The Ethics of Witnessing: The Holocaust in Polish Writers' Diaries from Warsaw, 1939-1945

Chapter 3. Maria Dabrowska: Witnessing the Holocaust Through the Ideological Lens of Nationalism

45 Like Iwaszkiewicz, the reaction of Maria Da ˛browska (1889–1965) to the Holocaust was shaped by a deeply embedded ideological world picture . Iwaszkiewicz’s early dissociation from the prevailing national romantic ethos of Polish uncommon military valor and heroic patriotism determined his humanistic-cosmopolitan ideology of tolerance and inclusion in the Enlightenment tradition of human fellowship. While he saw the Holocaust as humanity’s descent into barbarism, his dismay and grief over Jewish suffering and his engagement in saving Jewish lives, as well as helping his Polish compatriots, reflected his belief in the viability of the humanistic creed in a time of terror. In contrast with Iwaszkiewicz ’s universal humanistic outlook, Da ˛browska’s early espousal of the nationalistic-romantic ideology of Polish special destiny enabled her to keep practically silent about the Jewish genocide. Da ˛browska sought to adapt the Western model in the reality of the Polish ethnic Christian nation-state. The perception of the humanistic values through the prism of Polish national interests engendered anti-Semitic sentiments; Da ˛browska saw Polish Jews as rivals and exploiters who hindered the intellectual and economic potential of ethnic Poles. Her biased attitude toward Jews did not disappear during the Holocaust, nor did it diminish toward the Jewish survivors in postwar Poland. Maria Da ˛browska, née Szumska, was born in 1889 in Russow, near the city of Kalisz, into a family of impoverished gentry. She maintained a lifelong emotional attachment to her birthplace; she saw the countryside as the true Poland, and continually reimagined it in her literary work, Maria Da ˛browska: Witnessing the Holocaust Through the Ideological Lens of Nationalism chapter 3 46 maria da ˛browska which was grounded in Polish rural and small town life. Da ˛browska’s parents, Polish patriots—her father fought in the 1863 insurrection— who supported the Polish boycott of Russian education, sent Maria to a Polish girls’ high school in Warsaw. There, young Maria witnessed the failed Revolution of 1905, and her teachers, all ardent Polish patriots, introduced her to the theories of socialism and Marxism. This formative experience in Warsaw influenced greatly her lifelong patriotic passion and her socialist orientation.1 Da ˛browska spent her student years abroad, in Lausanne and Brussels, where she studied natural sciences. There she met with the Polish émigré groups, which reinforced her nationalistic ideological orientation. In 1912 she married Marian Da ˛browski (1882–1925), a revolutionary socialist and fighter for Polish independence; she also met Edward Abramowski (1868– 1918), a philosopher who promulgated moral, evolutionary socialism. After Da ˛browski’s death, she began a lifelong relationship with Stach (Stanisław) Stempowski, a prominent and well-respected intellectual, who collaborated with her on her work and was instrumental in building her social image. Da ˛browska was a prolific journalist, and after her husband’s death she also embarked on a literary career starting with the novel People from Yonder in 1926. Her masterpiece, Night and Days, published in installments between 1932 and 1934, became a landmark of Polish national literature . At the same time, she embraced social activism, seeking to improve the living conditions of the working classes, especially through peasant reforms , and came to be seen as a fearless advocate for the downtrodden. Like other members of the left-wing intellectual elite, Da ˛browska despised the rabidly anti-Semitic Endecja movement. Her 1936 newspaper article “Annual Shame” was of particular importance in shaping her image as a defender of the oppressed.2 Responding to increasing anti-Semitism at Polish universities, she denounced the persecution of the Jewish students. This public pronouncement, which, as we shall see, was in fact also a camouflaged statement about Jewish superiority over the Poles, was considered an act of courage and highly admired not only by Jews but also by the left-wing intelligentsia, and gained her the reputation of a “moral authority.”3 Da ˛browska was not alone in her criticism of the anti-Semitic excesses at the universities. A collection of articles by socialist activists, journalists , politicians, and university professors, The Poles About the Jews maria da ˛browska 47 (Polacy o Żydach), was published in 1937, at the height of anti-Jewish hostilities. The articles argued that the persecution of Jewish students at the universities was a serious setback to Poland’s reputation as a civilized , enlightened country. For instance, one of the contributors, Adam Próchnik, claimed that the pogroms were despicable “not only...