Poland’s Historical Turn – European Memory Politics – a short introduction

Beata Halicka and Piotr Oleksy from the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poland present a short introduction on how the 20th century’s past is (re)interpreted, commemorated, and narrativized in contemporary political life in Poland. This short summary allows the Jean Monnet Network European Memory Politics (EuMePo) to share some approaches to the difficult discussions about the national contexts and memory politics in selected countries.

“After 2015, memory and history became one of the most important axes of Poland’s socio-political conflicts. In recent years, they have reached a scale such that the term ‘a war of two tribes’ is constantly used in media discourse. The governing right, concentrated around the Law and Justice party [Prawo i Sprawiedliwość], has taken determined steps aimed at shaping Poland’s culture of memory according to its own patriotic vision. Due to the scale of this phenomenon, we may speak of a historical turn in Polish public life. This phenomenon is based on three pillars, namely: …” read more: