Suchergebnisse

Commenting on Łukasz Bertram's book on Polish communists, Kula appreciates Bertram's efforts in presenting and understanding the communists and their movement. Bertram does not limit himself to presenting solely the facts; he does not judge communism, since a great deal has already been said on that topic. He analyses, or above all takes a good look at, how the communists thought and the conditioning they were subjected to. He creates a picture significantly more complex than that currently functioning in Poland, and skilfully combines the approaches of historians and sociologists. This is a connection worth supporting, and the book in question constitutes a good example of how much it can give.

The author of the essay considers Jan Grabowski's book Na posterunku. Udział polskiej policji granatowej i kryminalnej w zagładzie Żydów [At the Station: The Participation of the Blue Police and Criminal Police in the Extermination of Jews], which presents research into the behavior of Polish policemen toward Jews during the Nazi occupation. The findings reveal that the entire organization—apart from exceptions, of course—behaved terribly. The negative behavior of the policemen went beyond even the attitude imposed by the occupiers. In the essayist's opinion, a very valuable element of the work is its presentation of the realities of those times on the lower levels of social organization: in villages and in ghettos established in small towns. Grabowski thus made use of material that historians rarely consider. For instance, the duty roster of a police post was as significant to him as the decrees of the authorities. The essayist considers Grabowski's work to be especially important for having appeared during a time of intense debate over relations between Christians and Jews during the occupation of Poland. The essayist emphasizes the topicality of problems of the past and certain historical publications. The appearance of the book should call into question the traditions and conception of the past to which the police force itself refers.

Adam Leszczyński's book Ludowa historia Polski. Historia wyzysku i oporu. Mitologia panowania (2020) [A People's History of Poland: A Story of Exploitation and Resistance – the Mythology of Ruling] contains a historiosophical vision and covers the entire history of Poland in a manner that has not been seen in academic Polish historiography for years. Leszczyński focuses on analyzing the history of the popular classes. He describes this peasant nation and its work, status, and living conditions, along with the poor state of the countryside; he writes of the humiliating treatment of the peasants in the interwar period, and about popular behavior and revolts, first, for example, in the form of flight from the manor, then in the development of socialist, national, or peasant movements, and later as revolts in rural areas in the interwar period and opposition to collectivization in the People's Republic of Poland. Leszczyński shows that in the past the peasants had no interest in working well. He presents the working conditions in factories in the early period of industrialization and the emerging conflicts. The author of the essay considers that the facts and phenomena in the history of the peasants presented by Leszczyński may be a good starting and reference point for analyses of very different matters in historiography and in contemporary research. He appreciates Leszczyński's wide-ranging, anti-elite, and pro-people synthesis.

For the teaching of history in schools to be effective, it must be useful for something – either in an intellectual sense (for a better understanding of the world) or in a practical sense (for various professions related to the humanities). The only purpose of teaching an "encyclopedia of facts" is that it is good to have a minimum of knowledge in every field. Teaching history to mark group identity is acceptable, as is any education in the field of national culture, provided it is not exclusive with regard to the heritage and achievements of others. As a history teacher, the author does not accept the teaching of history for the purpose of inculcating a sense of national pride. He would like the study of history to increase the intellectual abilities of students, and in effect, their wisdom.