Jedwabne: The Problem of Guilt in Poland's Historical Politics

The article analyzes the role of Poland's historical policy in shaping national memory and its influence on public discourse about complex historical events. The aim of the work is to identify and systematize the mechanisms and tools through which the state forms and regulates historical memory, as well as to characterize the trends of excluding complex and contradictory aspects of the past from public consciousness. The research pays particular attention to analyzing the mechanisms of historical policy that exclude recognition of responsibility for the crime in Jedwabne in 1941, the publicity of which sparked widespread public discussion in the early years of the 21st century in Poland. These trends, associated with strengthening the image of the "victim nation," significantly influence contemporary political and public discourse. The methodology is based on a comprehensive analysis of legislative acts, official statements from the Institute of National Remembrance, as well as discourse in academic and journalistic sources, including qualitative content analysis and historical-political analysis. The novelty of the research lies in identifying a systematic strategy for managing collective memory through legislation and institutions, as well as in the critical analysis of mechanisms of exclusion and distortion of contradictory aspects of history. The applicability of the results includes the development of theoretical concepts regarding memory politics and historical responsibility in the Eastern European region, as well as practical use in preparing educational programs and international diplomacy aimed at interethnic reconciliation and preserving an objective historical picture. The conclusions show that historical policy in Poland contributes to the consolidation of a one-sided perception of the past, hindering open and critical historical discussion, while also forming a stable model of national identity based on victimhood and the exclusion of responsibility for past crimes.

Historical politics, Memory politics, Poland, Jedwabne, Historical responsibility, Politicization of the past, Places of memory, Holocaust, Polish-Jewish relations, East Europe