Polish politics in education about the Holocaust as exemplified by Auschwitz on the basis of the changes in 1989. And what was it like in the U.S.? Can we draw on the American politics of memory in the context of the Holocaust?

Abstract

The aim of the article is to discuss the framework for the transformation of Polish politics in the context of education about the Holocaust in Poland, as exemplified by Auschwitz in the aspect of the so- called historic breakthrough, which was the lifting of the Iron Curtain. The politics is analyzed through categories relating to social memory, its relationship with history, memory sites, and their application in politics in two political systems: totalitarianism in the form of socialism, and democracy. The article shows Poland’s politics of memory in the context of this issue as, firstly, tantamount to the politics of memory of the Eastern Bloc under the leadership of the USSR and the breakthrough that occurred after the victory of the Western Bloc under the leadership of the United States, which changed Polish politics. The U.S. also attaches great importance to education about the Holocaust, as evidenced by the location of one of the largest and most well- known Holocaust Memorial Museum, on a par with the Auschwitz Memorial Museum and Yad Vashem. The article also outlines the American politics of memory in the context of the Holocaust to attempt an answer the question whether Poland can learn a lesson from the politics. The work is based on the author’s visit to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum funded with a grant from the Faculty of International and Political Studies of the Jagiellonian University for research activities and on the data provided by Jeffrey Carter, Management Officer & Institutional Archivist.