Author: Brian A. Porter
Publisher:
ISBN: 0195131460
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 318
Book Description
Pp. 37-42, 161-167, 176-182, and 227-326 deal with Jews. Argues that Polish nationalism did not inevitably lead to antisemitism. Romantic nationalism ca. 1830-63 was inclusive, displaying openness toward Jews. After the uprising of 1863, when antisemitism was temporarily silenced, positivism was influential among the Polish intelligentsia. This movement has been considered philosemitic, tending toward liberalism and allowing for Jews to be assimilated, i.e. "civilized" by the development of history. In the 1880s Jan Jelenski was the first Pole to refer to himself as an antisemite, but he was isolated among the intelligentsia. His ideas then became influential as antisemitism increased in all spheres and forms. The National Democrats lost hope in history, seeing the world as an arena of the struggle for survival. They considered the Jews unassimilable and dangerous parasites who had to be conquered or exterminated.
When Nationalism Began to Hate
Author: Brian A. Porter
Publisher:
ISBN: 0195131460
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 318
Book Description
Pp. 37-42, 161-167, 176-182, and 227-326 deal with Jews. Argues that Polish nationalism did not inevitably lead to antisemitism. Romantic nationalism ca. 1830-63 was inclusive, displaying openness toward Jews. After the uprising of 1863, when antisemitism was temporarily silenced, positivism was influential among the Polish intelligentsia. This movement has been considered philosemitic, tending toward liberalism and allowing for Jews to be assimilated, i.e. "civilized" by the development of history. In the 1880s Jan Jelenski was the first Pole to refer to himself as an antisemite, but he was isolated among the intelligentsia. His ideas then became influential as antisemitism increased in all spheres and forms. The National Democrats lost hope in history, seeing the world as an arena of the struggle for survival. They considered the Jews unassimilable and dangerous parasites who had to be conquered or exterminated.
Publisher:
ISBN: 0195131460
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 318
Book Description
Pp. 37-42, 161-167, 176-182, and 227-326 deal with Jews. Argues that Polish nationalism did not inevitably lead to antisemitism. Romantic nationalism ca. 1830-63 was inclusive, displaying openness toward Jews. After the uprising of 1863, when antisemitism was temporarily silenced, positivism was influential among the Polish intelligentsia. This movement has been considered philosemitic, tending toward liberalism and allowing for Jews to be assimilated, i.e. "civilized" by the development of history. In the 1880s Jan Jelenski was the first Pole to refer to himself as an antisemite, but he was isolated among the intelligentsia. His ideas then became influential as antisemitism increased in all spheres and forms. The National Democrats lost hope in history, seeing the world as an arena of the struggle for survival. They considered the Jews unassimilable and dangerous parasites who had to be conquered or exterminated.
Rising Out of Hatred
Author: Eli Saslow
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 052543495X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 306
Book Description
From a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, the powerful story of how a prominent white supremacist changed his heart and mind. This is a book to help us understand the American moment and to help us better understand one another. “The story of Derek Black is the human being at his gutsy, self-reflecting, revolutionary best, told by one of America’s best storytellers at his very best. Rising Out of Hatred proclaims if the successor to the white nationalist movement can forsake his ideological upbringing, can rebirth himself in antiracism, then we can too no matter the personal cost. This book is an inspiration.” —Ibram X. Kendi, National Book Award-winning author of Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America Derek Black grew up at the epicenter of white nationalism. His father founded Stormfront, the largest racist community on the Internet. His godfather, David Duke, was a KKK Grand Wizard. By the time Derek turned nineteen, he had become an elected politician with his own daily radio show—already regarded as the "the leading light" of the burgeoning white nationalist movement. "We can infiltrate," Derek once told a crowd of white nationalists. "We can take the country back." Then he went to college. At New College of Florida, he continued to broadcast his radio show in secret each morning, living a double life until a classmate uncovered his identity and sent an email to the entire school. "Derek Black ... white supremacist, radio host ... New College student???" The ensuing uproar overtook one of the most liberal colleges in the country. Some students protested Derek's presence on campus, forcing him to reconcile for the first time with the ugliness of his beliefs. Other students found the courage to reach out to him, including an Orthodox Jew who invited Derek to attend weekly Shabbat dinners. It was because of those dinners—and the wide-ranging relationships formed at that table—that Derek started to question the science, history, and prejudices behind his worldview. As white nationalism infiltrated the political mainstream, Derek decided to confront the damage he had done. Rising Out of Hatred tells the story of how white-supremacist ideas migrated from the far-right fringe to the White House through the intensely personal saga of one man who eventually disavowed everything he was taught to believe, at tremendous personal cost. With great empathy and narrative verve, Eli Saslow asks what Derek Black's story can tell us about America's increasingly divided nature.
