Beyond Antisemitism: Rethinking Poland’s Memories of Jews
Author(s)
Publication Name
Publication Date
Abstract
On the basis of evidence collected in two research projects separated by almost three decades, the authors interpret the ways in which contemporary Poles (mis)remember former Jewish citizens and the Holocaust. We propose a situational theory of antisemitism which assumes that there are situations in which Poles reproduce antisemitic cultural codes that are taken for granted as elements of their culture, or as apotropaic rituals, unconsciously performed in times of crisis. Such situations are subsequently reproduced in memory, and the social exclusion of Polish Jews that used to exist before and during the Holocaust now becomes a mnemonic exclusion from Polish memories, which acquire the status of a theodicy.
Topics
Antisemitism Antisemitism: Discourse Antisemitism: Attitude Surveys Attitudes to Jews Holocaust Commemoration Holocaust Main Topic: Antisemitism Memory
Genre
Geographic Coverage
Original Language
Volume/Issue
37(1)
Page Number / Article Number
128-163
DOI
Link
Link to article (paywalled), Beyond Antisemitism: Rethinking Poland’s Memories of Jews
Bibliographic Information
Beyond Antisemitism: Rethinking Poland’s Memories of Jews. 2025: 128-163. https://archive.jpr.org.uk/10.2979/ham.00018
