Zitierhinweis

Kuromiya, Hiroaki: Rezension über: Adam Daniel Rotfeld / Anatolij Vasilʹevič Torkunov (Hg.), White Spots – Black Spots. Difficult Matters in Polish-Russian Relations, 1918–2008, Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2015, in: Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas / jgo.e-reviews, jgo.e-reviews 2017, 4, S. 47-49, https://www.recensio.net/r/e38726c0b6ee4146a46d515279c286b8

First published: Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas / jgo.e-reviews, jgo.e-reviews 2017, 4

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Dieser Beitrag kann vom Nutzer zu eigenen nicht-kommerziellen Zwecken heruntergeladen und/oder ausgedruckt werden. Darüber hinaus gehende Nutzungen sind ohne weitere Genehmigung der Rechteinhaber nur im Rahmen der gesetzlichen Schrankenbestimmungen (§§ 44a-63a UrhG) zulässig. Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas. jgo.e-reviews 7 (2017), 4 47 occupation tandem (p. 225). Assessing the economic extent were ready to take the side of independent component of the occupation of , the histo- Ukraine. This is evidenced by the policy of maneu- rians say: “Thus the economic policy of the Central vering of the Entente, which also kept contact with Power in Ukraine cannot be described as ‘exploita- the Bolshevik government (HANNES LEIDINGER). tion’, although such plans did exist, above all on the At the same time Ukraine and were consid- Austro-Hungarian side, at the start of the occupa- ered by them as a cordon sanitaire between Europe tion. In sum, the term ‘utilization’ would be more and Bolshevik Russia. Poland managed to win and apporopriate here or, more exactly, ‘failed utiliza- defend its independence with the support of the tion’” (p. 278–279). VASYL RASEVYCH somewhat main political forces of the continent. Ukraine, simplistically presents the evolution of the attitude of which was seen as a source of raw materials, became the Ukrainian population to the German and Aus- part of a new political entity – the Soviet Union. tro-Hungarian troops, which initially were recog- In the final part, WOLFRAM DORNIK, GEORGIY nized as liberators from the Bolshevik band. KASIANOV, PETER LIEB try to compare thoroughly The fourth and largest, in terms of volume, sec- the German occupation administrations in 1918 and tion, Ukraine in International Relation 1918, like in a 1941–1944. kaleidoscope runs through the policy of imperial The book contains seven maps that show territo- Russia (ALEXEI MILLER), Bolshevik Russia (BOG- rial changes as a result of geopolitical games. One DAN MUSIAL), France (HANNES LEIDINGER), Great should also note the excellent printing quality of the Britain (WOLFRAM DORNIK), the United States of book making its reading, among other things, an aes- America (WOLFRAM DORNIK), Poland (BOGDAN thetic pleasure. MUSIAL) and Switzerland (WOLFRAM DORNIK, Thus, this international collection is a good exam- PETER LIEB) referring to Ukraine and its aspirations ple of how can be overcome national borders of re- to gain independence, to protect against the Bolshe- search. It presents different views on one problem, vik army, shows the change in priorities of the major goes beyond an historical norm. The reader in this diplomatic players in Ukraine, Bolshevik Russia and case only wins because he gets truthful and unbiased Poland. With his fundamental approach BOGDAN information, generated by the so-called “collective MUSIAL presents a triple occupation of Ukraine by intelligence” of historians from different parts of the the Bolsheviks, its “pacification” (p. 339) and the es- European continent. The history of Ukraine of that tablishment of communism in this part of Europe. period appears as the interplay between different In summarizing the historian notes: “The conse- causal factors, becoming part of transnational pro- quences of communist rule were catastrophic for cesses that unfolded in East Central Europe in the Ukraine and Ukrainians, in every respect” (p. 346). last year of the World War I. The researchers on a large source basis come to the Ljubov’ N. Žvanko, Char’kiv, Ukraine conclusion that Great Britain and France to some

