<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Small cities have attracted less attention from researchers of transformation processes, although in some countries they are an important part of the social landscape, as they are in Poland. I present the results of research on the public space and symbolic politics in three small towns in Zamojszczyzna, a region in southeastern Poland. All are characterized by interrupted or disturbed historical continuity due to the extermination of their Jewish communities, which made up the majority of the population until World War II. After 1945, the Jewish past was silenced, while the symbolic space was dominated by the memory of the resistance movement. I show in my text that since the 1990s there have been significant transformations in the aforementioned towns. In some of them, firstly, interest in Jewish heritage and efforts to preserve it are becoming more apparent. Second, there is a noticeable shift from commemorating anti-fascism to promoting the so-called struggle against communism, a reflection of the current politics of remembrance at the central level. I argue that the use of cultural heritage in small towns serves largely to gain recognition. Local authorities often use not only elements of the past that fit into national narratives, but also local traditions or even fictional literary heroes, for this purpose.</p>
</abstract>

Small cities have attracted less attention from researchers of transformation processes, although in some countries they are an important part of the social landscape, as they are in Poland. I present the results of research on the public space and symbolic politics in three small towns in Zamojszczyzna, a region in southeastern Poland. All are characterized by interrupted or disturbed historical continuity due to the extermination of their Jewish communities, which made up the majority of the population until World War II. After 1945, the Jewish past was silenced, while the symbolic space was dominated by the memory of the resistance movement. I show in my text that since the 1990s there have been significant transformations in the aforementioned towns. In some of them, firstly, interest in Jewish heritage and efforts to preserve it are becoming more apparent. Second, there is a noticeable shift from commemorating anti-fascism to promoting the so-called struggle against communism, a reflection of the current politics of remembrance at the central level. I argue that the use of cultural heritage in small towns serves largely to gain recognition. Local authorities often use not only elements of the past that fit into national narratives, but also local traditions or even fictional literary heroes, for this purpose.

Symbolic policy in small towns of Zamojszczyzna region, Poland, in the post-socialist period

Journal of Nationalism, Memory & Language Politics

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Small cities have attracted less attention from researchers of transformation processes, although in some countries they are an important part of the social...

Symbolic policy in small towns of Zamojszczyzna region, Poland, in the post-socialist period

Data publikacji: 28 sty 2024

Zakres stron: 223 - 242

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jnmlp-2023-0014

Słowa kluczowe
Zamojszczyzna, local heritage, symbolic policy, Jewish heritage

© 2023 Maciej Falski, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Figure 4.

Figure 5.

Symbolic policy in small towns of Zamojszczyzna region, Poland, in the post-socialist period

Data publikacji: 28 sty 2024

Zakres stron: 223 - 242

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jnmlp-2023-0014

Słowa kluczoweZamojszczyzna, local heritage, symbolic policy, Jewish heritage

© 2023 Maciej Falski, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Figure 4.

Figure 5.

Słowa kluczowe
Zamojszczyzna, local heritage, symbolic policy, Jewish heritage