‘Coat Thieves’ and Bandits? Belarusian Counter-Memory of the ‘Cursed Soldiers’

StatusVoR
Simple item page
cris.lastimport.scopus2025-08-30T03:11:20Z
dc.abstract.enIn the article, we analyse attitudes of representatives of the Belarusian minority in Poland towards the armed anti-communist underground operating in the Podlasie region after 1944 (the so-called ‘cursed soldiers’). Drawing on semi-structured interviews with various Belarusian actors, as well as on observations made during field research in the Podlasie region in June 2021, we are able to illustrate a clash between official commemorative practices and the local and communicative memory of the Belarusians. We analyse the role played by the collective memory of the underground among the Belarusian minority in Podlasie against the backdrop of the hegemonic politics of memory that glorifies the ‘cursed soldiers’ as national heroes. The analysis of counter-hegemonic memory accounts and their relation to dominant narratives uncovers the emotions generated by the hegemonic politics of memory among representatives of the Belarusian minority, who generally regard it as depreciating their experience and evoking a sense of endangerment. We show that Belarusian memory is perceived as incompatible with the ideological assumptions of the hegemonic Polish memory; therefore, we want to give voice to the marginalised representatives of the Belarusian minority. However, the Belarusian minority should not be perceived as a homogenous group – our analysis points to the fact that various actors various actors negotiate the hegemonic politics of memory in various ways when faced with the pressure of assimilation.
dc.affiliationWydział Nauk Humanistycznych w Warszawie
dc.affiliationInstytut Nauk Humanistycznych
dc.affiliationInstytut Nauk Społecznych
dc.contributor.authorDobrosielski, Paweł
dc.contributor.authorJaskułowski, Krzysztof
dc.contributor.authorMajewski, Piotr
dc.date.access2024-02-07
dc.date.accessioned2024-02-09T09:10:32Z
dc.date.available2024-02-09T09:10:32Z
dc.date.created2024-01-09
dc.date.issued2024-02-07
dc.description.abstract<jats:p>In the article, we analyse attitudes of representatives of the Belarusian minority in Poland towards the armed anti-communist underground operating in the Podlasie region after 1944 (the so-called ‘cursed soldiers’). Drawing on semi-structured interviews with various Belarusian actors, as well as on observations made during field research in the Podlasie region in June 2021, we are able to illustrate a clash between official commemorative practices and the local and communicative memory of the Belarusians. We analyse the role played by the collective memory of the underground among the Belarusian minority in Podlasie against the backdrop of the hegemonic politics of memory that glorifies the ‘cursed soldiers’ as national heroes. The analysis of counter-hegemonic memory accounts and their relation to dominant narratives uncovers the emotions generated by the hegemonic politics of memory among representatives of the Belarusian minority, who generally regard it as depreciating their experience and evoking a sense of endangerment. We show that Belarusian memory is perceived as incompatible with the ideological assumptions of the hegemonic Polish memory; therefore, we want to give voice to the marginalised representatives of the Belarusian minority. However, the Belarusian minority should not be perceived as a homogenous group – our analysis points to the fact that various actors various actors negotiate the hegemonic politics of memory in various ways when faced with the pressure of assimilation.</jats:p>
dc.description.accesstimeat_publication
dc.description.grantnumber2019/33/B/HS6/00124
dc.description.granttitlePolityka pamięci wobec antykomunistycznego podziemia. Między państwowymi upamiętnieniami, a kulturą popularną i komercjalizacją
dc.description.physical45-65
dc.description.versionfinal_published
dc.description.volume128
dc.identifier.doi10.12775/APH.2023.128.03
dc.identifier.eissn2450-8462
dc.identifier.issn0001-6829
dc.identifier.urihttps://share.swps.edu.pl/handle/swps/458
dc.identifier.weblinkhttps://apcz.umk.pl/APH/article/view/48580
dc.languageen
dc.pbn.affiliationnauki o kulturze i religii
dc.pbn.affiliationnauki socjologiczne
dc.rightsCC-BY-ND
dc.rights.questionYes_rights
dc.share.articleOPEN_JOURNAL
dc.subject.enBelarusian minority in Poland
dc.subject.encounter-memory
dc.subject.encursed soldiers
dc.swps.sciencecloudsend
dc.title‘Coat Thieves’ and Bandits? Belarusian Counter-Memory of the ‘Cursed Soldiers’
dc.title.journalActa Poloniae Historica
dc.typeJournalArticle
dspace.entity.typeArticle