Westerplatte – young people fight for the historical memory

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  Mark Stoneman - 03.10.2007 15:38 | Odpowiedz »

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  This post and the one about the Warsaw Uprising Museum suggest that there is a powerful connection between the Second World War and Polish national identity. Is this impression accurate? (I do not know Polish, and I have never been to Poland, so my knowledge is sketchy at best.)

   

   
   
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  mw - 04.10.2007 1:04 | Odpowiedz »

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  It is hard to say because it depends on the part of the society – older people have stronger connection to the war, younger – look mostly for the future. But success of the Warsaw Uprising Museum shows that II WW can be important for them. If you look into the history of the war you can very easy find how it can be so important for Poles – after the September 1939 there was no country and the nation was gathered by nazi Germany and Soviets with no right to live like a free people (with no right to have schools, literature, press, culture, own economy etc.). It is obvious. So – as a reaction for that memories – the war must have become a factor which unite a nation. You can see it even during the war – the Warsaw Uprising was supported by majority of underground organizations, which normally had a strong political antagonism (like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSZ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armia_Krajowa). I don’t know how the second world war today can unite Poles – I think it can be seen as a some kind of common experience, common tradition with defining „who I am” and affecting on the image of contemporary Germany and Russia – but of course it is only a one factor, maybe today not as strong as it was in the past. In my opinion Russians have with this case more problems because of the Stalin (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2821573.stm). The old communist propaganda describing Stalin as a „good father of the nation” is still in use as a national bonder.

   

   
   
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  Ryszard - 19.01.2009 0:38 | Odpowiedz »

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  Your news about Westerplatte Penninsula and Westerplatte Memorial Park (planned) to be created are , unfortunately, in 100 % accurate. The associacion you are writing about, SRH, has many plans and has started a big campaign to save the very last remains of the battle. They has inspired, 3 years ago, a Ministry of Culture , to undertake conservation works and to establish a large-scale program of restoration, with museum as a central point. Such project was made, and publicly presented at 01. Sept. 2007. Museum was officially created. Promises of finances were done. But a few months later, after many political changes, all of those plans collapsed…. even if officially „all is going forward”.

   

   
   
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  Ryszard - 19.01.2009 0:40 | Odpowiedz »

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  SORRY FOR MISTAKE: It should be (sorry!) „Your news about Westerplatte Penninsula and Westerplatte Memorial Park (planned) to be created are , unfortunately, N O T in 100 % accurate. „NOT” is crucial word….

   

   
   

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