We invested nine days when you look at the Pawiak, good Italian language prison inside Warsaw, and soon after 7 years (1948-53) into the a beneficial Communist prison, where We survived a ten-month-long brutal interrogation concerning the, among others, my engagement about Shine Underground
Mainly because terms was in fact essential Bellert’s recognition off Kwasniewski’s apology in addition they didn’t come in the fresh new page typed in the Gazette, i therefore upload right here a complete belongings in Bellert’s amazing page.
The author estimates, although not, a few sentences off an excellent ten-second mobile talk with me : „Since a pole I happened to be shocked when i found out about Jedwabne,“ Bellert told you. „Getting 50 years off communist rule, little or no is told you about the job“. One another sentences are correct, nevertheless when juxtaposed, they indicate that the second try why off my becoming surprised, that’s not genuine. Needs, thus, to state why I was amazed and exactly why We desired the public declaration that President Kwasniewski produced in Jedwabne.
Throughout WW II, I found myself a member of a gloss underground company ZWZ, after renamed once the Good.K.(the home Military). For this reason evidently I realized much towards attacking out of Posts up against the Nazi Italian language army in the West, East and you will into the filled Poland, and regarding involvement out-of Posts regarding hopeless endeavor away from protecting the new Jews when you are risking delivery of the entire household. I also realized in regards to the shmalcovniks, those who denounced Jews of avarice otherwise dislike.
not, no time before had We heard about such as for example a 
good despicable, cruel slaughter out of Jews in which Posts participated on approval and instigation of the Gestapo – their ideal adversary. And this is the main cause of my becoming astonished.
This will be plus the good reason why I think one Poles just who appreciation and you may care about the country, and they are happy in becoming people in so it nation, can simply condemn the fresh slaughter within the Jedwabne and you can express their sadness and you can apology to the victims and their household, in the place of reject the main points, both away from insufficient courage to face your situation or wishful believing that Poles cannot take part in it.
There’s, of course, no collective obligation, however, if there is certainly a collaborative pleasure in starting to be a pole, around must, in such a case, end up being a collaborative shame. For that reason Chairman Kwasniewski accurately shown sadness and given a keen apology inside the individual name, as well as in the name ones of his compatriots who have the in an identical way.
POLAND’S chairman, Alexander Kwasniewski, is paramount figure inside offering their nation toward Western european Connection and the Eu to your Posts. Six months towards the their 2nd four-season term, and with the Czechs‘ Vaclav Havel in the future in order to retire, they are, from the 46, including emerging once the ex-communist Main Europe’s best statesman. Experience his current speech within Jedwabne, scene of a now infamous slaughter from inside the 1941. „Initial message within the blog post-battle Polish record,“ an american diplomat phone calls it. That’s extreme-recall the more youthful Lech Walesa-however, an excellent statesman’s speech it actually was.
It had been the opportunity to put Poland into the a far greater light having America’s ever-doubtful Jews
The newest slaughter used to be attributed towards the Nazis, who had merely seized the metropolis. The actual situation, presented by the the fresh historical training, possess shaken Poland towards the key. Into July tenth, sixty years back, Jedwabne’s Jews had been round upwards, brutally outdone and, those who weren’t lifeless currently, burnt live for the a good barn-of the its Catholic neighbours. „Fratricide,“ Mr Kwasniewski phone calls it. At the ceremony off commemoration, the guy wore good yarmulka and you can was flanked by rabbis. „But the speech was also to possess our selves,“ states Mr Kwasniewski. „We Poles need certainly to research knowledge regarding the attention, any knowledge, and you may say: it absolutely was so, it simply happened.“