Language:
English
Year of publication:
2013
Titel der Quelle:
History and Memory; Studies in Representation of the Past
Angaben zur Quelle:
25,2 (2013) 132-173
Keywords:
Auschwitz (Concentration camp)
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Commemoration
;
Christianity and other religions Judaism 1945-
;
History
;
Judaism Relations 1945-
;
Christianity
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Influence
Abstract:
Since the collapse of communism in Poland, the master narrative on Auschwitz has changed: previously it was presented as a site of Polish national martyrdom and of crime against humanity; now it has come to be seen as a symbol of the Nazi mass murder of Jews. The perception of the new narrative did not pass smoothly in Poland. Discusses results of group interviews conducted in 2010 with members (aged 48-77) of three Catholic communities: the Radio Maryja family from Rzeszów, associated with the nationalist Closed Church; intellectuals in Lublin, associated with the liberal Open Church; and the Club of Catholic Intelligentsia in Kraków, which adopts a middle position between these groups. Remarkably, all three groups, even members of the Rzeszów group, who expressed a measure of antisemitism during the interview, were aware that the majority of the victims of Auschwitz were Jews. All three groups tried to Polonize Auschwitz, e.g. stating that most of the Jews who perished there had been Polish citizens. There is some correlation between the political affiliation of the group and the type of memory it maintains; e.g. the Kraków group tended to omit the negative aspects in past Polish-Jewish relations, such as prewar antisemitism and participation of some Poles in the Holocaust, and depicted Poland as a tolerant nation. Nonetheless, the survey shows that in recent years the Jewish meaning of Auschwitz has gained precedence over the Polish and Catholic meaning.
URL:
Click here for fulltext (may be restricted to subscribers)
URL:
Locate this publication in Israeli libraries
Permalink