The Towns of Death relies on witness reports from survivors, bystanders, and the murderers themselves as found in court testimonies to describe the pogroms of Jews in Eastern Poland in 1941–1942 perpetrated by their Polish neighbors. The author demonstrates the pivotal role of the Catholic clergy and individual priests, the intellectual classes, and political circles in perpetuating anti-Semitism, often leading to the murder of thousands of Polish Jews.

"

There are very few books that influence the rewriting of history, but this book should be one of them.

The bitter ongoing controversy is what makes this book incredibly important because it conclusively proves that the murder of the Jews in Jedwabne was not an isolated incident,...

...Tryczyk's research is impeccable.

Tryczyk attempts quite successfully to explain the reasons for the pogroms, and the four stages of the process that transformed the Jewish residents from neighbors to defenseless sub-humans.

Given the controversial "history policy" of the Law and Justice party and their determination to hide the Holocaust crimes committed by ethnic Poles, ...Tryczyk's book has become even more important.

It is not an easy book to read, but it is required reading for anyone interested in the Holocaust history of Polish Jewry.

"

- Tryczyk’s goal is to enlarge the picture of antisemitism illustrated by Gross in Neighbors.

- Tryczyk’s book has been controversial in Poland and elsewhere. Gross focused primarily on the burning of Jews in Jedwabne. Tryczyk expands on this narrative.

- Tryczyk clearly indicates how much Catholic pastors supported their parishioners in their efforts to “sanitize” their communities from any Jewish presence.

- What Tryczyk tries to demonstrate in this volume is that the slaughter of Jews in the burning barn in Jedwabne should be seen not as a single, isolated incident but rather as a much more widespread attack on the Jewish community throughout the Bialystok region over a period of years.

- While the volume is not an easy read because of its chilling portrayal of atrocities, the rendition of convergent witness testimonies is crucial for any understanding of the realities in Poland during the Nazi era. A final chapter brings together the personal accounts into a more coherent whole, and this work overall is crucial to our understanding of Polish-Jewish relations during and immediately following the Second World War.

"

There are very few books that influence the rewriting of history, but this book should be one of them.

"

The bitter ongoing controversy is what makes this book incredibly important because it conclusively proves that the murder of the Jews in Jedwabne was not an isolated incident,...

"

...Tryczyk's research is impeccable.

"

Tryczyk attempts quite successfully to explain the reasons for the pogroms, and the four stages of the process that transformed the Jewish residents from neighbors to defenseless sub-humans.

"

Given the controversial "history policy" of the Law and Justice party and their determination to hide the Holocaust crimes committed by ethnic Poles, ...Tryczyk's book has become even more important.

"

It is not an easy book to read, but it is required reading for anyone interested in the Holocaust history of Polish Jewry.