Memory anew: about restoring early post-war remembrance in Lower Silesia (Poland) in tourism context

ABSTRACT

The 1989 changes in the political system in Poland resulted not only in thorough reshaping of political and economic structure of the state, but also in a range of identity processes at both regional and country level. Memory, freed from the burden of communism, demanded concepts such as identity and heritage is defined again. It was necessary to verify myths and half-told truths, to articulate issues that had so far been silenced, hidden or even erased from the public space and discourse. In this context, the so-called ‘recovered territories’, namely the regions which became part of Poland after the Second World War, seem particularly interesting. The article focuses on both purposeful and accidental, grassroots and institutional actions which illustrate broadly understood processes of ‘restoring remembrance’ in Lower Silesia (Niederschlesien before 1945). The subject of the analysis, however, is not only the process itself but primarily its tourism context. The paper is trying to determine whether and how such actions influence tourist space and phenomena in the region. The methods used were case study, observation, and desk research.

KEYWORDS:

• Memory
• restoring memory
• counter-memory
• ‘recovered territories’
• Lower Silesia
• tourist space

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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 In memory of Ewa Janowska (1930–2016) and Józefa Chylińska (1913–2003) − two brave women who built their life anew in Lower Silesia.

2 After 1947, the departures were rare and regarded chosen groups of German citizens (from prisoners of war to specialists, detained by the government for the needs of rebuilding the local economy). It is estimated that by 1949, 2612 Germans left Poland (Jankowiak, 2005, p. 207).

3 Forced settlement in Poland (within the new borders) of Polish inhabitants originating from Kresy resulted from political decisions, not a free will of its participants, thus, from their point of view it was hard to name this journey ‘a return to homeland’ (however, the impressions of people towards the situation were varied, cf Smolarkiewicz, 2010, p. 181−182). In a sense, these people have been double uprooted, deprived of their land and memory. Longing for Kresy might have challenged the official policy of the communist state and its post-war agreements.

4 However, as Isurin (2017: 13, citing Wertsch) states ‘There seems to be a consensus that collective memory constitutes memory in the group and not of a group, despite the latter assumptions still resurfacing.’

5 Lewicka (2008: 213) highlights its bias and selected nature: some events or historical figures are remembered, some are absent, whereas some are distorted or even fabricated.

6 The term ‘dissonant heritage’ was coined and popularized by Ashworth and Tunbridge (1996). Due to the subjective nature of heritage it always might be conflicting, however, under specific political, historical, or cultural conditions, some specific kinds of heritage are particularly prone to be contested: among them heritage of minorities, relics of horrific events (genocides, wars, totalitarian regimes etc.), and heritage without heirs.

7 It was probably connected to the fact that before the political transformation in Poland in 1989, a part of history, also the local and family one, functioned within a so-called counter-memory and couldn’t be popularized (cf Gliwka, 2019, p. 23). This was true for example regarding the USSR Army’s role in the post-war destruction and robbing of the region, or often unfriendly politics towards the newly created Polish administration on the ‘recovered lands’.

8 Ł. Kazek continues his passion of gathering history of the whole Wałbrzych area together with other passionates and with the support of the county office in Wałbrzych. He is engaged in creating a website called ‘Archive of Oral History of Wałbrzych Area’ which gathers and documents the accounts of witnesses / inhabitants of the region regarding the post-war years and People’s Poland (see https://www.archiwum-historii-mowionej.pl/, 19.07.2020).

9 The name of the village means Copperville.

10 The author received a literary Nike Award in 2012 for that very book, namely ‘History of a Disappearance: The Story of a Forgotten Polish Town’ which was also a finalist in other literary competitions, such as Literature Award Gdynia or Ryszard Kapuściński Award. It was nominated for an award as a Historical Book of the Year, Central-European Literary Award Angelus and the Association of Press Release Award (Kosterska, 2015).

11 The inhabitants of Miedzianka may have a doubtful attitude towards replicating the non-existent cultural landscape of the place, or even be ashamed of it. Unfortunately, we are not familiar with the opinion of the contemporary citizens on the interest which the location experiences today due to its post-war history. According to F. Springer (2015, p. 232, originally in Polish) ‘It’s difficult to find Polish photographs from the mid-sixties, which would show houses in Miedzianka. The inhabitants rarely take photos with the ruins’. The destruction of the urban substance resulted not only from mining activity but also from purposeful looting, which accelerated the decay of the place (Springer, 2015, p. 235–238).

12 These spontaneous and grassroots level commemorative practices (especially in terms of use the term ‘genocide’ on commemorative plaques and monuments referring to Wołyń ethnic cleansings) might stand in opposition to the official state policy of mutual reconciliation between all nations settled in the former eastern Polish borderland. The foundations of this policy called ‘active memory’ were created by some prominent exiles’ members from communist Poland in the 1970s (see Traba, 2012). However, nowadays the way of thinking about the Polish past correlates significantly with a current political situation and ideological divisions (Friszke, 2013, p. 65). Modern mass and institutionalized tourism, aimed at descendants of the Kresy returnees and people simply interested in the rich pre-war history and culture of the region, avoids uncomfortable and thorny issues (for all involved sides), maintaining the myth of idyllic Kresy, almost the Paradise Lost. Simultaneously, the memory of bloodied Wołyń becomes the subject for some controversial tourism events, pseudo-reenactments where visitors might watch the burning of a Wołyń village and the slaughter of its inhabitants in the picnic atmosphere (more about this in Owsianowska, 2017).

13 Even though the participation and engagement of the visitors may be much greater, see Simon, 2010, p. 8.

14 The recordings can be listened to on the website www.bit.do/podworka.

15 This regards museums run by the state or local government, as well as registered museums.

16 Built in 1982 for the needs of the first electric trams in Wrocław, the tram depot in 184, Grabiszyńska Str. (subsequently Depot no.7) was transformed into a bus depot after the Second World War as a result of the war damages. It also played a historic part in the events of August 1980 (one of the most important labourers’ strikes preceding the fall of communism in Poland) (Sielicki, 2017, p. 27 and 180).

17 For example, a myth of returning to the genuine Polish territories, Poland of the Piast dynasty, sneakingly taken away by the Germans (see Sakson, 2014; Strauchold, 2017). On the Market Square in Kłodzko there still is a plaque which reads ‘We did not arrive here, we came back here’ (in Polish: “Myśmy tu nie przyszli, myślmy tu wrócili”). This myth, however, according to Sakson (2014, 150), had ‹(…)a significant integrational role, provided arguments in favour of ‘becoming familiar with the hostile German surroundings’, contributed to the adaptation, stabilisation and integration processes within different groups of people, who were pushed by the history to the hostile ‘post-German territories’. The myth of the ‘recovered territories’ also made the authorities of the People’s Poland legitimate (…)›.

18 It is perfectly illustrated by the words of one of the female characters inthe film 'Sami swoi' that was released in 1967. On his way to a courtroom, her son is given two grenades with the words ‘Thecourt is the court but the justice must be on our side’.

19 In the initial stages of the external interest in Miedzianka, some inhabitants used this unexpected popularity by e.g. offering accommodation to the visitors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dagmara Chylińska

Dagmara Chylińska, born 16.09.1980 in Kamienna Góra (Poland), PhD in 2009, since then a lecturer in Department of Regional Geography and Tourism at University of Wrocław. Professional interests in the field of cultural tourism, especially heritage and battlefield tourism, dissonant heritage, heritage interpretation, and cultural landscapes.