Andrzej Szczypiorski (1924–2000)

It took me longer than I anticipated to become as fully immersed in this work as in the first book of his that I read, A Mass for Arras (reviewed here). But when I did I came away enormously impressed—again—with this author, a Polish Catholic who writes about Jewish/Polish relations. A man who took part in the Warsaw Uprising in WWII, was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp, was an activist for Solidarity, and was imprisoned by the Polish Communist government, and who—it appeared after his death—may have collaborated with the secret police under Stalin. The book tells of the arrest and brief imprisonment of the title character. Each chapter examines in detail the life of one of the various people—Pole, Jew, Nazi, Catholic nun, and others—who had a role in her release. The stories are vividly told, occasionally philosophical, and always deeply moving. An exceptional work, highly recommended.… (mais)

Szczypiorski (1928-2000) was, among other things, a partisan in WWII who also took part in the Warsaw Uprising. He was arrested and imprisoned at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where he survived until 1945. I mention that background by way of explaining my reaction to this book. The story is an allegory, a parable that explains how totalitarianism can arise. Three years after the plague kills a substantial number of local citizens in 1458, the town of Arras descends into a frenzy when a valuable horse dies after its owner is supposedly cursed by his Jewish neighbor. The Jews kills himself before a trial can take place but the townspeople proceed to rob, exile, and kill not only the local Jews but anyone who expresses sympathy for them, criticizes the new orthodoxy, or, finally, shows any “aberrant” behavior. I could not read this book without immediately thinking of Germany (and Italy) in the 1930s. Szczypiorski narrates this tale through the eyes of Jan, a Christian intellectual who participates in the mass hysteria only to find himself suspected of heresy. He recoils from his mentor, Father Albert, a proto-fascist demagogue, but when his other role model, David, Bishop of Utrecht, absolves all the citizens of their sins, Jan recognizes the horrifying consequences of unquestioning acceptance of authority. Beautifully told, terrifying in its reality, highly recommended.… (mais)

In diesem Buch vereint der Autor verschiedene Personen aus dem Warschau während der Besetzung Polens durch die Deutschen, ich vermute ca. 1942. Denn das Ghetto gibt es noch und der Aufstand hatte noch nicht stattgefunden. Die titelgebende Frau Seidenman lebt unter falschem Namen im nicht-jüdischen Teil der Stadt. Da wird sie von dem jüdischen Polizeispitzel Bronek Blutman auf der Straße erkannt und der Gestapo ausgeliefert. Es entspinnt sich eine Rettungsaktion um sie, in die den groben Hintergrund der Geschichte liefert. Anhand dieser Geschichte werden verschiedene Charaktere, Polen, Deutsche, polnische Juden vorgestellt und ihre Hintergründe und Umstände skizziert. Der Kunstgriff, bei nahezu allen Figuren auch in die Zukunft zu schauen, zeigt die Beliebigkeit mancher Taten und ihrer Folgen, aber auch, dass die Geretteten tatsächlich weiterleben- neben Frau Seidenman kommt auch noch das aus dem Ghetto gerettete Kind Joasia in der Zukunft vor.
Ein lesenswertes Buch, das die Verläufe des 20. Jahrhunderts an einem begrenzten Figurentableau exemplarisch aufzeigt!… (mais)