Politické parametry moderní polské historiografie.

Abstract

Political Parameters of Modern Polish Historiography

Modern Polish historiography is typical of specific forming of the relationship between history and present. The basic patterns of this situation were rooted in times of decline of the first (noble) Polish Republic. History has become a sort of strategy compensating the lost statehood. The destruction of the state by the end of the 18th century resulted in interpreting of the national history as a hypothesis – was it feasible to save the state, and if not, who was responsible for the failure? Since the history could not be returned, politics tried to answer this question using different historical conceptions to justify the strategies that were designed to secure prospective development or to reach the independence. The question then sounded – was it feasible to save the state, and if yes, what was the cause of the success? Given political strategy perceived itself as a fulfilment of historical destiny and its successes and failures were the successes and failures of its understanding of national history.

Keywords: Poland, history, Polish historiography