Publisher: Anchor
ISBN: 052543495X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 306
Book Description
From a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, the powerful story of how a prominent white supremacist changed his heart and mind. This is a book to help us understand the American moment and to help us better understand one another. “The story of Derek Black is the human being at his gutsy, self-reflecting, revolutionary best, told by one of America’s best storytellers at his very best. Rising Out of Hatred proclaims if the successor to the white nationalist movement can forsake his ideological upbringing, can rebirth himself in antiracism, then we can too no matter the personal cost. This book is an inspiration.” —Ibram X. Kendi, National Book Award-winning author of Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America Derek Black grew up at the epicenter of white nationalism. His father founded Stormfront, the largest racist community on the Internet. His godfather, David Duke, was a KKK Grand Wizard. By the time Derek turned nineteen, he had become an elected politician with his own daily radio show—already regarded as the "the leading light" of the burgeoning white nationalist movement. "We can infiltrate," Derek once told a crowd of white nationalists. "We can take the country back." Then he went to college. At New College of Florida, he continued to broadcast his radio show in secret each morning, living a double life until a classmate uncovered his identity and sent an email to the entire school. "Derek Black ... white supremacist, radio host ... New College student???" The ensuing uproar overtook one of the most liberal colleges in the country. Some students protested Derek's presence on campus, forcing him to reconcile for the first time with the ugliness of his beliefs. Other students found the courage to reach out to him, including an Orthodox Jew who invited Derek to attend weekly Shabbat dinners. It was because of those dinners—and the wide-ranging relationships formed at that table—that Derek started to question the science, history, and prejudices behind his worldview. As white nationalism infiltrated the political mainstream, Derek decided to confront the damage he had done. Rising Out of Hatred tells the story of how white-supremacist ideas migrated from the far-right fringe to the White House through the intensely personal saga of one man who eventually disavowed everything he was taught to believe, at tremendous personal cost. With great empathy and narrative verve, Eli Saslow asks what Derek Black's story can tell us about America's increasingly divided nature.
Sisters in Hate
Author: Seyward Darby
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 0316487791
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320
Book Description
WITH A NEW FOREWARD Journalist Seyward Darby's "masterfully reported and incisive" (Nell Irvin Painter) exposé pulls back the curtain on modern racial and political extremism in America telling the "eye-opening and unforgettable" (Ibram X. Kendi) account of three women immersed in the white nationalist movement. After the election of Donald J. Trump, journalist Seyward Darby went looking for the women of the so-called "alt-right" -- really just white nationalism with a new label. The mainstream media depicted the alt-right as a bastion of angry white men, but was it? As women headlined resistance to the Trump administration's bigotry and sexism, most notably at the Women's Marches, Darby wanted to know why others were joining a movement espousing racism and anti-feminism. Who were these women, and what did their activism reveal about America's past, present, and future? Darby researched dozens of women across the country before settling on three -- Corinna Olsen, Ayla Stewart, and Lana Lokteff. Each was born in 1979, and became a white nationalist in the post-9/11 era. Their respective stories of radicalization upend much of what we assume about women, politics, and political extremism. Corinna, a professional embalmer who was once a body builder, found community in white nationalism before it was the alt-right, while she was grieving the death of her brother and the end of hermarriage. For Corinna, hate was more than just personal animus -- it could also bring people together. Eventually, she decided to leave the movement and served as an informant for the FBI. Ayla, a devoutly Christian mother of six, underwent a personal transformation from self-professed feminist to far-right online personality. Her identification with the burgeoning "tradwife" movement reveals how white nationalism traffics in society's preferred, retrograde ways of seeing women. Lana, who runs a right-wing media company with her husband, enjoys greater fame and notoriety than many of her sisters in hate. Her work disseminating and monetizing far-right dogma is a testament to the power of disinformation. With acute psychological insight and eye-opening reporting, Darby steps inside the contemporary hate movement and draws connections to precursors like the Ku Klux Klan. Far more than mere helpmeets, women like Corinna, Ayla, and Lana have been sustaining features of white nationalism. Sisters in Hate shows how the work women do to normalize and propagate racist extremism has consequences well beyond the hate movement.
