and old, and of various political identifications, from the right to left. Known pre-war anti-Semites became avid rescuers. In other Nazi-occupied countries of Europe where Jews were safely harbored by their fellow citizens the death penalty for helping Jews was not a life threat. In Poland it was and executions were frequently carried out summarily. One of those rescued commented that "one could be shot for merely giving a glass of water to a Jew." The work of Zegota rescuers took not only courage, but also ingenuity, a sharpness of mind and a devil-may-care attitude to pull off the the saving of so many Jews. But it was done as the testimonials reported by the authors of this book testify.

The rescuers and the rescued share the pages with their stories of the hardships of their undertakings. It was one thing to hide a Jew in safe-keeping. It was another to do so in absolute secrecy and with all the cleverness to keep the hidden fed and clothed and looked after without being detected by anyone. Frequent movings from place to place necessitated a network so well-disciplined as to deter detection even from among its own members. The network was nationwide and secrecy was the heart of its functioning. Only those who were in the movement at that time can grasp and appreciate the dimension of this humane work. All others reading about it from afar can only wonder and be amazed that so much was accomplished by it, so many Jews were rescued from the maw of the Nazi extermination machine.

Recognition of Zegota even in Poland was slow in coming. When the communists seized power in the war's aftermath, the work of Zegota was banned or severely censored from publications because of it ties to the Polish government in exile. Many of its members were themselves arrested and imprisoned as members of "the oppostion." Zofia Kossak, the Catholic writer and prime mover of Zegota was forced into exile in England under the threat of imprisonment.

Wladyslaw Bartoszewski, another prominent member, spent seven years in prison while Irena Sendler who was in charge of the children's section of Zegota and crippled for life as a result of beatings by the Gestapo for her conspiratorial work, was reduced to working in obscurity. In general, the Zegota heroes were condemned by the government as collaborators and, as a result, were persecuted. Thus, news of Zegoata's heroic work was effectively silenced throughout the fifty-year rule of the PRL and was only barely mentioned in accounts in the West. Only since the downfall of the PRL have Poles begun to learn the full extent of Zegota's involvement in rescuing Jews as more and more testimonials are made by those who rescued and by those who were rescued. "The time will come," wrote Dr. Adolf Berman, the Jewish leader and chief liasion with Zegota and a survivor of the Holocaust, "for the Great Golden Book of Poles who in those terrible 'days of contempt' extended a brotherly hand to the Jews, who saved Jews from death and who became the inspiring model of humanitarianism and of the brotherhood of peoples to the Jewish Underground movement." "Zegota" is perhaps not yet this Great Golden Book. It is , however, a bright chapter that foretells what the Golden Book may be. -- Polish-American Journal Oct 1994

Product Description

This book is the story of the Holocaust in Poland witnessed by a number of Jews and Christians. The London-based Polish Government-in Exile was the first Allied government during World War II to bring to the attention of the free world Hitler's intention to annihilate the Jews of Poland. Its representative, Jan Karski, bearing eye witness accounts of Nazi perpetrated atrocities urged the leaders of the United States and Great Britain to respond to the crisis by aiding the Jews of Poland. Frustrated by the Allied governments' rejection of active intervention, the exiled Polish leaders then set in motion their own effort to save Jewish lives by organizing cooperative elements of the Polish Underground with their civilian counterparts. They formed the "Council for Aid to Jews" which was in fact the only government- sponsored social welfare agency established to rescue Jews in German-occupied Europe. This organization, given the code name "Zegota" provided hiding places and false identity documents for Jewish men, women, and children who were able to escape from Nazi control. Ultimately, thousands of lives were saved.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 166 pages
• Publisher: Price-Patterson; Revised edition (May 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1896881157
• ISBN-13: 978-1896881157
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,760,955 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tells the Truth About Polish Aid to Jews, April 26, 2000

By A Customer

This book soundly debunks the common stereotype about Poles not caring about Jews, or even secretly delighting in their deaths. Heroism is on display to a degree which few would do if their lives were at stake. Recall that Poland was one of the few German-occupied countries where the death penalty was given for the slightest aid to a Jew. A published review unfairly charges Poles with a "long history of anti-Semitism". Fact is that the anti-Semitism existed only because of the fact that, ironically, Poland had become a haven of Jews from all over Europe for many centuries. So Polish anti-Semitism must be placed in the much broader context of centuries-old Polish toleration of Jews.--a toleration rarely seen in any other European country. That is what deserves to be emphasized.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Zegota: The Only Large-Scale Underground Movement to Aid Jews in Nazi-Occupied Europe, December 16, 2007

By	Jan Peczkis "Scholar and Thinker" (Chicago IL, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Zegota was a part of the Polish Underground, and was explicitly devoted to helping Jews. Tomaszewski and Werbowski estimate that at least 3,000 Poles were murdered by the Germans for aiding Jews (p. 9).

For Jews with a strong Semitic appearance, hiding places had to be constructed, often by expert Zegota engineers (p. 53). Plastic surgeons reduced the Semitic appearances of other Jews and undid their circumcisions. For Aryan-appearing Jews, expert forgers prepared false documents (p. 59). These Jews had to be expertly coached to fit their paper identities, because a slip-up upon being questioned by the Germans meant certain death.

During his famous trip to the west to warn of the Holocaust, Jan Karski carried a message from Leon Feiner and a leading Zionist (probably Menachem Kirszenbaum). Although this message contained a condemnation of malefactors of Jews, it recognized the fact that they were marginal members of Polish society, and repudiated the modern Polonophobic notion that Poles generally rejoiced at the destruction of the Jews: "...Although the Polish people at large sympathize or try to help the Jews, many criminals blackmail, rob, denounce, or murder the Jews in hiding." (p. 96). Clearly, then, according to this account, the majority of Poles were NOT hostile or indifferent to Jews.

The authors elaborate on the malefactors: "Szmalcowniks, the derogatory term used to describe the blackmailers and denouncers, came from all ethnic groups--Volksdeutsche, Poles, Ukrainians, Lithuanians, and even Jews...Szmalcowniks fell largely into three categories--those on the Gestapo payroll, the organized criminals, and the dregs of society...the Gestapo also made use of the weak, those who gave in to threats and hoped to save themselves or members of their own families by betraying others." (pp. 75-76)

The authors recognize that Zegota and other branches of the Polish Underground had very limited capabilities for assassinating such malefactors: "Poles could not wander about carrying guns--even the Polish police carried only a pistol and had to account for every bullet used." (p. 78)

The Germans stooped to any low to uncover and murder Polish benefactors of Jews. Rescuer Aniela Waryszewska commented: "Just for giving (a Jew) a glass of water you could get shot...We also had to worry about the children. The Germans used to give them candy and ask them questions. Children had to be carefully taught." (p. 123)

The authors comment on what may be called the de-Germanization of the Nazis in recent decades: "One of the questions most frequently asked at the Holocaust Museum in Washington is `Who were the Nazis?'" (p. 70)