World War II and Two Occupations: Dilemmas of Polish Memory

by Anna Wolff-Poweska (Editor), Piotr Forecki (Editor)

Overview

This anthology presents the work of several authors from different academic disciplines. Film and literature experts, sociologists, historians and theatrologists analyse the Polish memory of the Nazi and Stalinist occupations, which are key components of Polish collective identity. Before the political turn of 1989, the memory of World War II was strictly controlled by the state. The elements of memory related to the Soviet occupation were eradicated, as well as any other elements that did not fit the official narrative about the war. Unblocking the hitherto limited public discourse resulted in the process of filling the blank pages of history and the development of different and frequently conflicting communities of memory.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783631663004
Publisher:	Peter Lang GmbH, Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften
Publication date:	05/01/2016
Series:	Studies in History, Memory and Politics , #12
Pages:	282
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x (d)

About the Author

Anna Wolff-Powęska is Professor of History and Political Sciences at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Faculty Poznań). She was associated with the Institute for Western Affairs and the Adam Mickiewicz University at Poznań (Poland). She researches Polish-German relations, and political ideas in Europe.
Piotr Forecki is Assistant Professor at the Section of Political Culture at the Faculty of Political Science and Journalism, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań (Poland). His academic research concerns the Polish memory of the Holocaust, the representation of the Holocaust in films and comics, and anti-Semitism in public discourse in Poland.

Table of Contents

Contents: World War II – Politics of Memory – Victims, Polish People’s Republic – Soviet Occupation of Poland – German Occupation of Poland – Museums and Memory Policy – Polish Film – Representation of the Soviet Occupation – Polish Theatre – Collective Memory – Stalinism – Nazism – Stereotypes – Biographical experience – Schoolbooks.

Preface

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