DOCSLIB.ORG

Copyright Statement This Copy of the Thesis Has Been Supplied On

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Copyright Statement This Copy of the Thesis Has Been Supplied On University of Plymouth PEARL https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk 04 University of Plymouth Research Theses 01 Research Theses Main Collection 2015 The Construction of National Identity in post-1918 Poland Lyszkiewicz, Bartosz http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/3374 Plymouth University All content in PEARL is protected by copyright law. Author manuscripts are made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the details provided on the item record or document. In the absence of an open licence (e.g. Creative Commons), permissions for further reuse of content should be sought from the publisher or author. Copyright Statement This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with its author and that no quotation from the thesis and no information derived from it may be published without the author’s prior consent. i The Construction of National Identity in post-1918 Poland by Bartosz Henryk Lyszkiewicz A thesis submitted to Plymouth University in partial fulfillment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Government June 2014 ii Abstract This thesis analyses the construction of the modern national identity in Poland following the state’s creation in 1918. Its central aim is to argue that although much of Poland’s national identity was, in fact, the product of the revolutionary eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, in the twentieth century, ethnocultural foundations proved essential in the process of nation building. In order to offer a novel approach to this issue this thesis will evaluate the programmes of the émigré organizations and political parties to demonstrate the role of the two national currents: ethnic/organic and civic/territorial, which developed during the nineteenth century and shaped competing definitions of Polish nation. Furthermore, this study will analyse the role of the pre-modern and early modern symbols in shaping the political currents in modern Poland. Locating and examining elements central to the definition of the nation will allow demonstration of how the distinctive national programmes were defined under successive administrations. This research argues that the rise of competing national identities in East-Central Europe, at the turn of the century, accelerated the dissolution of the common trait or national identity, shared by the elites across the Polish- Lithuanian Commonwealth. Deprived of legitimacy the authorities were unable to maintain the democratic system, gradually introducing authoritarianism, and by the late 1930s replacing the inclusive state model with the organic definition of the nation. This exclusive programme resurfaced following the Second World War and became a justification for the construction of an ethnically homogenous Poland. The Communist regime aimed to eradicate the pillars of national identity and to diminish the role of society in the state’s functioning; however, the nucleus of civil society which survived the period of persecution continued to grow in strength outside of the official channels. Effectively, this created a popular definition of the Polish nation in opposition to that of the regime. The competition between the iii ethnocultural and political definition of the nation remained a central issue over more than two decades following the collapse of the Communist regime. iv Table of Contents Copyright Statement i Cover ii Abstract iii Table of Contents v Maps: I. Partitions of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth x II. Poland (1921-1939) xi III. Poland after the Second World War (post 1945) xii List of Abbreviations xiii Acknowledgements xvi Author’s Declaration xviii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 1.1 Maps I, II, III 4 1.2 Structure of Research 5 Chapter 2: Literature Review 9 2.1 What is a Nation? 