The legacy of 1989 in Poland : Conflicts and commemoration 30 years after the end of Communism

Summary, in English

I have analyzed the coverage of the 30th anniversary of the Roundtable Agreement and June elections in Polish news-papers of all political hues. Additionally, I scrutinized several official speeches held in connection with the commemorations. The goal of my inquiry has been to examine the uses of memory of 1989 in Polish politics of 2019 and highlight the strategic choices and constraints faced by mnemonic actors in this context. Thus, the study presented may be seen as a follow-up to Bernhard’s and Kubik’s investigation conducted ten years ago. However, this analysis expands the focus of Bernhard’s and Kubik’s work by paying special attention to cultural constraints on politics of memory. Thus, the aim is both to give insight into contemporary politics of memory in Poland in relation to the recent past and contribute to the more general understanding of how culture works in politics of memory.

• Author: Barbara Törnquist-Plewa
• Department/s: Joint Faculties of Humanities and Theology; European Studies
• Publishing year: 2021-04
• Language: English
• Pages: 12-25
• Publication/Series: Baltic Worlds
• Volume: XIV
• Issue: 1-2
• Links: https://balticworlds.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/BW-1%E2%80%932-2021_enkelsidor.pdf#page=12
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: CBEES
• Topic: History; Political Science (excluding Public Administration Studies and Globalization Studies)
• Keywords: Poland; Memory; Post-communism; Commemoration 2019; 30th Anniversary; 1989; Polish Newspapers; Bernhard & Kubik
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 2000-2955