Max Czornyj is a lawyer and popular writer, author of thrillers and novels inspired by real events. In a book published in October, he dealt with Josef Mengele, a pseudo-scientist who experimented on people in the camp in the name of Nazi ideas. Importantly, in the series, in which “Kat z Płaszów” was published earlier, Czornyj describes reality from the criminal’s perspective. In one of the interviews, he mentions “trying to penetrate the mind of a psychopath” and that he tries “to stay in character” when working on such a book.
Employees of the Auschwitz Museum: Max Czornyj’s book contains outrageous lies
In the statement of the Auschwitz Museum, published in social media, we read, among other things: “The book written by Max Czornyj contains many errors both in the basic facts and dates, as well as in the description of the camp reality.” Employees of the museum commemorating the victims of the Nazis who were killed or stayed in the camp, point out, among others, the the writer’s incorrect indication of the location of Auschwitz (Czornyi wrote that the camp was within the borders of the General Government), the wrong date of defense of Josef Mengele’s doctoral thesis, or the indication of Rudolf Hoss as the commandant of Auschwitz in 1945. They emphasize:
The book in no way presents the actual activity of Josef Mengele in the German Auschwitz camp, but its caricatured reflection. Some of the gruesome crimes described by the author did not take place at all.
They also write about the “scandalous lies” that the “Angel of Death of Auschwitz” is supposed to contain: “… such as the scandalous claim that, on the order of an SS doctor, the selection of new arrivals on the ramp could be carried out by Jews appointed for this purpose (p. 215), and the selections death of the sick prisoners of the camp was in fact carried out not by SS functionaries, but by block leaders (pp. 191-193).” In the post at the end you can also find recommended reading on this topic.
Although the publisher notes in the description that “the events in this book are based on facts”, but immediately adds that “the truth can be more terrifying than the fanciest fiction”. The word “true story” also appears further down the description: “Intentional virus infection, stitching of the trunks of several people, operations without anesthesia and fetal abduction. It’s not spooky science fiction, it’s a true story. Only a small part of it. This book covers much more. You will be horrified at what man is capable of.”
Everything “… from Auschwitz” sells well
Czornyi, “Angel of Death from Auschwitz”, is part of the popular in recent years, arousing controversy, trend of the so-called. camp literature, which she even joined last year too. These are books “based on facts”, “inspired by real events”, “fictionalized stories” (rarely biographies or reports), often stylized as memoirs. They are connected by the theme of concentration camps, forced labor camps and labor camps from the times of World War II, primarily related to Auschwitz. There used to be “Medallions” by Zofia Nałkowska or “Another World” by Herling-Grudzińsi, since 2018 we have a new deal. At that time, the novel “The Tattooist of Auschwitz” by the New Zealand writer and screenwriter Heather Morris was published in Poland. According to the BookScan Polska panel, covering only 40 percent. the market of paper editions, position in our country over 44 thousand. copies, and the publisher earned over PLN 1.2 million. So there appeared, for example, “The violinist from Auschwitz”, “The midwife from Auschwitz”, “The chess player from Auschwitz”, “The sadist from Auschwitz”, “The girls from Auschwitz”, “The boxer from Auschwitz”, “The dressmakers from Auschwitz”, “The survivor from Auschwitz”, “Angel of Life from Auschwitz”, “Lullaby from Auchwitz”, “Secret from Auschwitz”… Literary and factual level? This is very different. Interest apparently does not decrease, because the premieres still have more similar items.
Nowadays, very often on the cover you can also find a common denominator: belts associated with prison uniformsthat people detained and killed in the camp had to wear. Chornyi, however, went a step further when promoting his “camp” books – on the cover of his new book we will find belts, barbed wire, blood and a photo of Mengele, but when promoting “The Executioner”, the writer himself decided to pose in front of the camera. He assumed poses that were supposed to refer to the photos of the “hero”.
A stud about Czornyi: definitely crosses the borders. And not only good taste
Another writer, Jakub Ćwiek, reacted particularly sharply to this form of promotion. “It’s a level of beastliness that I can’t even comment on” – he wrote, publishing a photo on the occasion of the entry regarding the book about Mengele, in which the writer was to style himself Amon Göth, an Austrian war criminal, including the commandant of the Plaszow concentration camp and the liquidator of the Jewish ghettos in Kraków and Tarnów. “It genuinely gives the impression as if Max Czornyj found in this writing a way to expose his socially unacceptable tendencies. As if it were some form of venting for the extreme, terrifying darkness that torments and excites him. One thing is for sure – this man definitely pushes the limits. And not just in good taste,” writes Ćwiek, who earlier in the same post noted: “And don’t get me wrong – I’ve read a lot of books full of cruelty, presented in a painfully vivid way. I’ve seen bloody bloody movies, I’ve played games. It’s hard to call me an oversensitive person. But there is something extremely disgusting and disturbing about Maks Czornyi. For example, that with the stubbornness of a maniac he writes so many of his books from the perspective of cruel bloody criminals. That by fantasizing about the horrors they indulged in, he conveys them with such fanlike sophistication. Some say it’s a convention. But let’s be aware that what we write about and, above all, how, what we focus on in our prose, says a lot about us.
In this and another post published in March, Ćwiek also talks about the way Czornyj talks about his books: “Christmas with ‘Kat z Płaszów’ promises to be appetizing, because it’s a very ‘meaty’ book. And he asks readers how they liked it’ adventure'”. In the comment below the post, Czornyi reacted, referring primarily to the issue of the original photo, which was supposed to be related to the film “Schindler’s List”. “There is another famous Nazi – Ralph Fiennes, not Amon Göth. However, following the logic of the post, the creator fantasy must feed on fantastic confabulation … To know my attitude to the subject, it would be enough to read the afterword,” Czornyi wrote. In an interview with Onet, Dr. Wanda Witek-Malicka from the Research Center of the Auschwitz Museum. she already called the photo scandalous at the time. “… proves not only a lack of understanding of history, but also a lack of intuition, empathy and respect for the victims. I am deeply disturbed by the thought that the author – who does not see anything inappropriate in this form of promotion – shapes the sensitivity and awareness of his readers in this way” – .
We shine the spotlight on the criminals, but do we forget about the victims?
The publisher issued a statement on the matter. He writes that the books of this author published by them “show directly the nightmare of totalitarianism, they are always against evil, and the author takes the side of the victims. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with the works of this author published by our publishing house. will have a similar assessment of Mr. Maks Czornyj’s work as we do.
The publishing house is therefore trying to respond to the allegations that writing in the first person and the present tense about shocking events (and, as it turns out, what was created in Czornyi’s imagination) does not affect respect for the victims. Such criticism appears more and more often both at the authors of camp literature, as well as, for example, those dealing with the subject of true crime. In an interview with Gazeta.pl, Wojciech Chmielarz, author of detective stories and thrillers, author of the podcast “Zbrodnia na Monday”, wondered about it. He said that more and more often such considerations appear both in himself and his colleagues in the industry.
By devoting so much space and interest to criminals, are we not diminishing their victims? Or not we desensitize ourselves to suffering, focusing on the macabre? Each reader must answer this question for himself.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
