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spent an afternoon with Ewa Markowska and her family. Instead of shrinking from discussion of his experiences during the war,

Kosinski made a point of bringing the subject up. His mother supported his story in every particular, describing the terrible fears

she had felt for her son. On that point, everyone who met her in New York agreed.

How did he enlist her support? It is interesting to consider what arguments he must have made, if any were needed. The family

had always managed to survive by telling a lie, he might have said. Lies were an essential tool of state; not only Hitler and Stalin,

but all political leaders and all governments lied. It might be Camelot in America, but the Kosinskis were Europeans. Americans

could buy images like the Ke

book); Americans were i

What was a lie anyway, and what was the truth? The minute after an event took place, it meant different things in the memory of

each individual who had witnessed or experienced it. What was art but lies - enhanced "truth," nature improved upon, whether

visually or in language. Even photographs chose the angle of representation; indeed, photographs, with their implication of

objectivity, were the biggest liars of all. Wasn't that the most basic message of the twentieth century? The truth, whether in art or

in life, was whatever worked best.

Or perhaps it wasn't necessary to make excuses for himself at all. His mother knew what he had been through in actual fact. She

had lived the same history; she was the wife of Moses Lewinkopf, who had survived the Holocaust at whatever cost. She may

have recognized the i

had become an important part of his personal capital.

(James Park Sloan, Jerzy Kosinski: A Biography, Dutton, United States, 1996, pp. 171-172)

And here is an even more explicit confirmation of Elzbieta Kosinski supporting

her son's lying - Sloan is describing a letter from Elzbieta Kosinski to her son,

Jerzy, in which she recounts her reactions upon first reading a German

translation of The Painted Bird:

But then, she added, she suffered from the i

spaced the letters - Y O U W E R E N O T W I T H U S. The double-spacing might well have had the character of emphasis,

but in the context of all that is knowable of the Kosinski family during the occupation, one must conclude that this most remarkable

statement was, instead, delivered with a symbolic wink.

As extraordinary as it might appear, the most satisfactory explanation is that Elzbieta Kosinska had agreed with her son to

maintain, even in their private correspondence, the fiction that he had been separated from them.

(James Park Sloan, Jerzy Kosinski: A Biography, Dutton, United States, 1996, p. 225)

In fact, it would not be too much to say that Kosinski's relationship with his

mother transcended her supporting his lying - it ventured into the pathological:

There is, of course, a powerfully Oedipal undertone to this constellation of affinities [...]. That this is not mere conjecture is made

clear by a conversation Kosinski had with Tadeusz Krauze, who was by then in New York as a graduate student in sociology. To

a shocked Krauze, Kosinski unburdened himself of the revelation that he would like to have sex with his own mother. Before

Krauze could respond, he added, "I would like to give her that pleasure."

Near the begi

suffers a stroke, and the relationship begins when mother and son both run nude to the telephone to take a call reporting on the

father's condition. After the call, mother and son find themselves in an embrace. They remain lovers for years, the relationship

bounded only by her refusal to undress specifically for her son or to allow him to kiss her on the mouth. As Blind Date is filled with

transparently autobiographical material, the episode dares the reader to believe that it is literally true.

(James Park Sloan, Jerzy Kosinski: A Biography, Dutton, United States, 1996, pp. 129-130)

Kosinski's sexual deviance is of insufficient relevance here to describe in detail.

Let us glance at just one more incident, this one having to do with a first date

with Joy Weiss (an incident reminiscent of Kosinski's attempt to debauch his

step-son by taking him on tours of sex clubs, as is recounted in the TV

documentary Sex, Lies, and Jerzy Kosinski):

Toward the end of the meal he suggested that the two of them go to Chateau Nineteen, an S-M parlor with which he seemed to be

quite familiar. She agreed on condition that she not be required to participate or remove her clothes. Once they were there, he

moved comfortably among the patrons, chatting as if at a country-club tea. He was particularly friendly with a man who worked in

the jewelry district, who was busy masturbating as they spoke.

(James Park Sloan, Jerzy Kosinski: A Biography, Dutton, United States, 1996, pp. 360-361)

An accumulation of incidents points to the conclusion that Jerzy Kosinski was

irresponsible, immature, impulsive, physically abusive toward women, and

generally reckless with the welfare of others. Below are six character-revealing

incidents which taken collectively might have long ago led Jews to write Jerzy

Kosinski off as unfit for leadership, might have long ago led Jews to conclude

that he was too unstable to be trusted as a Holocaust witness, might have long

ago led Jews to conclude that he should be shu

ruin upon any who associated with him:

First character-revealing incident - how Kosinski attempted to elicit a declaration of love.

Meanwhile, matters had come to a crisis in the affair with Dora Militaru. He insisted that she profess her love for him, and when

she refused, he hit her repeatedly. Dora broke off the affair. Their relationship soon resumed as a friendship - in January he

would grant her his only TV interview, for Italian TV, undertaken within two years of the Village Voice episode - but his physical

assault ended their relationship as lovers.

(James Park Sloan, Jerzy Kosinski: A Biography, Dutton, United States, 1996, p. 391)

Second character-revealing incident - how Kosinski had fun behind the wheel.

On the long straightaway crossing the Tappan Zee Bridge, he opened it up to 120, pure exhilaration for a boy who had been told

always to do things carefully, legally, and correctly. A little farther along they found themselves stuck on a two-lane road behind a

slow driver. As a man who would one day drive Formula One race cars, David was astonished at the fluidity and skill with which

Kosinski finally got around the recalcitrant ahead of him - and entertained mightily when Kosinski then slowed to a crawl and

used those skills to prevent the car from passing him. He was more than a little shocked, however, when Kosinski persisted with

the game in the face of an oncoming truck, causing the other car to run off into a ditch.

(James Park Sloan, Jerzy Kosinski: A Biography, Dutton, United States, 1996, pp. 150-151)

Third character-revealing incident - how Kosinski played a little joke on one of his students.

Kosinski looked at the young man severely. "You know, the very first time I saw you I got the feeling you were going to die