About Polish Memory
Paweł Sawicki
On 14 June 1940 the Germans sent a group of 728 Poles from a prison in Tarnów to the Auschwitz camp. This date is considered to be the beginning of the functioning of the camp. Today June 14 is a National Remembrance Day of Victims of the German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camps. About the memory in Poland and about Polish memory we spoke with Krzysztof Kosior, a great grandson of captain Witold Pilecki.
You have been following this Polish remembrance from a very special perspective, as it is not only a universal remembrance but also a family one. What kind of memory is it?
K.K.: Perhaps I should start with the national perspective. I would narrow it down into a kind of "six P's": Polska Pamięć jest obecnie Przypominana, Przywracana, Propagowana, ale też musi być ona Prawdziwa (Polish Memory is now Remembered, Restored, Propagated, but it must also be true). It was lost at some point. I have the impression that the subject of World War II or the Holocaust was not of particular interest to Poles in the 1990s. Today, this memory has been uncovered thanks to the great effort of various individuals. Sadly, it is often misrepresented, which is a major problem, as some people think that because they possess certain knowledge; they know it all. An important role in ensuring that memory is not misrepresented or distorted is certainly played by the Auschwitz Museum or the recently established Pilecki Institute. In my opinion, there are two sources of this misrepresentation - these are both extraneous factors because one can feel that in the United States or Israel, from our viewpoint, we are often overlooked or marginalised when it comes to the Polish experience of the war period. On the other hand, these grassroots acts of remembrance of Poland's suffering are also - to put it mildly - often less scientific, not supported by sources, but based on a general vision of the fact that we have always been the victims. However, the truth, as is customary, lies somewhere in the middle. As far as the family view goes, I also underwent such an evolution. When I was younger, the memory of Witold Pilecki was for me praiseworthy, but very distant. At that time, it reminded me of the stories about the January or November insurgents. The older I get, the closer I get to the memory of Witold Pilecki. It turned out that this is not so distant, either ideologically or temporally. I am glad that this memory has been extracted and protected by many different people, but I always try to act in such a way that it is not used for political goals. Witold Pilecki is often used as a final argument to silence an opponent during a discussion. But unfortunately, quite often the same people who willingly use Witold Pilecki, are the ones who demonstrate ignorance of history. They do not know the realities of war and occupation. For example, a case where journalists made "ridicule" about who was released from Auschwitz. How is it possible that "someone on sick leave, left the camp". Prisoners were indeed released from Auschwitz, which is thoroughly described in Witold's report. You can see that sometimes someone slips through the subject, without any knowledge of the details. They will willingly back themselves up with Pilecki but do not know the source. It is, in my opinion, very problematic. Naturally - not everyone will be a specialist in historical topics, but I would be great when people use the figure of an individual for their reflection, to at least get acquainted with the outline of "what and how". Nowadays, this knowledge is too often completely superficial. If someone uses this subject and Pilecki's reports for personal arguments, it is worth reading this book, because then he or she will learn a lot and stop committing blunders. The report is available on the Internet - it suffices to reach for it!