9 2.1.1 Primordialism and Perennialism 10 2.1.2 Modernism 14 2.1.3 Ethnosymbolism 18 2.2 National Identity in East-Central Europe 21 v 2.3 (Re-) Construction of Poland 23 2.4 From Independence to the Second World War 29 2.5 The Authoritarian Continuity 32 2.6 The Alternative Vision of Poland and the Democratic State 36 Chapter 3: Methods and Strategies 39 3.1 Modern Nationalism in East-Central Europe 40 3.2 Nationalism and Modern Nations 42 3.3 The Application of Ethnosymbolism to this Study 45 3.4 Strategies and Methodology 46 3.5 Field Trips and Primary Sources 50 3.6 Research Questions 53 Chapter 4: The Shaping of National Identity 57 4.1 The Origins of the Polish Nation 60 4.1.1 Szlachta 63 4.1.2 The Church 67 4.2 The Foundations of the Modern Polish Nation 74 4.3 Nationalist Rhetoric in the Nineteenth Century 76 4.4 Redefining the Nation 83 4.5 Ethnic-Organic and Civic-Territorial Models 85 4.5.1 The Ethnic/Organic Model 86 4.5.2 The Polyethnic/Territorial Model 90 4.6 Conclusion 93 vi Chapter 5: Nation and Nationality in post-1918 Poland 97 5.1 From the Great War to Independence 97 5.2 Religious and Linguistic Affiliations in Interwar Poland 101 5.3 The Socialist Programme 103 5.4 The Nation in the Rhetoric of the Endecja 108 5.5 The State and the Church 112 5.5.1 Roman Catholicism as a Pillar of Polishness 115 5.5.2 The Church and the First Democratic Elections 116 5.6 The Decline of the Federal Programme 119 5.6.1 Towards Authoritarianism 121 5.6.2 Resurfacing of Ethnic Nationalism 124 5.6.3 The Roman Catholic Church as a Tool of Ethnic Mobilisation 128 5.7 The Second World War and the Aftermath 130 5.8 The Construction of “Piast” Poland 135 5.8.1 Mimicking Endecja’s National Programme 136 5.8.2 The Construction of a Homogenous Poland 139 5.8.3 Integration through Adoption of Nationalist Rhetoric 143 vii 5.8.4 The Revised National Programme 146 5.9 Kultura as a Medium of Reconciliation 148 5.9.1 Realism and Romanticism in the Programme of Kultura 150 5.10 Heterogeneous Poland and the Church 153 5.11 Fractures in the National Programme 156 5.12 Binding the Society 159 5.13 The Divergent Visions of Nation in the Rhetoric of Solidarność 164 5.14 Conclusion 168 Chapter 6: National Identity in Post-Communist Poland 172 6.1 Solidarity after Solidarność 177 6.1.1 Mazowiecki’s “Thick Line” 179 6.2 The Formation of Modern Political Thought 181 6.2.1 The Socio-Cultural Sphere of Competition in Poland 184 6.3 “Western Standards” and the Polish Nation 187 6.3.1 Heterogeneous Society 189 6.4 The Pillars of Contemporary National Identity 193 6.4.1 The Core of Solidarność: Liberal or Conservative? 193 viii 6.4.2 Civic-Territorial or Ethnic Identity? 196 6.5 “Solidaristic” Poland 200 6.5.1 Poland against Poland 200 6.5.2 Modus Operandi of the National-Conservatives 202 6.6 “Liberal” Poland 209 6.6.1 Liberalism Following the Transition 211 6.7 Conclusion 215 Chapter 7: Conclusion 219 7.1 Theoretical Implications 221 7.2 Empirical Findings 223 7.3 Contemporary Contestation of National Identity in Poland 231 List of References and Bibliography 236 ix Maps x xi xii List of Abbreviations AK - Armia Krajowa (National Army) AWS - Akcja Wyborcza “Solidarność” (“Solidarność” Electoral Action) BBWR - Bezpartyjny Blok Współpracy z Rządem (Block of Cooperation with the Government) CRZZ - Centralna Rada Zwiazków Zawodowych (Central Council of Trade Unions) DVL - German Peoples List (Deutsche Volksliste) EU - European Union FRG - Federal Republic of Germany IPN - Instytut Pamięci Narodowej (Institute of National Remembrance) IZ - Instytut Zachodni (Western Institute) KC - Komitet Centralny (Central Committee) MNE - Komisja Mniejszości Narodowych i Etnicznych (Comission for National and Ethnic Minorities) KOR - Komitet Obrony Robotników (Worker’s Defence Committee) KPN - Konfederacja Polski Niepodleglej (Confederation of Independent Poland) KRN - Krajowa Rada Narodowa (State National Council) LPR - Liga Polskich Rodzin (League of Polish Families) xiii MW - Mlodzież Wszechpolska (All-Poland Youth) NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization ND - Narodowa Demokracja (National Democracy, endecja) KNP - Kongress Nowej Prawicy (Congress of the New Right) NOP - Narodowe Odrodzenie Polski (National Rebirth of Poland) NSZZ - Nieżalezny