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Transnational, transborder, antinational? The memory of the Jewish past in Poland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2018

Ewa Stańczyk
Ewa Stańczyk*
Affiliation:
Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
*
p1Email: ewa.stanczyk@tcd.ie Current affiliation: European Studies, Department of History, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Russian and Slavonic Studies, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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Abstract

The aim of this article is to explore the interaction between local, national, and transnational frames of memory as it manifests itself in the contemporary commemoration of the Jewish past. Focusing on the case study of Poland, I argue that articulations of transnational memory still remain deeply rooted in local and national interests and mythologies, reflecting the fears, desires, or longings of memory makers. Ranging from digital media which stress the interactive and agency-based dimension of transnational memory, through to vernacular “stumbling blocks” inspired by German citizens and subsequently transplanted onto the Polish ground, to public memorials which are either embraced or contested by a variety of social actors, these initiatives urge us to rethink traditional approaches to memory. In particular, these different scales and locations of remembrance question the common perception of collective memory as rooted in rigid nation-state frameworks in favor of memories that travel, move, and transgress multiple boundaries and affect multiple communities.

Keywords

transnational memoryJewish pastHolocaustcommemoration in Poland
Type
Articles
Information
Nationalities Papers , Volume 44 , Issue 3 , May 2016 , pp. 416 - 429
Copyright
Copyright © 2016 Association for the Study of Nationalities 

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