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 0316487791
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320
Book Description
WITH A NEW FOREWARD Journalist Seyward Darby's "masterfully reported and incisive" (Nell Irvin Painter) exposé pulls back the curtain on modern racial and political extremism in America telling the "eye-opening and unforgettable" (Ibram X. Kendi) account of three women immersed in the white nationalist movement. After the election of Donald J. Trump, journalist Seyward Darby went looking for the women of the so-called "alt-right" -- really just white nationalism with a new label. The mainstream media depicted the alt-right as a bastion of angry white men, but was it? As women headlined resistance to the Trump administration's bigotry and sexism, most notably at the Women's Marches, Darby wanted to know why others were joining a movement espousing racism and anti-feminism. Who were these women, and what did their activism reveal about America's past, present, and future? Darby researched dozens of women across the country before settling on three -- Corinna Olsen, Ayla Stewart, and Lana Lokteff. Each was born in 1979, and became a white nationalist in the post-9/11 era. Their respective stories of radicalization upend much of what we assume about women, politics, and political extremism. Corinna, a professional embalmer who was once a body builder, found community in white nationalism before it was the alt-right, while she was grieving the death of her brother and the end of hermarriage. For Corinna, hate was more than just personal animus -- it could also bring people together. Eventually, she decided to leave the movement and served as an informant for the FBI. Ayla, a devoutly Christian mother of six, underwent a personal transformation from self-professed feminist to far-right online personality. Her identification with the burgeoning "tradwife" movement reveals how white nationalism traffics in society's preferred, retrograde ways of seeing women. Lana, who runs a right-wing media company with her husband, enjoys greater fame and notoriety than many of her sisters in hate. Her work disseminating and monetizing far-right dogma is a testament to the power of disinformation. With acute psychological insight and eye-opening reporting, Darby steps inside the contemporary hate movement and draws connections to precursors like the Ku Klux Klan. Far more than mere helpmeets, women like Corinna, Ayla, and Lana have been sustaining features of white nationalism. Sisters in Hate shows how the work women do to normalize and propagate racist extremism has consequences well beyond the hate movement.
Emotions and Everyday Nationalism in Modern European History
Author: Andreas Stynen
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429756488
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 323
Book Description
This volume examines how ideas of the nation influenced ordinary people, by focusing on their affective lives. Using a variety of sources, methods and cases, ranging from Spain during the age of Revolutions to post-World War II Poland, it demonstrates that emotions are integral to understanding the everyday pull of nationalism on ordinary people.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429756488
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 323
Book Description
This volume examines how ideas of the nation influenced ordinary people, by focusing on their affective lives. Using a variety of sources, methods and cases, ranging from Spain during the age of Revolutions to post-World War II Poland, it demonstrates that emotions are integral to understanding the everyday pull of nationalism on ordinary people.