Samorządny Związek Zawodowy (Independent Self-Governing Trade Union) ONR - Obóz Narodowo-Radykalny (National Radical Camp) OZN - Obóz Zjednoczenia Narodowego (Camp of National Unity) PC - Porozumienie Centrum (Centre Agreement Party) PiS - Prawo i Sprawiedliwośc (Law and Justice Party) PKWN - Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego (Polish National Liberation Committee) PO - Platforma Obywatelska (Civic Platform) PPN - Polska Partia Narodowa (Polish Independence Alliance) PPR - Polska Partia Robotnicza (Polish Worker’s Party) PPS - Polska Partia Socialistyczna (Polish Socialist Party) PRL - Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa (Polish Peoples Republic) PSL - Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe (Polish Peasant Party/ Polish People’s Party) xiv PUR - Państwowy Urząd Repatriacyjny (State Repatriation Office) PZPR - Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza (United Polish Workers Party) PZZ - Polski Związek Zachodni (Polish Western Committee) ROP - Ruch Odbudowy Polski (Movement for Reconstruction of Poland) RP - Rzeczpospolita Polska (Republic of Poland) SdRP - Socjaldemokracja Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej (Social Democratic Party of the Republic of Poland) SLD - Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej (Democratic Left Alliance) SP - Solidarna Polska (United Poland) SRP - Samoobrona Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej (Self-Defence of the Polish Republic) TDP - Towarzystwo Demokratyczne Polskie (Polish Democratic Society) TR/RP - Twój Ruch (Your Movement) TRJN - Tymczasowa Rada Jednosci Narodowej (Temporary Council of National Unity) UD - Unia Demokratyczna (Democratic Union) UW - Unia Wolności (Freedom Union) ZChN - Zjednoczenie Chrzescijańsko-Narodowe (The Christian National Union) ZLN - Związek Ludowo-Narodowy (Popular-National Union) ZMN - Związek Młodych Narodowców (Organisation of Young Nationalists) xv Acknowledgements One of my most important memories in the process of writing my thesis will be connected with the people who contributed to this study. This four year process was only possible through lengthy discussions and exchange of ideas with people from different countries who assisted me in its completion.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Heroes and Villains : Creating National History in Contemporary Ukraine / David R
    i HEROES AND VILLAINS iii HEROES AND VILLAINS Creating National History in Contemporary Ukraine David R. Marples Central European University Press Budapest • New York iv © 2007 by David R. Marples Published in 2007 by Central European University Press An imprint of the Central European University Share Company Nádor utca 11, H-1051 Budapest, Hungary Tel: +36-1-327-3138 or 327-3000 Fax: +36-1-327-3183 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.ceupress.com 400 West 59th Street, New York NY 10019, USA Tel: +1-212-547-6932 Fax: +1-646-557-2416 E-mail: [email protected] Cover photograph: Lubomyr Markevych All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the permission of the Publisher. ISBN 978-963-7326-98-1 cloth Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Marples, David R. Heroes and villains : creating national history in contemporary Ukraine / David R. Marples. -- 1st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-9637326981 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Ukraine--History--1921-1944--Historiography. 2. Ukraine--History--1944-1991-- Historiography. 3. Orhanizatsiia ukraïns’kykh natsionalistiv--History. 4. Ukraïns’ka povstans’ka armiia--History. 5. Historiography--Ukraine. 6. Nationalism--Ukraine. 7. Collective memory--Ukraine. I. Title. DK508.833.M367 2007 947.7'0842--dc22 2007030636 Printed in Hungary by Akaprint v In memory of a good friend, David W. J. Reid (1930–2006) vii CONTENTS Preface ............................................................................................................ ix Acknowledgements ........................................................................................ xxi Chapter 1: Independent Ukraine Reviews the Past .................................... 1 Chapter 2: The Famine of 1932–33 ............................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Antisemitism Without Jews and Without Antisemites