White Spots – Black Spots. Difficult Matters in ate in 2004 a new national holiday (the Day of Na- Polish-Russian Relations, 1918–2008. Ed. by tional Unity) for 4 November in memory of the “lib- Adam Daniel Rotfeld / Anatoly V. Torkunov. eration of Moscow from Polish-Lithuanian in- Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, vaders” in 1612. Both Moscow and take his- 2015. XI, 666 S. = Pitt Series in Russian and East tory seriously and disagree passionately with each European Studies. ISBN: 978-0-8229-4440-9. other in its interpretation. In this context, it appears admirable that and Russians seek to under- Table of contents: stand each other better through dialogues. http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/exlibris/aleph/a22_1/ The present volume represents the result of a se- apache_media/SXG4NSNR813NS122N3RARSXH ries of “dialogues” between Polish and Russian his- UF3BQY.pdf torians from 2008 to 2010. The English edition is an abridged version of the Polish and Russian editions, Few historical subjects are as complicated and with two historiographical essays and all bibliograph- fraught emotionally and politically as Polish-Russian ical references removed. Unfortunately this reduces relations. In the modern era, Poland has been a vic- the scholarly value of the present volume. Specialists tim of Russian and Soviet aggression. One of Mos- are encouraged to consult the original Polish and cow’s unfortunate responses to this has been to cre- Russian editions. The Polish and Russian editions

Hrsg: Martin Schulze Wessel u. Dietmar Neutatz i. A. des Instituts für Ost- und Südosteuropaforschung Regensburg 48 Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas. jgo.e-reviews 7 (2017), 4 are supposed to be identical (except for the order of muddy the water. NIKOLAI I. BUKHARIN argues in the essays). Yet disturbingly, as will be discussed this book, following Putin, that today’s Russia “can- later, this is not the case. The present English edition not accept all the sins of the Soviet past” (p. 610). seems to be based on the Polish version. There are Yet the Russian side appropriates “Soviet” as “Rus- fifteen sections (in addition to the editors’ introduc- sian” when it suits it. For example, Moscow has long tion) with the two sides contributing different essays pointed to the Polish treatment of the Soviet POWs for each: The Beginnings, The Interwar Period, The Cause from the Polish-Soviet War of 1919–1920 as the of World War II, Poland between the Soviet Union and Ger- Polish equivalent of the Katyn’ massacres. many, 1939–1941, The , World War II, GENNADY F. MATVEYEV mysteriously inflates the 1941–1945, The Postwar Decade, 1945–1955, The Thaw, number of deaths in the Polish camps so that it ex- The Dissident Movement, The Soviets and the Polish Crisis, ceeds the number of Soviet executions of Poles in Regained Freedom and Sovereignty, Assistance or Exploita- 1940 (p. 57). This is not merely unfair, because the tion?, Russia versus Sovereign Poland, Continuity and deaths of Soviet POWs in Polish camps (like the Change and Heritage in Archives. deaths of Polish POWs in Soviet camps during the Although many essays make for a good read, the same period) were due mainly to epidemics, malnu- book does not constitute dialogues. Rather it is a trition, and other factors. They are simply not com- parallel history. The reader gets no idea of what kind parable to the Katyn’ massacres, which were execu- of discussion might have taken place in the “dia- tions by the order of the highest organs of the gov- logues”. There are several reasons for this. The “dia- ernment. This sort of deliberate manipulation of his- logues” were initiated and organized by an inter-gov- torical facts does not lead to a meaningful dialogue ernmental organization, “The Group on Difficult and only deepens distrust. Matters in the Light of Polish-Russian history”, Far more disturbingly, as the Polish historian whose true purpose may lie elsewhere. Although the ANDRZEJ NOWAK has pointed out (see group worked in search of the truth, the truth http:/www.miesiecznik.znak.com.pl/6732011andrzej- proved evasive. The editors quote the then Russian de-lazari-andrzej-nowakpolska-ros ja - trudny-dialog/ ), prime minister Vladimir Putin’s famous saying, the Russian side deliberately altered the text of one “Truth purifies [Pravda ochishchaet]” (p. 1), which, un- contributor, ANDRZEJ PRZEWOŹNIK. He wrote fortunately, sounds hollow in this book. As the two about Moscow’s limited efforts to seek the truth essays on archives make clear, Moscow still severely about Katyn’: “Yet, it was the arbitrary legal qualifi- restricts access to its archives and hence truth. More- cation of the crime adopted by the Russian military over, Moscow refuses to return “trophy archives” prosecutors – divorced from morality and justice – from World War II (including archives from Poland) that has caused the greatest pain to Poles. That deci- to their original owners, a position in contravention sion has evoked impatience and irritation in Poland, of the international agreements to which Moscow is as it is fully congruent with efforts to conceal and a signatory. Ignoring international law, VLADIMIR P. falsify the truth about the Katyn murders, and it has KOZLOV states that the issue will be resolved “in ac- been undertaken since 1990 by historians and writers cordance with Russian law” (p. 640). In fact, Mos- connected with the ruling circles of the Russian Fed- cow allows its favorite historians exclusive access to eration” (p. 245 of the present book and p. 332 of its closed archives (the archive of foreign intelli- the Polish edition). The Russian edition replaces the gence, for instance) and publishes their “research” to last two words (“Russian Federation”) with “Repub- suit its foreign policy. Ironically, such a publication lic of Poland” (p. 335 of the Russian edition), alter- appeared in Russia during Putin’s visit to Poland on ing the meaning completely! Who changed Przewoź- 1 September 2009 (that is during the work of the nik’s text? The Russian editor Torkunov? This ques- “Group on Difficult Matters in the Light of Polish- tion should be pressed to the Russian side. Przewoź- Russian history”) which purported to show that nik was killed in the plane crash in Smolensk in April Poland was responsible for World War II for al- 2010 along with the President of Poland and many legedly conspiring with Germany against the Soviet other Polish high officials. Someone on the Russian Union! side appears to have taken advantage of his death Conceptually, the volume leaves much to be de- and deliberately altered his text with impunity, cal- sired. Most importantly, the period under question lously dishonoring the dead author. Here one can concerns mostly not Russia but the Soviet Union. hardly see any room for a sincere dialogue. Unfortunately, obscuring the difference between the By contrast, NATALIA S. LEBEDEVA, a Russian Soviet Union and Russia helps the Russian side historian who has contributed a great deal to the

