Sign-In
Cart
The Crooked Mirror: A Memoir of Polish-Jewish Reconciliation
Paperback
Religious BiographiesEastern European HistoryGeneral World History
Please select the version of book you would like to purchase.
ISBN10: 0807061204
ISBN13: 9780807061206
Publisher: Beacon Pr
Published: Oct 28 2014
Pages: 238
Weight: 0.80
Height: 0.70 Width: 5.70 Depth: 8.70
Language: English
ISBN13: 9780807061206
Publisher: Beacon Pr
Published: Oct 28 2014
Pages: 238
Weight: 0.80
Height: 0.70 Width: 5.70 Depth: 8.70
Language: English
A lyrical literary memoir that explores the exhilarating, discomforting, and ultimately healing process of Polish-Jewish reconciliation taking place in Poland today I'd grown up with the phrase 'Never forget' imprinted on my psyche. Its corollary was more elusive. Was it possible to remember--at least to recall--a world that existed before the calamity?
In the winter of 2000, Louise Steinman set out to attend an international Bearing Witness Retreat at Auschwitz-Birkenau at the invitation of her Zen rabbi, who felt the Poles had gotten a bum rap. A bum rap? Her own mother could not bear to utter the word Poland, a country, Steinman was taught, that allowed and perhaps abetted the genocide that decimated Europe's Jewish population, including members of her own extended family. As Steinman learns more about her lost ancestors, though, she finds that the history of Polish-Jewish relations is far more complex. Although German-occupied Poland was the site of horrific Jewish persecution, Poland was for centuries the epicenter of European Jewish life. After the war, Polish-Jewish relations soured. For Poles under Communism, it was taboo to examine or discuss the country's Jewish past. Among Jews in the Diaspora, there was little acknowledgment of the Poles' immense suffering during its dual occupation. Steinman's research leads her to her grandparents' town of Radomsko, whose eighteen thousand Jews were deported or shot during the Nazi occupation. As she delves deeper into the town's and her family's history, Steinman discovers a prewar past where a lively community of Jews and Catholics lived shoulder to shoulder, where a Polish Catholic painted the blue ceiling of the Radomsko synagogue, and a Jewish tinsmith roofed the spires of the Catholic church. She also uncovers untold stories of Poles who rescued their Jewish neighbors in Radomsko and helps bring these heroes to the light of day. Returning time and again to Poland over the course of a decade, Steinman finds Poles who are seeking the truth about the past, however painful, and creating their own rituals to teach their towns about the history of their lost Jewish neighbors. This lyrical memoir chronicles her immersion in the exhilarating, discomforting, sometimes surreal, and ultimately healing process of Polish-Jewish reconciliation.
Also in
Religious Biographies
Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy: A Righteous Gentile vs. the Third Reich
Metaxas, Eric
Paperback
$11.99
American Pope: Leo XIV's Road from the South Side of Chicago to Vatican City
Detrow, Scott
Burke, Daniel
Hardcover
$29.69
Minute by Minute: A Pivotal Question from God, My Response, and the Remarkable Miracles That Followed
Moody, Joanne
Paperback
$16.99
The Gospel According to Hobby Lobby: Inside a Billionaire Family's Quest to Craft a Christian Nation
Blanding, Michael
Hardcover
$30.40
The Hiding Place: The Triumphant True Story of Corrie Ten Boom
Boom, Corrie Ten
Sherrill, John
Paperback
From $4.99
A Thousand Shall Fall: The Electrifying Story of a Soldier and His Family Who Dared to Practice Their Faith in Hitler's Germany
Mundy, Susi Hasel
Paperback
$16.14
Another Life: Discovering the Healing Power of Purpose on My Long Journey from Player to Preacher
Strawberry, Darryl
Hardcover
$27.50
Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of the Little Flower, St. Therese of Lisieux, with Additional Writings
St Therese of Lisieux
Hardcover
$23.46
Dreams of a White Snow Lion: The Remarkable Life, Vision, and Deeds of the Dalai Lama
Dhargye, Sherab
Bianca, Mariateresa
Hardcover
$37.95
The Women of the Bible Speak: The Wisdom of 16 Women and Their Lessons for Today
Bream, Shannon
Hardcover
$28.50
On Fire for God: Fear, Shame, Poverty, and the Making of the Christian Right - A Personal History
Hesse, Josiah
Hardcover
$27.00
He Leadeth Me: An Extraordinary Testament of Faith
Ciszek, Walter J., S. J.
