Poland versus History

synopsis

In 2001, Polish historian Jan Tomasz Gross, who is of Jewish descent, published a book entitled Neighbors, which completely shattered the myth that had been built up over many years that the notorious pogrom in the village of Jedwabne in 1941 had been committed by Germans. The testimony of the sole survivor of this tragedy reveals the responsibility of loyal Poles during World War II, the flourishing trade in valuables in Treblinka, but also the passionate conceit of the majority of the Polish nation. Research into the past sheds new light on the pogroms in Radzilów and post-war Kielce in 1946 and shows that anti-Semitism is more deeply rooted than the conservative Polish elite are willing to admit.

“I was a young girl when Jan T. Gross’s Neighbors was published at the very beginning of the 2000s. Among my family and the Polish diaspora in France, as well as in Poland obviously, the book created a sort of conflict, on several levels. Mostly because my family and their friends are very powerfully linked to Poland, often as democratic activists. Polish democracy was the goal of their dissident youth, the fight of their militancy in Poland or in the diaspora.” — Joanna Grudzińska

biography

Actress and director Joanna Grudzińska (* 1977) was born in Warsaw and currently lives in Paris. As an actress, she has appeared in films by Emmanuel Finkiel, Bertrand Bonello, and Werner Schroeter. In her documentary work (e.g., a portrait of poet Zuzanna Ginczanka), she focuses on uncovering historical myths in comparison with facts and research, particularly in relation to her native Poland.

film details

director:	Joanna Grudzinska
producer:	Céline Nusse
photography:	Eva Sehet
editing:	Anne Renardet, Eulalie Korenfeld
music:	Julien Ribot
sound:	Jan Boguszewski
co-producer:	Vertigo Films

contact

Céline Nusse/Zadig Productions
celine.nusse@zadigproductions.com