    ALINA CA£A ANTISEMITISM WITHOUT JEWS AND WITHOUT ANTISEMITES The problem of antisemitism was a major factor bearing on the attitudes of Europeans toward Jews from the end of 19th century. It also strongly influenced the political scene of Poland between the two world wars. To a certain degree it has been poisoning Polish public life ever since. In Poland, which was once home to the largest community of Jews in the world (over 3 million people in 1939), the Jewish population has shrunk to about 6,000 Jews (registered in Jewish religious and secular organisa- tions) and 10,000 to 15,000 people of Jewish origin.1 Contemporary polit- ical antisemitism cannot be justified by any ethnic or economic conflict. There is simply no substance for such conflict. There is no “Jewish ques- tion” in this sense, as it was understood before World War II. The vigour of antisemitic sentiments remains a puzzling fact, for it seems to be anti- semitism without Jews. In my puzzlement I turned to a sociological survey that was conducted in 1992 by the Jewish Historical Institute with the co-operation of the Sociology Dept. of Warsaw University and under the guidance of Prof. Ireneusz Krzeminski.2 Below I will present some results of the survey.3 I would like to present also some basic characteristics of the phenomenon in Poland in the last 3 years (1999–2001). They are the results of the program of monitoring antisemitism, sponsored by the Research Support Scheme of the Open Society Foundation4, which has been completed in 2002.
    [Show full text]
  • Nationalism As a Social Imaginary: Negotiations of Social Signification and (Dis)Integrating Discourses in Britain, France and Poland Pascal-Yan Sayegh
    Nationalism as a Social Imaginary: Negotiations of Social Signification and (Dis)Integrating Discourses in Britain, France and Poland Pascal-Yan Sayegh To cite this version: Pascal-Yan Sayegh. Nationalism as a Social Imaginary: Negotiations of Social Signification and (Dis)Integrating Discourses in Britain, France and Poland. Political science. Université Jean Moulin - Lyon III, 2011. English. tel-00617618v3 HAL Id: tel-00617618 https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00617618v3 Submitted on 29 Nov 2011 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. DOCTORAT D’ÉTUDES TRANSCULTURELLES Pascal Yan SAYEGH NATIONALISM AS A SOCIAL IMAGINARY: NEGOTIATIONS OF SOCIAL SIGNIFICATION AND (DIS)INTEGRATING DISCOURSES IN BRITAIN, FRANCE AND POLAND DIRECTEUR DE THÈSE Gregory B. LEE, Professeur, Université de Lyon – Jean Moulin CODIRECTEUR DE THÈSE Bo PETERSSON, Professeur, Malmö University Institut d'Études Transtextuelles et Transculturelles, Université de Lyon – Jean Moulin Avec la coopération du Centre for European Studies, Lund University – Contents – Contents
    [Show full text]
  • America to Poland: Cultural Transfers and Adaptations
    European journal of American studies 13-3 | 2018 Special Issue: America to Poland: Cultural Transfers and Adaptations Édition électronique URL : https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/13498 DOI : 10.4000/ejas.13498 ISSN : 1991-9336 Éditeur European Association for American Studies Référence électronique European journal of American studies, 13-3 | 2018, « Special Issue: America to Poland: Cultural Transfers and Adaptations » [En ligne], mis en ligne le 07 décembre 2018, consulté le 08 juillet 2021. URL : https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/13498 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/ejas.13498 Ce document a été généré automatiquement le 8 juillet 2021. European Journal of American studies 1 SOMMAIRE Introduction America to Poland: Cultural Transfers and Adaptations Piotr Skurowski et Agnieszka Pantuchowicz Coming Out in Poland Tomasz Basiuk Americanizations of Holocaust Memory and Museum Aesthetic Experience Karolina Krasuska Figurations of Attachment in Sylvia Plath and Halina Poświatowska Agnieszka Pantuchowicz Will You Awaken When Your Netflix No Longer Works? American Films, Television Productions and Social Transformations in Poland Mirosław Filiciak Dances with Westerns in Poland’s Borderlands Piotr Skurowski A Train to Hollywood: Porno-Chic in the Polish Cinema of the Late 1980s Karol Jachymek African-American Music in the Service of White Nationalists: Polish “Patriotic Rap” as a Pop Cultural Tool to Promote National Values Piotr Majewski The Polish Superheroes Have Arrived!: On the Popularity of Superhero Stories and Adaptations Emma