Flaherty, Daniel L., S. J.
Paperback
$17.10
Water from a Deep Well: Christian Spirituality from Early Martyrs to Modern Missionaries
Sittser, Gerald L.
Paperback
$33.24
The Priest Who Stayed in Gaza: A Witness to Hope in the Ruins
Romanelli, Fr Gabriel
de Dieuleveult, Guillaume
Paperback
$18.95
America's Apostle: Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Blessed Fulton J. Sheen
Ewtn Publishing
Hardcover
$33.24
Joy Isn't Canceled: What Grief Taught Us about Pain, Peace, and Purpose
Penavega, Carlos
Penavega, Alexa
Hardcover
$28.49
Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of the Little Flower, St. Therese of Lisieux, with Additional Writings
St Therese of Lisieux
Paperback
$10.96
The Long Loneliness: The Autobiography of the Legendary Catholic Social Activist
Day, Dorothy
Paperback
$19.00
I Met God in Hell: The True Story of a Rocker's Unexpected Rescue from Eternal Death Into the Arms of God
Ehmann, Tim
Paperback
$18.99
New International Encyclopedia of Bible Characters: (Zondervan's Understand the Bible Reference Series)
Zondervan Publishing
Paperback
$29.99
Bajo El Velo Encontré a Jesús: La Impactante Historia de Una Mujer Iraní Perseguida Por Su Fe
Akhavan, Sara
Paperback
$13.29
Even If: Trusting God Through the Fire (the Official Book for I Can Only Imagine 2)
Noland, Robert
Millard, Shannon
Millard, Bart
Hardcover
$23.74
If Only We Could See: Reimagining Creativity, Compassion, and Calling Through the Extraordinary Life of Lilias Trotter
Trafton, Jennifer
Hardcover
$23.74
Dinner for Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show (While Also in an Actual Cult!)
Lenz, Bethany Joy
Paperback
$18.00
Finding Quiet: My Story of Overcoming Anxiety and the Practices That Brought Peace
Moreland, J. P.
Paperback
$18.99
The Missionary: A Memoir of Superheroes, Sin & Saving Souls for the Mormon Church
Hudson, Greg
Paperback
$18.95
Evidence Not Seen: A Woman's Miraculous Faith in the Jungles of World War II
Rose, Darlene Deibler
Paperback
From $8.99
Holy Disobedience: Sex, Sin, and Secrets in the Biggest Church No One Knows
Spiers, Melissa Duge
Paperback
$24.94
I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas: A Life Story of Faith, the Hippo, and a Song That Endures
Peevey, Gayla
Paperback
$24.99
John G. Paton, Missionary to the New Hebrides: An Autobiography (History of Vanuatu)
Paton, John G.
Paperback
$14.98
Run Baby Run (New Edition): The True Story of a New York Gangster Finding Christ
Cruz, Nicky
Paperback
$18.99
Dinner for Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show (While Also in an Actual Cult!)
Lenz, Bethany Joy
Hardcover
From $11.99
The Shot Caller: A Latino Gangbanger's Miraculous Escape from a Life of Violence to a New Life in Christ
Diaz, Casey
Paperback
$17.99
Living Water: Powerful Teachings from the International Bestselling Author of the Heavenly Man
Yun, Brother
Paperback
$16.14
Another Man's War: The True Story of One Man's Battle to Save Children in the Sudan
Childers, Sam
Paperback
$19.99