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abookonthehistoryoftheTeutonicOrder,publishedintheFRGseveraltimes,abook
excellentbothwithrespecttocontentandform,inwhichhehandledaparticularlydif-
ficulttopicwhichstirscontroversyalsoamongscholars.28Hewasabletogobeyond
thedemagogicalandsubjectiveassessmentsthatoriginatedinabundanceinthe19th
and20thcenturies.
***
ReferringtothesplendidbooktheGermanscholarwroteabouttheTeutonicOr-
der,weareinaperfectpositiontomoveontoadiferentgenreofhistoricalliterature
whichunfortunatelyenjoysacertainpopularity,namely‘court’historiography.What
weunderstandunderthisnotionarethetributespaidtoeveryauthorityanditspoten-
tialexpectations.Since1989,wecanobservethesurprisingabout-facesofnumer-
ousindividualswhousedtofollowthe‘onlyright’directioninthedimcultperiodof
1949-1956.29Theyhavenoinhibitionsinbandyingfactsabout,whichthewitnessesof
thoseevents,includingtheauthorofthepresenttext(bornin1940),observeincredu-
lously.Butwealsohaveliteraturewhichremainsinconformitywiththefacts,yet
approachesthemselectively.Thusweobtainincompleteandbiasedaccounts,asex-
emplifiedbythebookofaPolishexpertontheMiddleAgesaboutthewhitelegendof
theTeutonicOrder.30HerbookisinstrikingcontrasttothethoroughstudyofHartmut
Boockmann.WhatthePolishauthorfailedtoexpresswasovertlysaidintheintroduc-
tionbytheGrandMasteroftheOrder,ArnoldWieland,residinginVienna.Hedidnot
refrainfromattackingHenrykSienkiewicz’snovel,whichmaybealiteraryvision,yet
onefoundedonauthenticsources.ItistruethatSienkiewiczwasselectiveabouthis
sources,butanartistisallowedtodowhatdoesnotbefitahistorian.31Atthetimeof
transition(whichcommencedin1980andintensifiednineyearslater)ithasbecome
commoninjournalism,aswellasinacademictextsortheonesaspiringtothisstatus,
whereheemphasizedhoweasilyZernackdiscussesbothmoreremotehistory(hespecializesin)as
wellasmodernhistoryofPolandandRussia.
28H.Boockmann,ZakonKrzyżacki.Dwanaścierozdziałówjegohistorii,translatedfromGer-
manbyR.Traba,Warszawa1998.Cf.theremarksabouttheauthor(whodiedatthetimethesecond
Polisheditionwasinprint)byM.BiskupandR.Rexheuserandmyreviewofhisworkpublishedin
“PrzeglądZachodni,”no.4(297),Poznań2000,pp.225-226.
29Perhapsthemoststrikingexampleisthetendentiousnessinthepresentationofmartiallaw;
Iamdevelopingareviewpaperdevotedtothe‘black’and‘white’perceptionoftheeventsofDe-
cember13,1981.
30Z.Kowalska,Krzyżacywinnymświetle.Odśredniowieczadoczasówwspółczesnych,edi-
tionII,Wien-Tarnów1997.ReviewerM.Kosman,“PrzeglądZachodni,”no.3(292),Poznań2000,
pp.222-227;cf.alsoidem,ZrozważańnadkulturąpolitycznąwPolsceI,chapterOKrzyżaków
gniewyi...umizgi,pp.67-73.
31SeethethoroughandseriouscommentsconcerningHenrykSienkiewicz’snovelsmadeby
H.Boockmann,pp.295-297;comparewithrespecttotheissueofhistoricaltruthandliteraryfic-
tioninHenrykSienkiewicz’snovels:M.Kosman,Natropachbohaterów„Krzyżaków”,Warszawa
1995.
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