Isolated Islands? Memory of the Holocaust in Formal and Informal Education

Abstract

The conflicts associated with the memory of the Holocaust in Poland reflect educational gaps in the Polish education system (lack of bad memory). Comparison with other similar studies in Europe and beyond allows one to reveal affinities and divergences in patterns of behaviour in various states in relation to the historical past, social identity and collective memory. This text looks at the consciousness of young Poles, in terms of attitudes toward Jews, the Holocaust and memory of the Holocaust. The data presented are the preliminary results of the author’s longitudinal study “Attitudes of Young Poles to-ward the Jews and the Holocaust”. Quantitative and qualitative studies include field studies and participant observation of educational projects in Tykocin, Treblinka, Warsaw, Lublin, Bodzentyn and Kielce. The number and scope of initiatives in Poland attempting to bring back the memory of Jewish neighbours indicate that civic institutions and individuals are intensifying their efforts to teach their fellow citizens about the Holocaust, however their impact should be assessed in detail.