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WAITINGFORANKEXPLOSIONOFMEMORY’
Formanydecadesnowwehavebeengettingusedtotheideathatmemoryhas
intangibleandimpermanentelements.Wenolongerbelievethatitisstrictlyarep-
ertoryofreal-lifeeventsfromthepast,orthatitenablesanobjectivereconstruc-
tionoftimespast.Temodernand(especially)postmoderndevelopmentsinthe
humanitieshavemadeitclearthateveryreminiscencenecessarilyconstitutesan
actofcreation;itisnotimpervioustotheinfluencesofourcurrentsituation,and
itdoesnotinfactreferustothepastitself,butrathertoourimageandideaofit.
TepossibilityofdistinguishingbetweenKthereal’andKtheimagined’inourpast
hasalreadybeenquestionedbyFreudinhisdiscussionofprimaryfantasies,andthe
roleoffantasizingingeneral.Tephenomenonoffalsememorieshasbeenapop-
ularresearchprobleminpsychologytothisday.In1941,theFrenchsociologist
MauriceHalbwachsintroducedthenotionoftheKsocialframeworkofmemory,’
arguingthatKthepastisnotpreservedbutisreconstructedonthebasisofthepres-
ent....Collectiveframeworksare...preciselytheinstrumentsusedbythecollec-
tivememorytoreconstructanimageofthepastwhichisinaccord,ineachepoch,
withthepredominantthoughtsofthesociety’(1992:40).Treedecadeslater,
workinginthecontextofpostmodernphilosophy,HaydenWhitepublishedhis
famousbookMetahistory:TeHistoricalImaginationinNineteenth‑CenturyEurope,
inwhichhespokeofhistoricalstudyasKaverbalstructureintheformofanarrative
prosediscourse’(1973:2),therebyspreadingtheideathatthereconstructionofthe
pastcanonlyfunctionasoneoranotherkindofnarrative,andneverolersadirect
accesstofacts.Towardstheendofthetwentiethcentury,thankstoMarianneHirsch
(1997),thenotionofpostmemorybecameknownworldwide,showingthatmem-
oriesdonotneedtobefoundedonpersonalexperience.
WellawareofthefactthattracingbackpasteventsastheyKreally’occurredis
notpossible,weshouldneverthelessbeattentivetovariousdeliberateattemptsat
manipulatingourmemoryandourhistory.Asweknow,thetwentiethcenturyhad
broughtalltoomanyexamplesofsuchpractices,andwecontinuetoobservethem
today.Propagandatechniquesareperfectedinordertoadvocatetheversionsofthe
pastthatsuitthoseincharge.Suchpracticesoccuramongbothworldpowersand
smallercountries,controlledbypower-hungrycynicsor,worse,fanatics.Sadly,
suchafatebefellPoland,too.Undertheheadingoftheso-calledgoodchange,
thepresentgovernmentblatantlyinterfereswiththeschoolcurriculainhistory
andliterature,pacifiesmuseumsandotherheritageinstitutions,censorsartists,
imposespriority(i.e.Ktheonlyproper’)researchtopicstoscholars—allforthe
purposeofemphasizingandexaltingthenationalistaspectsofPolishhistorywhile
marginalizingfigureswhoareinconvenientfortheauthorities.Sufceittosaythat
