tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post4941414167750669855..comments2024-03-26T07:58:59.761+00:00Comments on I'll think of something later: A Warsaw childhoodDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-23834126607001166092012-09-30T07:31:37.179+01:002012-09-30T07:31:37.179+01:00So much of Poland's history is anguished. With...So much of Poland's history is anguished. With Germany on one side and Russia on the other there was usually no policy which would steer the country between Scylla and Carybdis. The uprising in 1945 - betrayed by Stalin, and undertaken by the Poles without reference to Churchill and Roosevelt - pulls at the heart as much as the terrible nature of the ghetto. One is reminded of Churchill's remark - " There is no virtue that the Poles do not possess, there is no mistake they have not made" - though there was of course no policy that could have set aside Hitler's Jewish policies.David Damantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-90039750434399991692012-09-27T15:01:03.500+01:002012-09-27T15:01:03.500+01:00I agree with Susan Scheid about the extraordinary ...I agree with Susan Scheid about the extraordinary ways in which gifted people make art out of terrible experiences. You have certainly brought both books to life here.Johnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-199373498802529362012-09-26T13:13:49.978+01:002012-09-26T13:13:49.978+01:00Willym - the price on the back of Jasia's book...Willym - the price on the back of Jasia's book is given in US and Canadian dollars, so it's more readily available on your side of the pond. That said, easily found on Amazon.<br /><br />Thanks to you and Laurent for your memories of Warsaw. We saw it on an unnaturally bright and warm couple of late May days, with the lilacs in bloom, and the sense we gleaned of that sparklingly recreated yet inevitably artificial old town was certainly strange.<br /><br />Sue - I heartily second your comment about talented people making art out of extreme trials. It only makes me admire our two friends the more.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506881804082382739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-47387026579052235132012-09-26T02:44:08.931+01:002012-09-26T02:44:08.931+01:00I so want to read Jasia Reichardt's book. War...I so want to read Jasia Reichardt's book. Warsaw is a city that I love and I treasure my three years spent there - with all its warts and the terrors and sorrows of its wartime history it was still a place that I called and felt was home. I recall researching an article I wrote for the newspaper I worked for at the time on the Ghetto Uprising and finding everything on the internet - an incredible find in those days - records, photos, details. The stories of the trams that went through the ghetto area - the tracks are still there - with windows painted over so people could not see what was going on there. The people hiding in the sewers of the city. The incredible conditions and the closeness to the train tracks that led out of Warsaw to the camps. It is all still so vivid in my mind. As is the reactions of some of my Polish colleagues to my story. Do you know if it is being published in North America? Willymhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03652532356102638621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-86377848272127897082012-09-26T02:30:06.667+01:002012-09-26T02:30:06.667+01:00These sound like two quite remarkable books. It is...These sound like two quite remarkable books. It is the source of continual amazement to me that talented people are able to make art of such experiences, but thank goodness that they do. I was amused by the phrase "abattoir look," which the drawing captures so well.Susan Scheidhttp://prufrocksdilemma.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1248503935075362425.post-77023132438487713422012-09-26T00:39:42.368+01:002012-09-26T00:39:42.368+01:00David you have done such a good description of bot...David you have done such a good description of both books. The one on Warsaw during the war is of interest to both Will and I since we lived and explored what is left of the old Ghetto area. We know the sad story too well. The other book we can also relate to like anyone who stays in a hospital for any length of time, have to say hospitals give me the willies. I know they do their best but still it is a very odd place to be.Laurenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03297393116796129135noreply@blogger.com