Zbrodnia w wieloetnicznym Lwowie. Żydzi w kryminałach Marka Krajewskiego

Recently there has been a boom in Polish popular novels. One of the most widely read genres are crime stories whose plot is set in the interwar Poland, in which the authors must take into consideration the demographics of that time. One of the most popular authors and pioneer of this type of crime stories is Marek Krajewski. In this article, I analyze his cycle of novels about detective inspector Popielski (Głowa Minotaura, Erynie, Liczby Charona) the plots of which are set in pre-war Lvow. I study how Krajewski presents the diversity of the Jewish minority and the types of clichés or stereotypes he uses. I especially focus on the myth of ritual murder and try to consider if this representation is legitimized, taking into consideration that the highly readable popular novel is an important tool to shape or modify ethnic myths and imageries.