Nation, national remembrance, and education – Polish schools as factories of nationalism and prejudice

Abstract

This article describes and attempts to explain the reasons for the conservative and nationalist character of Polish schools. The author uses data from surveys, analyzes political programs, postulates concerning education put forward by conservatives, and quotes poems emphasizing national identity from textbooks used at schools to teach reading skills. According to the author, it can be observed that nationalists build an atmosphere of aversion to immigrants, which affects racism in the school hallways. The article also presents the phenomenon of so-called school chambers of national remembrance, which are part of patriotic rituals practiced by Polish society. The author emphasizes that nationalism is the basis for changes in history programs of study, which are part of the educational reform implemented by the Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwość – PiS) government. The cultural soft power, which is used to make reality more “national,” complements the administrative and political hard power of the PiS party – both tools are used to create an authoritarian-nationalist vision of social order.

Keywords:

• right-wing education
• national remembrance in schools
• ethnic prejudices
• “pedagogy of shame;” nationalist legitimacy
• nationalism

Notes

1. All information on the educational activities of the Institute of National Remembrance comes from the website: https://ipn.gov.pl/.

2. In his book Kryptonim Hiacynt [Codename Hyacinth], Selerowicz (2015) shows that the IPN refused to give gay communities the status of the persecuted during the Communist regime, claiming that the then-communist police actions against homosexuals were preventive measures and it is difficult to regard them as unlawful.