Między wielokulturową tradycją a zróżnicowaną etnicznie współczesnością – implikacje badań nad procesami kolektywnego pamiętania na pograniczu kulturowym na przykładzie podlaskich Krynek

Abstract

Present economic crisis has moved the main interest of public opinion in the European states from the issue that has previously led to heated discussions – how to deal with growing culturally diversified composition of local societies. However, this process is continuously increasing its importance, especially in the countries like Poland, where still hardly any more deep and broad debate on the relation with foreigners arriving in the country could have been observed. This topic is even more important as several scholars claim that the country is going to face higher influx of migrants to its territory. Thus, it shall be taken up by the politicians and opinion makers in order to prepare local society for that. As many recent events show, people are not ready for this yet. Considering this issue once, it is also important to refer to experiences from the past related to intercultural relations within the Polish territory and build new policies on that. One of the spheres where the results of previous relations between Poles and people from culturally and ethnically different groups can be observed is collective memory. The most important minority that used to live in Poland were Jews. This paper is analyzing a case study of the place where they were forming a large number of local population – a small town in the eastern part of Podlasie region called Krynki. Building on the results of narrative research made there in 2008 and 2009 it uses a concept of “local realms of memory” to show to what extent an exchange of cultural patterns between ethnically different groups can be observed. It also presents the most difficult events from the past that still have to be worked out and recognized by local population in order to make its members to be better prepared for building peaceful, long‑ ‑term relations with new minorities arriving in the country.