    [Show full text]
  • Between Hatred and Nostalgia J Creating a New Vision of Polish Jewry in the Third Polish Republic (1995–2005)
    N Between hatred and nostalgia J Creating a new vision of Polish Jewry in the Third Polish Republic (1995–2005) Alix Landgrebe DOI: 10.30752/nj.85147 Abstract • This article discusses the revival of Polish national thought from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. I demonstrate how the so-called Jewish question influenced the debate and the vision of Jewry in Poland after 1989 and how it was used to create a new national identity. I outline why the so-called Jewish question was so crucial in Polish national debates. Furthermore, I demon- strate how the Polish Jewish past was portrayed and commemorated in the Third Polish Republic. This research focuses upon the period of Aleksander Kwasniewski’s presidency (1995–2005), during which the famous debate about the pogrom in Jedwabne took place. I presented the original version of this article as a paper in January 2019 at a conference in Stockholm entitled ‘Jews in Middle Eastern Europe after the Downfall of the Wall in 1989’, organised by Paideia, The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden. National identity in post-Communist Poland or assimilate. In the nineteenth century, while Poles were fighting to regain an independent Following the end of socialism, the need to state, many Polish intellectuals reflected on the recreate national identity was crucial within question of how to cope with ethnic diversity Polish society. Nationalism had been officially in their country. After the Second World War, condemned throughout decades of socialist Poland had become a country with a homoge- rule. As a result, nationalist traditions expe- neous ethnic population: a radical change in rienced a revival in the 1990s.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction, So Poland Be Polish
    An Anthology of the Nationalist Underground Press “Poland had to wait for one thousand years for the appearance of the slogan that the Commonwealth should be inhabited solely by the Poles. It was only the Soviet agentura that advanced and implemented this slogan here; we will not encounter it proposed by any Polish thinker.”1 Adam Doboszy ński Introduction This is the first-ever anthology of the Polish nationalist underground press between 1939 and 1949. In other words, we shall concentrate on the clandestine press and publications of Poland’s Right-wing nationalist movement ( ruch narodowy , Endecja ). The objective is to show Polish nationalism and its purveyors under the most extreme of conditions: during the German and Soviet occupations. Initially, we expected to encounter rabid ideological Polish nationalist extremism. Instead, we discovered that the underground nationalist thought was, given the context of the era, paradoxically quite pluralistic, interestingly multifaceted, and rather moderate in comparison with other surrounding nationalisms and competing radical currents, in particular racist national socialism and communism. The chronological framework of the anthology is, on the one hand, the outbreak of the Second World War and, on the other, the destruction of the last large outfits of the nationalist underground by the Communists. In Part One we shall summarize the ideology and practice of Polish nationalism. We shall discuss both the history and the organizational forms of the nationalist movement and we shall also establish the chronological and thematic framework. We shall then describe how the nationalist movement functioned in the underground (1939– 1949) and in its general historical context.
