Sakowicz's Narrative Analysis

Both the work of Gross (2001) and Sakowicz’s (1941-1943) diary entries provide detailed first hand accounts of the horrors faced by Jews during the “Holocaust” , and both accounts when examined, point out a number of similarities and differences between the reasons why these killings took place and the roles the people involved played. In terms of similarities, both accounts make mention of the Jewish hatred that existed in Europe during that time, a hatred which led to deaths of masses of innocent people and thus the role of both the groups in this account was to kill . Another similarity is that in both cases, be it the actions of “Lithuanian police” or the “Poles” in “Jedwabne” , Jewish people were robbed of their valuables and left with nothing of their own so that the perpetrators could profit off what they had taken and this may also have been one of their shared motives .

From looking at both accounts we can see that both the “Lithuanian police” and the “Poles” , we responsible for not only killing but also ascertaining whom the Jews they needed to kill were . Lastly, in both accounts, it is seen that during the times leading up to the mass killings, Jews faced some forms of isolation or discrimination . For example in Lithuania, “Jewish schools” began to be closed down and they could not move around freely and in “Jedwabne” , Jews were unable to purchase goods and thus faced the risk of starvation