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Coming to terms with anti-Semitism: Jan T. Gross´ writings and the construction of cultural trauma in post-communist Poland

Törnquist-Plewa, Barbara LU orcid (2013) 30. p.125-150
Abstract
Since the fall of the communism, many heated debates about the past took place in Poland, with the stormiest among them concerning not the communist crimes, as one might expect, but the Polish-Jewish relations during the Holocaust and in the immediate post-war years. The most discussed history books in post-communist Poland - “Neighbours” (2000) and “Fear” (2008) by Jan T. Gross dealt with anti-Semitism during World War II and its immediate aftermath. The purpose of this paper is to look at the reactions of the Polish public to the book “Fear” and analyse in what way they challenged Polish collective memory. Using the theory of cultural trauma as formulated by Jeffrey Alexander I argue that Gross has acted as trauma “carrier” forcing the... (More)
Since the fall of the communism, many heated debates about the past took place in Poland, with the stormiest among them concerning not the communist crimes, as one might expect, but the Polish-Jewish relations during the Holocaust and in the immediate post-war years. The most discussed history books in post-communist Poland - “Neighbours” (2000) and “Fear” (2008) by Jan T. Gross dealt with anti-Semitism during World War II and its immediate aftermath. The purpose of this paper is to look at the reactions of the Polish public to the book “Fear” and analyse in what way they challenged Polish collective memory. Using the theory of cultural trauma as formulated by Jeffrey Alexander I argue that Gross has acted as trauma “carrier” forcing the Polish public to face the experience of seeing itself as perpetrator. His books can be seen as a shock therapy aimed at questioning the traditional master narrative of Polish national identity and at encouraging the construction of a new one. The attention given to his books in Poland should be seen in the context of European integration, as a part of the project of Polish liberal elite to “Europeanise” Poland. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Cultural trauma, Poland, anti-Semitism, debate, Jan T. Gross
host publication
European Cultural Memory post-89 / European Studies: A Journal Of European Culture, History & Politics
editor
Mithander, Conny ; Sundholm, John and Velicu, Adrian
volume
30
pages
125 - 150
publisher
Rodopi
ISSN
1875-8150
1568-1858
ISBN
978-90-420-3618-5
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
6593b8f8-8e49-4629-8cfe-8c4b7a9adfe2 (old id 4248550)
alternative location
http://ludwig.lub.lu.se/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=poh&AN=86990714&site=eds-live&scope=site
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 10:20:57
date last changed
2023-04-18 22:03:01
@inbook{6593b8f8-8e49-4629-8cfe-8c4b7a9adfe2,
  abstract     = {{Since the fall of the communism, many heated debates about the past took place in Poland, with the stormiest among them concerning not the communist crimes, as one might expect, but the Polish-Jewish relations during the Holocaust and in the immediate post-war years. The most discussed history books in post-communist Poland - “Neighbours” (2000) and “Fear” (2008) by Jan T. Gross dealt with anti-Semitism during World War II and its immediate aftermath. The purpose of this paper is to look at the reactions of the Polish public to the book “Fear” and analyse in what way they challenged Polish collective memory. Using the theory of cultural trauma as formulated by Jeffrey Alexander I argue that Gross has acted as trauma “carrier” forcing the Polish public to face the experience of seeing itself as perpetrator. His books can be seen as a shock therapy aimed at questioning the traditional master narrative of Polish national identity and at encouraging the construction of a new one. The attention given to his books in Poland should be seen in the context of European integration, as a part of the project of Polish liberal elite to “Europeanise” Poland.}},
  author       = {{Törnquist-Plewa, Barbara}},
  booktitle    = {{European Cultural Memory post-89 / European Studies: A Journal Of European Culture, History & Politics}},
  editor       = {{Mithander, Conny and Sundholm, John and Velicu, Adrian}},
  isbn         = {{978-90-420-3618-5}},
  issn         = {{1875-8150}},
  keywords     = {{Cultural trauma; Poland; anti-Semitism; debate; Jan T. Gross}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{125--150}},
  publisher    = {{Rodopi}},
  title        = {{Coming to terms with anti-Semitism: Jan T. Gross´ writings and the construction of cultural trauma in post-communist Poland}},
  url          = {{http://ludwig.lub.lu.se/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=poh&AN=86990714&site=eds-live&scope=site}},
  volume       = {{30}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}