Cosmopolitanism, Nationalism and the Jews of East Central Europe
Author: Michael L. Miller
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317696786
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 332
Book Description
Since ancient times, Jews have had a long and tangled relationship to cosmopolitanism. Torn between a longstanding commitment to other Jews and the pressure to integrate into various host societies, many Jews have sought a third, seemingly neutral option, that of becoming citizens of the world: cosmopolitans. Few regions witnessed such intense debates on these questions as the lands of East Central Europe as they entered the modern era. From Berlin to Moscow and from Vilna to Bucharest, the Jews of East Central Europe were repeatedly torn between people, nation and the world. While many Jews and individuals of Jewish descent embraced cosmopolitan ideologies and movements across the span of the nineteenth century, such appeals to transcend the nation became increasingly suspect with the rise of integral nationalism. In Germany, Poland, Russia and other lands, Jews and other supporters of cosmopolitan movements were marginalized during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Although such sentiments reached their peak during the Second World War, anti-cosmopolitan propaganda continued throughout the Cold War when it often became an integral part of anti-Jewish campaigns in the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Romania. Even after the end of the Cold War, the connection between Jews and cosmopolitanism continues to befuddle ideologues, cultural leaders and politicians in Europe, North America and Israel. The fourteen chapters amassed in this volume address these and other questions including: What lies at the roots of the longstanding connection between Jews and cosmopolitanism? How has this relationship changed over time? What can different cultural, economic and political developments teach us about the ongoing attraction and tension between Jews and cosmopolitanism? And, what can these test cases tell us about the future of Jews and cosmopolitanism in the twenty-first century? This book was originally published as a special issue of the European Review of History.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317696786
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 332
Book Description
Since ancient times, Jews have had a long and tangled relationship to cosmopolitanism. Torn between a longstanding commitment to other Jews and the pressure to integrate into various host societies, many Jews have sought a third, seemingly neutral option, that of becoming citizens of the world: cosmopolitans. Few regions witnessed such intense debates on these questions as the lands of East Central Europe as they entered the modern era. From Berlin to Moscow and from Vilna to Bucharest, the Jews of East Central Europe were repeatedly torn between people, nation and the world. While many Jews and individuals of Jewish descent embraced cosmopolitan ideologies and movements across the span of the nineteenth century, such appeals to transcend the nation became increasingly suspect with the rise of integral nationalism. In Germany, Poland, Russia and other lands, Jews and other supporters of cosmopolitan movements were marginalized during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Although such sentiments reached their peak during the Second World War, anti-cosmopolitan propaganda continued throughout the Cold War when it often became an integral part of anti-Jewish campaigns in the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Romania. Even after the end of the Cold War, the connection between Jews and cosmopolitanism continues to befuddle ideologues, cultural leaders and politicians in Europe, North America and Israel. The fourteen chapters amassed in this volume address these and other questions including: What lies at the roots of the longstanding connection between Jews and cosmopolitanism? How has this relationship changed over time? What can different cultural, economic and political developments teach us about the ongoing attraction and tension between Jews and cosmopolitanism? And, what can these test cases tell us about the future of Jews and cosmopolitanism in the twenty-first century? This book was originally published as a special issue of the European Review of History.
Poland in the Irish Nationalist Imagination, 1772–1922
Author: Róisín Healy
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319434314
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 324
Book Description
This book explores the assertions made by Irish nationalists of a parallel between Ireland under British rule and Poland under Russian, Prussian and Austrian rule in the long nineteenth century. Poland loomed large in the Irish nationalist imagination, despite the low level of direct contact between Ireland and Poland up to the twenty-first century. Irish men and women took a keen interest in Poland and many believed that its experience mirrored that of Ireland. This view rested primarily on a historical coincidence—the loss of sovereignty suffered by Poland in the final partition of 1795 and by Ireland in the Act of Union of 1801, following unsuccessful rebellions. It also drew on a common commitment to Catholicism and a shared experience of religious persecution. This study shows how this parallel proved politically significant, allowing Irish nationalists to challenge the legitimacy of British rule in Ireland by arguing that British governments were hypocritical to condemn in Poland what they themselves practised in Ireland.
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319434314
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 324
Book Description
This book explores the assertions made by Irish nationalists of a parallel between Ireland under British rule and Poland under Russian, Prussian and Austrian rule in the long nineteenth century. Poland loomed large in the Irish nationalist imagination, despite the low level of direct contact between Ireland and Poland up to the twenty-first century. Irish men and women took a keen interest in Poland and many believed that its experience mirrored that of Ireland. This view rested primarily on a historical coincidence—the loss of sovereignty suffered by Poland in the final partition of 1795 and by Ireland in the Act of Union of 1801, following unsuccessful rebellions. It also drew on a common commitment to Catholicism and a shared experience of religious persecution. This study shows how this parallel proved politically significant, allowing Irish nationalists to challenge the legitimacy of British rule in Ireland by arguing that British governments were hypocritical to condemn in Poland what they themselves practised in Ireland.
