On the occasion of the genocide of Poland by Ukrainian nationalists in Volhynia, a narrative chaos is once again visible in society. The left is interested in this as far as it can remind voters of Aleksander Kwasniewski laying flowers with Leonid Kuchma in 2003, the liberals suddenly woke up that history matters, and PiS with its activity does not break the glass ceiling of Ukrainian abstinence on this issue . Added to this is the Confederation, which is openly providing misinformation by elevating Anton Drobowycz (the head of a dozen individuals in Ukraine) to the rank of almost a minister and searching for irrelevant Ukrainian statements to present them as a “Ukrainian attitude”.
We can, of course – and this is a national tradition, so perhaps we should even do it – fruitlessly complain about another people (here: Ukrainians) and sigh loudly that we are just and moral, and most importantly – eternally wronged.
In the meantime, let me formulate two hypothetical reasons why historical policy is too slow, but let them be internal reasons, depending on us, and not just pointing to external forces (Germans, Russians and others).
Lack of coordination
First, Polish historical policy is not coordinated. Andrzej Zybertowicz’s old slogan about MaBeNie (“narrative security machine”) remained the title of a dusty cardboard folder on the shelf in the “unrealizable projects” section. And so the excavations in Volhynia are carried out by the Institute of National Remembrance, by one university institution, one foundation and one ministry. Each of these circles has a different status in Ukraine, conducts its activities differently and communicates differently with society.
The same goes for many other historical subjects. Suffice it to say that the IPN itself has given conflicting signals about the Cursed Soldiers over the years, as one of the historians (Paweł Rokicki) wrote that “Łupaszko” had committed a war crime, and then another author (Kazimierz Krajewski) showed ) that he did. not commit. I will not mention the Polish Academy of Sciences, which conducts such research that even suggests that Jews were afraid to escape from concentration camps because Poles lurked behind the barbed wire. For example, in one area we have a lack of coordination and in another area even combative narratives within different institutions and sometimes even within one institution. Does anyone here predict spectacular successes?
Old methods
The second reason for the slow pace of historical politics is the archaic nature of the forms of communication and celebrity.
It is worth mentioning this two days before the commemoration of the Volhynia massacre, because soon a thousand officials will cut a thousand ribbons and lay a thousand wreaths from a thousand florists who will formulate a thousand speeches for thousands of Poles. And nothing comes of that. Recently, I had a quarrel with representatives of the Presidential Palace and the Government of the Republic of Poland about historical open-air exhibitions, considering them ineffective and serving only the complacency of the creators. In response, officials expressed complacency that if the exhibit was placed in a crowded place, many people would see it. No hard dataand looking at the placards describing the crime in Ponary, for example, on our way to get frozen pizza from the grocer, is probably not our aim.
Limiting this problem to a specific political environment would be a mistake – all institutions, including those in the hands of “Solidarity” (Gdańsk) and those denigrating German crime in the Warsaw Ghetto, benefit from open-air exhibitions, talks and order wreaths (preferably white and red). The satisfaction is endless.
Research
We have to tell ourselves that we are behind when it comes to pushing the message. Maybe about 70 years? In 1947, American pollsters Herbert Hyman and Paul Sheatsley showed that top-down information campaigns do not work. One of the problems here is people’s unwillingness to take the information that they don’t know something (or that they are wrong) and gain additional knowledge from this (means of making an effort). Emotions, authorities (especially, unfortunately, celebrities) and the subject’s presence in popular culture (especially serials) are more effective here. A radio show by singer Kate Smith during World War II sold tens of millions of dollars worth of military bonds (I wonder how much money outdoor exhibits would fetch today).
Social weakness
It is not necessary to take the easy way out and point to a specific milieu that is responsible for the superficiality of our historical policies. Directors cannot make historical film (Pilecki is still waiting), journalists cannot convey historical content (it is easier to scandalize, shock), school academies do not captivate, monuments do not bring people to their knees. With the last let’s thank God that the “Miracle on the Vistula” pin was not made, i.e. the monument they invented instead of the Triumphal Arch. Once every five years, the Institute of National Remembrance releases a multimedia hit (animation “Unconquered”, computer game “Game of Codes”) and the Pilecki Institute releases an interesting internet spot or poster campaign. However, this is not enough for a country of 40 million inhabitants that should be the cornerstone of Central and Eastern Europe.
If all these instruments of the state (IPN, IP, PAN, PFN, TVP) and society (NGOs, bloggers, artists) were ever to play together in one historic broadcasting orchestra, what a power it would be! What does it take for something like this to finally happen?
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Source: wPolityce