5. live a self-determined life
imbued with the rich,
humanistic vision and spiritual
ideas of Judaism. After
Warsaw and Auschwitz, this
determination and definition
shows that hope itself still
lives.

10. they

14. England, that Jews had
kidnapped a Christian child,
tied him to a cross, stabbed
his head to simulate Jesus'
crown of thorns, killed him,
drained his body completely of
blood, and mixed the blood
into matzos (unleavened
bread) at time of Passover."

16. struggle. It is precisely
because Jews knew that they
could not militarily defeat the
Germans, that this event must
be understood as brought
about not by desperation but
by a decision for self-
definition, autonomy, and for
Jewish political selfhood.

18. Poland for years to come ﾉ
Should be read not only by
specialists in early-modern
religious history, but by
anyone interested in the
history of antisemitism,
Jewish- Catholic relations, or
Polish history more generally.'

20. no direct tie to the neopagan
Nazi racism that reached
fulfillment in the Shoah. But he
adds his verdict that it acted
as a tragic precursor, a
conditio sine qua non.

22. redemption." Echoes of the
traditional view, according to
which Jewish suffering is
punishment for their rejection
of Jesus' appearance as
savior, can be heard clearly in
this statement.

24. and of the Polish nation, and
the help provided by the
Catholic clergy to the Jews
duringtheperiodofGermanoccu
pation.
Thesebecamecentralmotifsinth
eeducationprovidedby the
Bishops to their
congregations, and they had
great historical importance in
terms of the next gen-

25. surelyforsooktheextremepositi
onstheyhadheldpriortothewar.
Buttheanti-Jewishviewsofthe
Polish Catholic clergy proved
to be deep-rooted and
vigorous, and they found
renewed sustenance in the
new political reality of the late
1940s.

27. while maintaining their moral
integrity. Today, Jewish
survival is a supreme moral
act of political self- definition.
Jews refuse to define them
selves as victims, but rather
as Jews who wish to live a
self-determined life imbued
with the rich, humanistic vision
and spiritual ideas of Judaism.
After Warsaw and Auschwitz,

29. defense in the ghetto will have
been a reality. Jewish armed
resistance and revenge are
facts. I have been a witness to
the magnificent, heroic
fighting of Jewish men in
battle.”