Hrsg: Martin Schulze Wessel u. Dietmar Neutatz i. A. des Instituts für Ost- und Südosteuropaforschung Regensburg Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas. jgo.e-reviews 7 (2017), 4 49 search for truth on Katyn’, has written a very read- command” (p. 304). The overwhelming bias of her able essay on it, forcefully condemning her compa- essay and many other Russian essays is that of the triots who still insist on the Kremlin’s innocence by Great Power to which smaller nations are inevitably claiming that the Katyn-related documents un- and rightly subject. They lament the perceived weak- earthed by her and other historians are forgeries. ness of today’s Russia in the wake of the collapse of The book as a whole clearly demonstrates that the the Soviet Union, as Bukharin has written: “although Russian side is on the defensive. It need not have the Soviet Union disappeared, russophobia outside been so, if it had indeed wished to engage in a dia- of Russia grew larger in scale, amplified by the rela- logue. The Russian participants as a whole appear so tive weakness of present-day Russia” (p. 613). concerned about their reputations and righteousness By contrast, the tone of the Polish contributions that they are more interested in finding other culprits is generally fair and sober and even restrained here than seeking the truth. Writing on the World War II and there. This makes the present volume extremely period, VALENTINA S. PARSADANOVA, for example, uneven, and the result is far from fruitful. It would rightly notes that Britain and the United States ulti- appear difficult to change this state of affairs without mately accepted Moscow’s subjugation of Poland. some kind of breakthrough. One of the most impor- She does not realize that this does not lessen Mos- tant steps would be for Moscow to de-classify all cow’s responsibility. Moreover, discussing the War- classified documents after, say, fifty years, and make saw uprising, she insists incredulously that “the main them available to everyone. Until then, suspicions responsibility for the deaths of two hundred thou- linger that Moscow continues to hide vital informa- sand people in Warsaw rests on those Polish politi- tion unfavorable to itself, making a true dialogue dif- cians who masterminded the uprising and urged ficult. Poles to fight without coordination with the Soviet Hiroaki Kuromiya, Dover, MA