Between the Brown and the Red
Author: Mikołaj Stanisław Kunicki
Publisher: Ohio University Press
ISBN: 0821444204
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 296
Book Description
Between the Brown and the Red captures the multifaceted nature of church-state relations in communist Poland, relations that oscillated between mutual confrontation, accommodation, and dialogue. Ironically, under communism the bond between religion and nation in Poland grew stronger. This happened in spite of the fact that the government deployed nationalist themes in order to portray itself as more Polish than communist. Between the Brown and the Red also introduces one of the most fascinating figures in the history of twentieth-century Poland and the communist world. In this study of the complex relationships between nationalism, communism, authoritarianism, and religion in twentieth-century Poland, Mikołaj Kunicki shows the ways in which the country’s communist rulers tried to adapt communism to local traditions, particularly ethnocentric nationalism and Catholicism. Focusing on the political career of Bolesław Piasecki, a Polish nationalist politician who began his surprising but illuminating journey as a fascist before the Second World War and ended it as a procommunist activist, Kunicki demonstrates that Polish communists reinforced an ethnocentric self-definition of Polishness and—as Piasecki’s case demonstrates—thereby prolonged the existence of Poland’s nationalist Right.
Publisher: Ohio University Press
ISBN: 0821444204
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 296
Book Description
Between the Brown and the Red captures the multifaceted nature of church-state relations in communist Poland, relations that oscillated between mutual confrontation, accommodation, and dialogue. Ironically, under communism the bond between religion and nation in Poland grew stronger. This happened in spite of the fact that the government deployed nationalist themes in order to portray itself as more Polish than communist. Between the Brown and the Red also introduces one of the most fascinating figures in the history of twentieth-century Poland and the communist world. In this study of the complex relationships between nationalism, communism, authoritarianism, and religion in twentieth-century Poland, Mikołaj Kunicki shows the ways in which the country’s communist rulers tried to adapt communism to local traditions, particularly ethnocentric nationalism and Catholicism. Focusing on the political career of Bolesław Piasecki, a Polish nationalist politician who began his surprising but illuminating journey as a fascist before the Second World War and ended it as a procommunist activist, Kunicki demonstrates that Polish communists reinforced an ethnocentric self-definition of Polishness and—as Piasecki’s case demonstrates—thereby prolonged the existence of Poland’s nationalist Right.
Poles and Jews
Author: Jennifer Stark-Blumenthal
Publisher: Academic Studies PRess
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 578
Book Description
Nationalism’s global resurgence has upended societies. With the rise of the Polish nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, and American Jewry’s swift reaction to its law punishing people who allege Polish complicity in Holocaust crimes, both sides have revived old stereotypes. Stark-Blumenthal argues that American Jews’ disgust with Polish nationalism ought to be checked by America’s centuries-old embrace of white supremacy. Poles and Jews: A Call for Myth Reconstruction confronts both the anti-Polonism deeply embedded in the American Jewish community and Poland’s enduring relationship with antisemitism. Armed with two decades of research and in-depth interviews with scholars, community leaders, and laity in Poland and the U.S., Stark-Blumenthal dispels myths and considers new approaches to this relationship.
Publisher: Academic Studies PRess
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 578
Book Description
Nationalism’s global resurgence has upended societies. With the rise of the Polish nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party, and American Jewry’s swift reaction to its law punishing people who allege Polish complicity in Holocaust crimes, both sides have revived old stereotypes. Stark-Blumenthal argues that American Jews’ disgust with Polish nationalism ought to be checked by America’s centuries-old embrace of white supremacy. Poles and Jews: A Call for Myth Reconstruction confronts both the anti-Polonism deeply embedded in the American Jewish community and Poland’s enduring relationship with antisemitism. Armed with two decades of research and in-depth interviews with scholars, community leaders, and laity in Poland and the U.S., Stark-Blumenthal dispels myths and considers new approaches to this relationship.
Primed for Violence
Author: Paul Brykczynski
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Pres
ISBN: 029930700X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 234
Book Description
In 1922, the new Republic of Poland democratically elected its first president, Gabriel Narutowicz. Because his supporters included a Jewish political party, an opposing faction of antisemites demanded his resignation. Within hours, bloody riots erupted in Warsaw, and less than a week later the president was assassinated. In the wake of these events, the radical right asserted that only “ethnic Poles” should rule the country, while the left silently capitulated to this demand. As Paul Brykczynski tells this gripping story, he explores the complex role of antisemitism, nationalism, and violence in Polish politics between the two World Wars. Though focusing on Poland, the book sheds light on the rise of the antisemitic right in Europe and beyond, and on the impact of violence on political culture and discourse.
