Fear

Introduction ix Chapter 1: POLAND ABANDONED 3 Chapter 2: THE UNWELCOMING OF JEWISH SURVIVORS 31 Chapter 3: THE KIELCE POGROM: EVENTS 81 Chapter 4: THE KIELCE POGROM: REACTIONS 118 Chapter 5: BLINDED BY SOCIAL DISTANCE 167 Chapter 6: ZYDOKOMUNA 192 CONCLUSIONS 245 Acknowledgments 263 Bibliography 265 Notes 275 Index 295

Jan T. Gross was a 2001 National Book Award nominee for his widely acclaimed Neighbors: The Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland. He teaches history at Princeton University, where he is a Norman B. Tomlinson '16 and '48 Professor of War and Society.

Bone-chilling ... [Fear] is illuminating and searing, a moral indictment delivered with cool, lawyerly efficiency that pounds away at the conscience with the sledgehammer of a verdict... Fear takes on an entire nation, forever depriving Poland of any false claims to the smug, easy virtue of an innocent bystander to Nazi atrocities... Gross' Fear should inspire a national reflection on why there are scarcely any Jews left in Poland. It's never too late to mourn. The soul of the country depends on it. -- Thane Rosenbaum Los Angeles Times Book Review Ultimately, what's far more important than the 'why' of this story is the 'that': that a civilized nation could have descended so low, and that such behavior must be documented, remembered, discussed. This Gross does, intelligently and exhaustively. -- David Margolick New York Times Book Review This book tells a wartime horror story that should force Poles to confront an untold--and profoundly terrifying--aspect of their history. Fear relates, in compelling detail, how Poles from virtually all segments of society persecuted the poor, emaciated and traumatized Holocaust survivors... After reading Fear, the next time I hear someone say the Poles were as bad as the Germans, I will probably still challenge that charge ... but my challenge will be far less forceful. Publishers Weekly This is a brilliantly-written history that combines narrative power with analytical depth. Gross treats his readers with respect, offering every possible interpretation of the evidence before offering his own (often withering) judgment. The word 'genius' is carelessly thrown around these days, but with Fear, Gross genuinely deserves the accolade. -- David Cesarani Jewish Chronicle You read [Fear] breathlessly, all human reason telling you it can't be so--and the book culminates in so keen a shock that even a student of the Jewish tragedy during World War II cannot fail to feel it. -- Elie Wiesel Washington Post Book World Provocative ... powerful