Anna Bikont's new book is The Crime and the Silence: Confronting the Massacre of Jews in Wartime Jedwabne.From her Q & A with Deborah Kalb:
Q: Why did you decide to write a book about the Jedwabne massacre, and how long did it take to research the book?--Marshal Zeringue
A: I decided to write the book in 2000, after Jan T. Gross’ Neighbors was published, which was the first book about Jedwabne. The research took three years. Three years sensu stricto, 365 days multiplied by three. I was so obsessed that I was not doing anything else. And one additional year to write the book.
Q: Has public reaction in Poland about the subject of Jedwabne, and the subject of antisemitism, changed since you started working on this book?
A: Oh yes, definitely. Jedwabne has opened a huge national discussion in Poland. In my book, I wrote about taboos like the hateful antisemitism of the Catholic Church before and during the war or Poles enriching themselves at the expense of murdered Jews. These are still not favorite topics for Poles to speak out about, yet...[read on]