Vernacular memory and implicated communities

Aleksandra Janus

doi:10.3897/hmc.1.63428

Abstract

Abandoned sites of trauma in Poland appear to be forgotten, but their removal from social and cultural circles is only superficial. Frequently, these sites are inscribed into the local culture of memory and members of the local Polish communities can usually locate them and share stories about them. However, as they are not commemorated, there is an ambivalent aura around them. In 2017 two foundations (Zapomniane Foundation, The Matzevah Foundation) carried out an intervention into the landscape of Poland by marking thirty burial sites of Jewish victims of the Holocaust with simple wooden markers. The effects of that intervention shed light on the vernacular local memory of the Holocaust and the folk-traditional roots of the practices and behaviors related to these sites.

Highlights

Abandoned sites of trauma in Poland appear to be forgotten, but their removal from social and cultural circles is only superficial
This article is an attempt to analyze a commemorative project carried out in 2017 by two organizations: the Zapomniane (Forgotten) Foundation – a Jewish foundation established by members of the Rabbinic Commission for Jewish cemeteries in Poland (RCC) and The Matzevah Foundation – an American foundation devoted to the preservation of Jewish heritage in Poland
Following the suggestion of Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett (2016, 102) and Roma Sendyka (2019), I refer to non-sites of memory as a “legacy” rather than “heritage”, to avoid the association with what is monumental, celebrated or at least recognized as important, even if problematic

Summary

Introduction

Abandoned sites of trauma in Poland appear to be forgotten, but their removal from social and cultural circles is only superficial These sites are inscribed into the local culture of memory and members of the local Polish communities can usually locate them and share stories about them. Such sites appear to be abandoned and forgotten (they are not commemorated or marked, often neglected, littered, forsaken), it seems that their removal from social and cultural circles is only superficial. Non-sites of memory are defined as dispersed locations of various genocides, ethnic cleansings, and other motivated acts of violence

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Conclusion