A book about Jan Karski stirred up a storm

It has made the bestseller list for many weeks since its publication by a French publishing house Gallimard. The novel has also been acclaimed by the critics — it was granted the prestigious Goncourt Prize, as well as another literary prize, Interallié Prize.

Last week, Claude Lanzmann, a director of the movie “Shoah”, accused Haenel of manipulating with history. He did so probably because of the fact that Haenel tries to prove in the first chapter of his novel that it was the director who distorted the meaning of Karski’s statement.

Another issue in the dispute is the third part of Haenel’s novel, in which he creates literary fiction trying to portray Karski’s feelings after the World War II. Lanzmann, as well as many critics, accuses the author of misuse, claiming that “Karski’s monologue in Haenel’s interpretation is an absurd and nonsensical negation of reality (…) it deforms Karski’s character and views”.

The controversial novel about Jan Karski will soon be published in Poland by Wydawnictwo Literackie.