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Pres
ISBN: 029930700X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 234
Book Description
In 1922, the new Republic of Poland democratically elected its first president, Gabriel Narutowicz. Because his supporters included a Jewish political party, an opposing faction of antisemites demanded his resignation. Within hours, bloody riots erupted in Warsaw, and less than a week later the president was assassinated. In the wake of these events, the radical right asserted that only “ethnic Poles” should rule the country, while the left silently capitulated to this demand. As Paul Brykczynski tells this gripping story, he explores the complex role of antisemitism, nationalism, and violence in Polish politics between the two World Wars. Though focusing on Poland, the book sheds light on the rise of the antisemitic right in Europe and beyond, and on the impact of violence on political culture and discourse.
Poetry, Providence, and Patriotism
Author: Joel Burnell
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1630879991
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 312
Book Description
Polish messianism tells the story of a nation struggling to survive and regain its independence. As narrated by the poets Jan Pawe_ Woronicz and Adam Mickiewicz, its vision of patriotism and civil responsibility, first told two hundred years ago, contains promising resources today for a world facing challenged by pluralism, secularization, nationalism and religious fundamentalism. Yet this messianism has a dark side. The romantic philosophy of history that funded this messianism proved an inadequate defense against Prussian and Russian military might, and failed to inoculate Poles against the rising spirit of nationalism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism that swept Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In seeking to address the problematic and promising feature of Poland's particular messianism, Burnell draws up on the theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, arguing that his theology offers a much-needed critique of the myths and values of romantic national messianism. Where such messianism asks how Christ could serve a nation's cause and freedom, Bonhoeffer declared that by it is by following Christ in discipleship that people and nations become truly free. Recently, a new wave of Polish religio-political fundamentalism has appeared, as a response to the rapid secularization of society since the end of the Cold War. Certain members of the Polish clergy have again joined conservative politicians to promote nationalistic, populist, xenophobic, and anti-Semitic attitudes. Bonhoeffer, in contrast, argued for leaders who ennoble and empower those they serve, and modeled how patriots can honor their nation's achievements while freely confessing its failures. His legacy facilitates dialogue and reconciliation in the ongoing struggle against ethnic, religious and national bigotry. Following his lead, the messianic myth of "Poland, the Christ of the nations," can be recast as a call to follow the One who is "God-for-us" and "the-man-for-others" by standing with the suffering, by speaking for the disenfranchised, and serving alongside other nations in the cause of freedom and justice.
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1630879991
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 312
Book Description
Polish messianism tells the story of a nation struggling to survive and regain its independence. As narrated by the poets Jan Pawe_ Woronicz and Adam Mickiewicz, its vision of patriotism and civil responsibility, first told two hundred years ago, contains promising resources today for a world facing challenged by pluralism, secularization, nationalism and religious fundamentalism. Yet this messianism has a dark side. The romantic philosophy of history that funded this messianism proved an inadequate defense against Prussian and Russian military might, and failed to inoculate Poles against the rising spirit of nationalism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism that swept Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In seeking to address the problematic and promising feature of Poland's particular messianism, Burnell draws up on the theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, arguing that his theology offers a much-needed critique of the myths and values of romantic national messianism. Where such messianism asks how Christ could serve a nation's cause and freedom, Bonhoeffer declared that by it is by following Christ in discipleship that people and nations become truly free. Recently, a new wave of Polish religio-political fundamentalism has appeared, as a response to the rapid secularization of society since the end of the Cold War. Certain members of the Polish clergy have again joined conservative politicians to promote nationalistic, populist, xenophobic, and anti-Semitic attitudes. Bonhoeffer, in contrast, argued for leaders who ennoble and empower those they serve, and modeled how patriots can honor their nation's achievements while freely confessing its failures. His legacy facilitates dialogue and reconciliation in the ongoing struggle against ethnic, religious and national bigotry. Following his lead, the messianic myth of "Poland, the Christ of the nations," can be recast as a call to follow the One who is "God-for-us" and "the-man-for-others" by standing with the suffering, by speaking for the disenfranchised, and serving alongside other nations in the cause of freedom and justice.