    [Show full text]
  • The Constitution of 3 May 1791 Testament of the Polish­‑Lithuanian Commonwealth
    Richard Butterwick The Constitution of 3 May 1791 Testament of the Polish ‑Lithuanian Commonwealth The Constitution of 3 May 1791 MUZEUM HISTORII POLSKI Richard Butterwick The Constitution of 3 May 1791 Testament of the Polish ‑Lithuanian Commonwealth Warsaw 2021 This book is published in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Poland Published in Poland by Polish History Museum 33/35 Mokotowska Street, 00-560 Warsaw www.muzhp.pl © 2021 by Muzeum Historii Polski and Richard Butterwick RevieweR Andrzej Krzysztof Link-Lenczowski executive editoR Anna Kalinowska copy editoR Anne-Marie Fabianowska Maps Anna Bilny-Sachanowicz index Anna Krześniak GRaphic desiGn Studio Format First edition Printed by akapit, 3 Węglowa Street, 20-481 Lublin All rights reserved isBn 978-83-65248-47-3 (Pbk) 978-83-65248-48-0 (eBook) Is it better to live in perilous liberty or in tranquil servitude? (after Sallust) Contents Preface /9 Foreword to the English edition /13 List of illustrations /17 List of maps /19 Glossary /21 1. Symbols /25 2. The Commonwealth: Greatness and Decline /33 3. The Perils of Change /57 4. The Great Sejm /75 5. The Revolution of 3 and 5 May 1791 /97 6. The Law on Government /113 7. Absolute Monarchy or Orderly Liberty? /131 8. Evaluations /155 Further reading /167 Notes /173 Index /179 Preface The eighteenth century was a truly tragic period in Polish history. Beginning with the Great Northern War, it saw the successive acts of a drama: marches by foreign troops, the disintegration of the political system, domestic conflicts, often fuelled and exploited by foreign powers, the tragic Bar Confederacy, betrayal, and finally the three partitions and the collapse and elimination of the Polish-Lithuanian state from the map of Europe.
    [Show full text]
  • Heroes and Villains Creating National History in Contemporary Ukraine
    Heroes and Villains Creating National History in Contemporary Ukraine David R. Marples Publisher: Central European University Press Year of publication: 2007 Published on OpenEdition Books: 23 January 2013 Serie: CEUP collection Electronic ISBN: 9786155211355 http://books.openedition.org Printed version ISBN: 9789637326981 Number of pages: 386 Electronic reference MARPLES, David R. Heroes and Villains: Creating National History in Contemporary Ukraine. New edition [online]. Budapest: Central European University Press, 2007 (generated 03 mai 2019). Available on the Internet: <http://books.openedition.org/ceup/523>. ISBN: 9786155211355. © Central European University Press, 2007 Terms of use: http://www.openedition.org/6540 David R. Marples HEROES ANDVILLAINS Creating National History in Contemporary Ukraine i HEROES AND VILLAINS iii HEROES AND VILLAINS Creating National History in Contemporary Ukraine David R. Marples Central European University Press Budapest • New York iv © 2007 by David R. Marples Published in 2007 by Central European University Press An imprint of the Central European University Share Company Nádor utca 11, H-1051 Budapest, Hungary Tel: +36-1-327-3138 or 327-3000 Fax: +36-1-327-3183 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.ceupress.com 400 West 59th Street, New York NY 10019, USA Tel: +1-212-547-6932 Fax: +1-646-557-2416 E-mail: [email protected] Cover photograph: Lubomyr Markevych All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the permission of the Publisher. ISBN 978-963-7326-98-1 cloth Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Marples, David R.
