Instead of negationism. The symbolic topography of the former Warsaw ghetto vis-à-vis Holocaust narratives
A comparative analysis of the two monuments erected on one of the streets in the area of the former Warsaw Ghetto, the Umschlagplatz monument (1988) and the Monument to the Fallen and Murdered in the East (Pomnik Poległym i Pomordowanym na Wschodzie) (1995), shows how the equation of Nazism with St...
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Stowarzyszenie Centrum Badan nad Zaglada Zydow
2017-12-01
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| Online Access: | https://zagladazydow.pl/index.php/zz/article/view/717 |
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| author | Elżbieta Janicka |
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A comparative analysis of the two monuments erected on one of the streets in the area of the former Warsaw Ghetto, the Umschlagplatz monument (1988) and the Monument to the Fallen and Murdered in the East (Pomnik Poległym i Pomordowanym na Wschodzie) (1995), shows how the equation of Nazism with Stalinism, if not with communism, has become inscribed in the symbolic topography of that place. The stake in this operation is the ‘Holocaustisation’ of the “Polish fate,” epitomised by deportations into the interior of the USSR and the massacre in Katyń. The anticommunist discourse with a still un-defused anti-Semitic potential (the myth of Judaeo-communism, the double genocide theory) constitutes the overall narrative framework. The result is the rationalisation (presentation as a well deserved punishment or self-defence) of the stances of the majority of Polish society and its behaviour toward Jews during the Holocaust. Instead of upsetting the heroic-martyrological narratives about the dominant group’s past, the increasing knowledge about the facts leads only to their mutation and strengthening. The context of this phenomenon is the politics of memory adopted by Poland and the Baltic states on the European forum. Its dynamic consists in shifting the limits of the European memory compromise, that is, in rationalisation of the Holocaust and anti-Semitism in an attempt to preserve one’s image as the hero and victim.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-43fc7befe06d405cb6c8d9b9c20b1fb5 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1895-247X 2657-3571 |
| language | deu |
| publishDate | 2017-12-01 |
| publisher | Stowarzyszenie Centrum Badan nad Zaglada Zydow |
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| series | Zagłada Żydów |
| spelling | doaj-art-43fc7befe06d405cb6c8d9b9c20b1fb52025-08-20T02:35:34ZdeuStowarzyszenie Centrum Badan nad Zaglada ZydowZagłada Żydów1895-247X2657-35712017-12-01Holocaust Studies and Materials10.32927/zzsim.717Instead of negationism. The symbolic topography of the former Warsaw ghetto vis-à-vis Holocaust narrativesElżbieta Janicka0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0945-6886Institute of Slavic Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences A comparative analysis of the two monuments erected on one of the streets in the area of the former Warsaw Ghetto, the Umschlagplatz monument (1988) and the Monument to the Fallen and Murdered in the East (Pomnik Poległym i Pomordowanym na Wschodzie) (1995), shows how the equation of Nazism with Stalinism, if not with communism, has become inscribed in the symbolic topography of that place. The stake in this operation is the ‘Holocaustisation’ of the “Polish fate,” epitomised by deportations into the interior of the USSR and the massacre in Katyń. The anticommunist discourse with a still un-defused anti-Semitic potential (the myth of Judaeo-communism, the double genocide theory) constitutes the overall narrative framework. The result is the rationalisation (presentation as a well deserved punishment or self-defence) of the stances of the majority of Polish society and its behaviour toward Jews during the Holocaust. Instead of upsetting the heroic-martyrological narratives about the dominant group’s past, the increasing knowledge about the facts leads only to their mutation and strengthening. The context of this phenomenon is the politics of memory adopted by Poland and the Baltic states on the European forum. Its dynamic consists in shifting the limits of the European memory compromise, that is, in rationalisation of the Holocaust and anti-Semitism in an attempt to preserve one’s image as the hero and victim. https://zagladazydow.pl/index.php/zz/article/view/717symbolic topographypolitics of memorydouble genocide theoryHolocaustisationanti-Semitic discoursemyth of Judaeo-communism |
| spellingShingle | Elżbieta Janicka Instead of negationism. The symbolic topography of the former Warsaw ghetto vis-à-vis Holocaust narratives Zagłada Żydów symbolic topography politics of memory double genocide theory Holocaustisation anti-Semitic discourse myth of Judaeo-communism |
| title | Instead of negationism. The symbolic topography of the former Warsaw ghetto vis-à-vis Holocaust narratives |
| title_full | Instead of negationism. The symbolic topography of the former Warsaw ghetto vis-à-vis Holocaust narratives |
| title_fullStr | Instead of negationism. The symbolic topography of the former Warsaw ghetto vis-à-vis Holocaust narratives |
| title_full_unstemmed | Instead of negationism. The symbolic topography of the former Warsaw ghetto vis-à-vis Holocaust narratives |
| title_short | Instead of negationism. The symbolic topography of the former Warsaw ghetto vis-à-vis Holocaust narratives |
| title_sort | instead of negationism the symbolic topography of the former warsaw ghetto vis a vis holocaust narratives |
| topic | symbolic topography politics of memory double genocide theory Holocaustisation anti-Semitic discourse myth of Judaeo-communism |
| url | https://zagladazydow.pl/index.php/zz/article/view/717 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT elzbietajanicka insteadofnegationismthesymbolictopographyoftheformerwarsawghettovisavisholocaustnarratives |