It was a pleasure sitting down for this conversation amongst fellow recovering academics. Here's to shaking off more of the academic asbestos as we continue onwards and upwards with more novels
Regarding all this from the Polish perspective, I agree with Samuel that very little gets written not only outside the camps as a setting but in Poland in general. (Or should I say Auschwitz: there is less to be found out there set in Treblinka, Chelmno, Majdanek, Sobibor and Belzec) I'm curious about Samuel's novel: it is true that too few stories are set in Lodz. It is a disservice to the city: whether it is the era of Jewish industrialists, the war, the Communist years when it was "Polish Hollywood" or even today, when it's a very lively city, Lodz has enormous storytelling potential. But because it was the postwar film studio setting of many of Poland's best films, it is the exact opposite situation with cinema.
It has, in general, been very difficult to elicit much, if any, interest in and/or sympathy for the Polish wartime experience. It is perceived exactly as Samuel said: as a conspiracy to steal the attention from Jewish suffering and nothing else. Americans, many (though not all) Jews and the EU are stubbornly convinced of this no matter how much it contradicts basic facts; and what little recognition is now given has come only because Poland has stood its ground against international pressure. For a long time, this perception made it extremely difficult to have an honest conversation about Poles and WWII without being called an antisemite outright; the German extermination of Poland's 3 million Jews made it impossible to communicate the much more complicated reality they'd shared together since the West would have believed them. Now we know that Poles saved more Jews than any other nation and probably more than all other nations combined. (Unfortunately we'll never know the true number since many Good Samaritans were caught and exterminated along with their families; but Yad Vashem estimates the number could be in the hundreds of thousands) But apart from Yad Vashem, there is only minimal acknowledgement of that ambiguous yet ultimately selfless sacrifice outside of Poland. The moral fortitude of these Poles offends the West for some reason.
While not an immediate near future plan, I would like one day to write a few stories about the Polish experience so that English readers can experience that missing piece of the puzzle. If one reads the stories of Zofia Nalkowska in Medallions - one of the earliest works of Holocaust literature - there are situations my family found themselves in. It's very surreal and close to home. But such a project would be challenging in the ways Samuel brought up, especially in terms of resonating with American audiences who only expect to hear about camps, camps and more camps. Plus gas and ovens. While perspectives are changing, there are still many who would consider stories from the Polish perspective akin to historical revisionism. (Which is, of course, utter nonsense) But I'm willing to take the slings and arrows: someone has to tell the story someday. And Poles during the war went through a lot worse.
Anyway: long explanation. But it is a very deep rabbit hole. XD
If Samuel is reading this: from one writer to another, I wish you all the best with your literary aspirations. Send Paris my regards: I was happy to call it home once upon a time. I will check out your novel soon.
It was a pleasure sitting down for this conversation amongst fellow recovering academics. Here's to shaking off more of the academic asbestos as we continue onwards and upwards with more novels
Great interview! A nice deep dive.
Regarding all this from the Polish perspective, I agree with Samuel that very little gets written not only outside the camps as a setting but in Poland in general. (Or should I say Auschwitz: there is less to be found out there set in Treblinka, Chelmno, Majdanek, Sobibor and Belzec) I'm curious about Samuel's novel: it is true that too few stories are set in Lodz. It is a disservice to the city: whether it is the era of Jewish industrialists, the war, the Communist years when it was "Polish Hollywood" or even today, when it's a very lively city, Lodz has enormous storytelling potential. But because it was the postwar film studio setting of many of Poland's best films, it is the exact opposite situation with cinema.
It has, in general, been very difficult to elicit much, if any, interest in and/or sympathy for the Polish wartime experience. It is perceived exactly as Samuel said: as a conspiracy to steal the attention from Jewish suffering and nothing else. Americans, many (though not all) Jews and the EU are stubbornly convinced of this no matter how much it contradicts basic facts; and what little recognition is now given has come only because Poland has stood its ground against international pressure. For a long time, this perception made it extremely difficult to have an honest conversation about Poles and WWII without being called an antisemite outright; the German extermination of Poland's 3 million Jews made it impossible to communicate the much more complicated reality they'd shared together since the West would have believed them. Now we know that Poles saved more Jews than any other nation and probably more than all other nations combined. (Unfortunately we'll never know the true number since many Good Samaritans were caught and exterminated along with their families; but Yad Vashem estimates the number could be in the hundreds of thousands) But apart from Yad Vashem, there is only minimal acknowledgement of that ambiguous yet ultimately selfless sacrifice outside of Poland. The moral fortitude of these Poles offends the West for some reason.
While not an immediate near future plan, I would like one day to write a few stories about the Polish experience so that English readers can experience that missing piece of the puzzle. If one reads the stories of Zofia Nalkowska in Medallions - one of the earliest works of Holocaust literature - there are situations my family found themselves in. It's very surreal and close to home. But such a project would be challenging in the ways Samuel brought up, especially in terms of resonating with American audiences who only expect to hear about camps, camps and more camps. Plus gas and ovens. While perspectives are changing, there are still many who would consider stories from the Polish perspective akin to historical revisionism. (Which is, of course, utter nonsense) But I'm willing to take the slings and arrows: someone has to tell the story someday. And Poles during the war went through a lot worse.
Anyway: long explanation. But it is a very deep rabbit hole. XD
If Samuel is reading this: from one writer to another, I wish you all the best with your literary aspirations. Send Paris my regards: I was happy to call it home once upon a time. I will check out your novel soon.