Jan Grabowski > Quotes

“outside the Polish national community. In other words, they should not be considered Poles. It is a very convenient line of reasoning that allows one to shed the heavy burden of tragic history. It is also a road to nowhere.”
― Jan Grabowski, On Duty

“The liquidation of the ghettos—referred to by the Germans as Aktionen—were bloody, public affairs, with the involvement of millions of Poles as spectators and, not infrequently, as active participants. Quite literally and without any poetic license, blood was running down the streets of Polish towns and villages during the Aktionen.”
― Jan Grabowski, On Duty

“Facing the courts after the war, the Polish policemen claimed that murdering Jews allowed them to shield the local peasants from German terror, and their deeds should thus be considered acts of patriotic sacrifice.”
― Jan Grabowski, On Duty

“Here, in this research, one can find villains among the people who, before the war, enjoyed enviable social respect and exercised important functions in public life. After the war, these people often returned to their important positions and enjoyed a high level of social recognition and support.”
― Jan Grabowski, On Duty