Yitzhak Shamir's statement had disgraced him - anti semitism in Europe cannot be denied - what also cannot be denied is that Poland was the only European country to give Jewish citizens rights, and had the only government which publicly stood up for its Jewish population when other countries scoffed. I resented statements that seem to project the idea that Poland was somehow to blame for the Holocaust - the German Army was to blame. I think although the author provided some excellent information and history not readily available elsewhere, he also forgot that Hitler's policy was to also exterminate Poles - and that in many concentration camps the first victims were Poles. There wasn't enough comparative info in the book, for example about America's role in denying the Holocaust during the war - even though Polish people cried out about what was going on.

I've recommended this book to everyone I've encountered who is going to Poland, or even a little bit interested in the history of Jews in Poland. There are a number of other excellent and interesting books I recommend, too, but I always say that if people have time for only one book before their trip to Poland, that book must be "Bondage to the Dead." In this concise, highly accessible volume, you can get a strong grasp of the entire historical and social landscape that shaped Polish-Jewish relations. Without this foundation, I think it would be hard for the otherwise uninitiated to understand some of the complex issues that continue to simmer today in Poland regarding the memory and legacy of Jews. Steinlauf also manages to offer an objective view that people from all perspectives (Jewish and Polish alike) can embrace and identify with. This is a difficult feat in an area where intense emotion too often colors historical interpretation. His analysis of the psychology of Polish non-Jews during and following the Holocaust is provocative and rich and will deepen many people's view of their relationship to Jews. His telling about the plight of Jews under Communism in Poland is insightful, offering a story that many Jews, assuming that the history of Jews in Poland pretty much ended in 1945, tend to neglect. A number of scholars (I am not one) have told me that they found this book extremely useful in articulating some of the important issues they struggle with in their circles. I can't say enough good things about "Bondage to the Dead."

This book should be required reading for anyone with an interest in Poland, the Jewish experience in Poland, and Polish-Jewish relations. It is beautifully and sensitively written, and exceptionally lucid. Highly recommended.