Dyskusje polskich historyków (krajowych) wokół biografistyki – między „odwilżą” a upadkiem PRL

Abstract

In the Polish People’s Republic, there was a heated discussion about biography studies, especially after 1956, when the agenda from the co-called “Otwock directives” was abolished. It was once again possible to expand historical reflections to include people and their unique contribution to the shape of the history. Marxist guidelines, however, were not abandoned totally. The most pressing issue was to find a method that would on the one hand satisfy historians, and, on the other, be acceptable to the country’s authorities. Many solutions were suggested and this paper focuses on them. The starting point is the reflections included in editorials in “Kwartalnik Historyczny”, “Dzieje Najnowsze” and other periodicals. As the matter of fact, the meaning of discussions in the communist era goes beyond the historical dimension and encourages the reflection on contemporary biography studies.