Authors

Barbara Klassa¹;  ¹ University of Gdansk, Poland

Discussion

The aim of the text will be to examine the way(s) of teaching difficult history using the example of the Volhynia massacre. It should be emphasized that until 1989, this crime was practically absent from Polish historical discourse, not only the official one, but also the so-called second circulation. In 21st Century the process of restoring the memory of these events is still slow, but visible. The celebration of the 50th anniversary of the massacre and Wojciech Smarzowski's 2016 film, popular in Poland, about the events in Volhynia during World War II, played an important role here. The perception of this issue by Poles and Ukrainians is different, which became particularly important after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the large influx of Ukrainian refugees to Poland. How to tell students about the crimes committed by Ukrainians against Poles in such a special situation?

The basis of the analysis will be Polish history textbooks, primarily those published within the last 10 years, and interviews with history teachers will also be used as a primary sources.