ZWI HELMUT STEINITZ: Meine deutsch-jüdi- Steinitz’ aus Oberschlesien stammender Vater war sche Kindheit im polnischen Posen. Erinnerun- ein Lehrer am deutschen Gymnasium in Posen. Sei- gen eines Überlebenden und ein Wiedersehen ne beiden Söhne, Helmut und Rudolf, gehörten dort nach 70 Jahren. 1927 – 1939 – 2009. Ed. by Er- zu den wenigen jüdischen Schülern, denn die meis- hard Roy Wiehn. Konstanz: Hartung-Gorre, ten jüdischen Kinder besuchten entweder die einzige 2015. 168 S., Abb. = Edition Shoáh & Judaica – jüdische Schule am Ort oder aber polnische Schulen. Jewish Studies. ISBN: 978-3-86628-548-4. Der Vater, Freiwilliger im Ersten Weltkrieg, wurde nach dem Aufstieg der Nazis in Deutschland im Jahr Das hier besprochene Buch ist aus einer deutsch-is- 1936 zwar entlassen, bekam allerdings sogar über raelischen privaten Versöhnungsinitiative entstan- den Kriegsanfang hinaus regelmäßig seine Kriegsteil- den. Den Erinnerungen ist ein kurzer Lebenslauf nehmerpension. Er wurde von seinem Vorgesetzten von Zwi Helmut Steinitz aus der Feder von Erhard kurz nach dem Kriegsausbruch solange vor der Sol- Roy Wiehn vorgestellt. datenwillkür geschützt, wie dies möglich war. Die Zwi Helmut Steinitz (geb. 1927) hatte über sein Kinder wurden erst nach der Machtübernahme von Überleben in der Shoah schon in mehreren Publika- ihren deutschen Mitschülern ausgeschlossen und an- tionen berichtet. Im neusten Buch erinnert er sich gefeindet. Allerdings konnten jüdische Schüler wei- nostalgisch und wehmütig an sein kurzes Kinderpa- terhin ihre Ausbildung an der deutschen Schule fort- radies im Vorkriegs-Posen. Das Buch wird aus Mo- setzen; es gab sogar jüdischen Religionsunterricht saiksteinchen des Erinnerten gebaut, die sich manch- (S. 63). mal wiederholen und zu keinem einheitlichen Pan- Anders als der deutsch-nationale Vater entstamm- orama zusammenfügen – die stark eingeschränkte te Steinitz’ Mutter einer jiddisch sprechenden ortho- Perspektive des Kindes ließ keine breite Kontextua- doxen Familie, die erst nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg lisierung zu. Steinitzs Bericht ist eines der wenigen aus dem östlichen Teil Polens nach Posen zugewan- Zeugnisse eines deutschen Juden, der in der nun- dert war. Die Mutter hatte sich, mit den Worten des mehr polnischen Stadt geboren und eingeschult wur- Autors, „vom traditionellen jüdischen Lebensweg de. Während inzwischen mehrere Berichte von pol- entfernt, absolvierte das Gymnasium und machte nisch-jüdischen Posenern bekannt sind, bleibt das Abitur“ (S. 22). Sie musste Deutsch erst lernen und deutsch-jüdische Milieu in der Zwischenkriegszeit konnte sich durch harte Akkulturationsarbeit zu ei- weiterhin fast unbekannt. ner beliebten Persönlichkeit der deutschen community

Hrsg: Martin Schulze Wessel u. Dietmar Neutatz i. A. des Instituts für Ost- und Südosteuropaforschung Regensburg