Religious Nation or National Religion: Poland’s Heroes and the (Re) Construction of National Identity in History Textbooks

Abstract

The chapter focuses on the narratives of Saint Hedwig and Jozef Pilsudski – two national heroes represented in Polish school historiography. The research aim is to analyze both the process of composing national history textbooks whose heroes represent a broader Polish ethnic-nationalist perspective and civic nationalism, as well as the symbiosis between church, education, and civil society. Critical Discourse Analysis was used to analyze semiotic data and texts related to Queen Jadwiga and Marshall Pilsudski to identify key problems of Polish discourse of national leaders in history textbooks. The concept of nationhood constructed through Jadwiga’s and Pilsudski’s heroism serves to define Polishness as a concept of a mighty, though permanently threatened nation. Two representations of Polishness seem to dominate the national discourse on heroism: one is an image of a glorious and powerful Poland, and the other is an expression of the instability and fragility of Poland’s existence. Placing both historiographical narratives in a broader context of Polish cultural and social change shows an incredible durability of the connection between national discourse and religious framework. Critical analysis also allows to speculate on the noticeable, though limited and perfunctory “Europeanizationt of the national heroism discourse in Poland.