    [Show full text]
  • Poland on Trial: Postwar Courts, Sovietization, and the Holocaust, 1944-1956
    Poland on Trial: Postwar Courts, Sovietization, and the Holocaust, 1944-1956 By Andrew Wei-Yuan Kornbluth A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor John Connelly, chair Professor Yuri Slezkine Professor Jason Wittenberg Spring 2016 Copyright © 2016 by Andrew Wei-Yuan Kornbluth All Rights Reserved. Abstract Poland on Trial: Postwar Courts, Sovietization, and the Holocaust, 1944-1956 by Andrew Wei-Yuan Kornbluth Doctor of Philosophy in History University of California, Berkeley Professor John Connelly, Chair This dissertation addresses the quandary of how the law can serve many different purposes and yet not the one we most closely associate it with – justice. Specifically, it examines how Poland, renowned as Europe’s only occupied country “without a Quisling,” confronted the paradox of otherwise upstanding citizens who betrayed, robbed, and murdered tens of thousands of their Jewish neighbors in hiding during the Nazi occupation. Far from being a footnote, the machinations over the fate of the defendants – in Poland and throughout Europe – were central to the negotiation of a new social contract in the wake of the war’s ethnic cleansing and property transfer. As a rare venue not corrupted by the Stalinization overtaking Poland, the judicial system held the trials in accordance with high European standards. But with the public awaiting absolution, the hated Soviet-backed government hoping to win a degree of legitimacy, and the few surviving Jewish voices marginalized by resurgent anti-Semitism, debates over the law gradually became vehicles for the expression of colonial anxieties and the establishment of a hierarchy of victimhood.
    [Show full text]
  • Thesis2021 Beckham
    Long Live Death: Violence & Martyrdom in Eastern Europe’s Fascist Movements, the Legion of the Archangel Michael & National Democracy, 1919–1933 Hadden Holly Beckham An Undergraduate Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honors April 2021 Department of History Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, Massachusetts During the process of writing this dissertation I have received a great deal of support and assistance. Thank you to my thesis advisor and mentor for the past four years, Professor Jeremy King, for encouraging my interest in the Legion of the Archangel Michael and pushing me to be more ambitious with my writing. His thoughtful insight and unwavering support have aided me in analyzing history from new perspectives and in becoming a better and more confident writer. This project could not have happened without his encouragement. Writing a thesis in the midst of an international pandemic has not been easy. Therefore, I am eternally grateful to the supportive community who surrounded me during this process. Thank you to my dear friend Alänah Smith-Timberlake for her assistance, unconditional care, and cheering me up every day. Her positive energy and constant encouragement helped me persevere through self-doubt and frustration. I express great gratitude to my dear friend Francesca B. Mărie who helped me translate Ion Moța’s articles, provided invaluable insight into Romanian society, and cheered me on. Her sharp insights into Romanian history, culture, and Eastern Orthodoxy helped me gain a deeper understanding of interwar Romania and the Legion. Lastly, thank you to my parents, whose unconditional love and encouragement helped me overcome anxiety and discouragement to complete this project.
    [Show full text]
  • Ben Stanley 1 Defenders of the Cross: Populist Politics And
    Ben Stanley 1 Defenders of the Cross: Populist Politics and Religion in Post-Communist Poland Draft chapter prepared for "Saving the People: How Populists Hijack Religion" (eds. Duncan McDonnell, Nadia Marzouki, Olivier Roy): not for citation, quotation or dissemination. The politics of religious identity was of major importance to Poland’s ‘populist turn’ of 2005-2007 and to the reorientation of Poland’s nascent party system thereafter. Populism relies not only on the identification of an antagonistic relationship between the elite and the people; it also posits a moral dichotomy between an inauthentic, illegitimate and corrupt elite, and an authentic, legitimate and honest people.1 The success of populism depends on the ability of political entrepreneurs to appeal to voters on the basis of this dichotomy. Religions have a number of attributes that make them powerful tools of populist mobilisation. They express and communicate a clear distinction between good and evil that corresponds with the moral dichotomy at the heart of populism. They create and perpetuate communities on the basis of emotional ties and rituals. They often possess organisational structures that furnish the means and motivation for grassroots organisation. While religion alone does not account for why populism became an important factor in Polish party politics, the appeal to an inward-looking and nation-centric brand of Catholicism was one of its leading characteristics. This chapter explains how religion and the politics of religious identity and values interacted with populism, and with what consequences. The first section briefly outlines the emergence of Polish populism in the second decade of transition.
    [Show full text]