What do we accept, what we neglect? The quest for the proper version of collective memory. Some considerations about the names present in urban space after the 2015 elections in Poland. The case of Łódź and its neighbourhood
Journal Title: Revista de Stiinte Politice. Revue des Sciences Politiques - Year 2018, Vol 2, Issue 58
Abstract
Public space in Poland was a subject of spontaneous decommunization after the year 1989. What is interesting the wave of changes was observed mainly in the big cities, in small settlements it was usually restraint to the main streets and/or the subjects unanimously perceived as connected with communist ideology. In the small cities – in proposed case study in the commons around Łódź, usually the names connected with previous times remained, usually due to finances and people’s habits. The situation changed only recently, after the 2015 elections, when the Law and Justice (PiS) party, began the complex decommunization of Polish reality. There was complex law prepared, and the special state agenda the Institute of National Remembrance was obliged to name the places whose names should be changed. From what seemed to be rather simple question it finally appeared very complex one due to pressed cohabitation on a local level, which is still visible due to different outcome of 2015 legislative elections and 2014 local ones. Peoples connected with present majority (PiS), have different understanding of collective memory then the politicians connected with Civic Platform (PO) and their minions from Peasant Party (PSL) or Nowoczesna etc. The most controversial element is the discussion about commemoration of persons connected with this version of history proclaimed by the ruling majority as only true – members of anti-communist resistance after 1945 or the victims of the Smoleńsk Crash (10th April 2010), which shaped modern political discourse in Poland. The proposed case study is Łódź and its neighbourhoods where proposed memorization of late president Lech Kaczyński became serious political issue. The sources for the analysis are: laws, local press and empirical knowledge. The aim of the study is to show how the final stage of decommunization is perceived by common people and by politicians do they feel that it is important or not?
Authors and Affiliations
Andrzej Dubicki
Keywords
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