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The Pogrom in Kielce, as Reported by Opinion-Making US Newspapers in 1946 (The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times)
Polish-Jewish Studies, No. 3 (2022), pages: 197-211
Publication date: 2023-04-05
https://doi.org/10.48261/pjs220308
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Abstract
The article discusses how the Kielce pogrom and its aftermath were portrayed in the opinion-making American press. In the initial days after the incidents, press reports from Poland uncritically accepted the account of events presented by Poland’s communist rulers. The press articles did not provide readers with many nuances to offer a fuller picture of the complicated political situation in Poland at the time. It was not until a few days later that the American press published an opinion piece by Stanisław Mikołajczyk, the leader of the opposition party, and other commentaries that tried to explain in greater detail how the communist rulers in Poland wanted to exploit the following situation to discredit their political opponents, the Catholic Church, and the remnants of the armed underground, which they called “Fascist.” When the Polish primate, Cardinal August Hlond, spoke out about the issue, interest in the consequences of the Kielce pogrom resurged in the American newspapers, with most of the articles and letters to the editor polemising with Hlond’s statements. The Kielce pogrom was increasingly used to emphasise Polish anti-Semitism, prevalent not only after 1945 but also before the Second World War. Some statements embraced the rhetoric of the ruling camp, which positioned itself as a defender of the Jewish population in Poland, accusing its political adversaries of anti-Semitism. Comments by members of Jewish organisations in the USA clearly indicated that they had attempted to exploit the tragic events in Kielce to publicise and intensify efforts to help Jews emigrate from Central and Eastern Europe to Western countries and Palestine, as well as a desire to link the perpetrators of the Kielce massacre to the UK government. In terms of statistics, The New York Times showed the greatest interest in this issue, followed by The Washington Post, which also provided extensive coverage, publishing readers’ opinions, which were primarily reactions to Primate Hlond’s words and not so much to the Kielce pogrom itself. The Los Angeles Times limited its event coverage to reporting on the incident.
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