COLLECTIVE MEMORY IN PUBLIC DISCOURSE. INTERNET DISCUSSION OF NEIGHBOURING GROUP IN POLAND

Of cial history at school manuals and in scienti c publications presented by dominant group is very often questioned by minority groups. Their interpretation of bygone events usually based on oral history. They believed that history transmitted directly in group is more “authentic”, contrary to the of cial which is more ideological.I went through internet discussion concerning historical background of two neighboring groups. They live on South-West of country, but during the division of Poland in 1792 they were incorporated to different states. One of them – Silesians were included to Prussia, the other group to Russian Empire. The collective memory of these groups were formed in different circumstances and now descendant of these group recall history in different way. They also presented another attitudes toward of cial history. Nowadays, because of political reason, these groups live in one administration unit. In communist time, group of Russian background was the ruling one. Now Silesians are more in uential in social life. What is interesting, both group used history in very instrumental way. The internet discussion shows how both group used their history to substantiate symbolic domination, how they invent their historical position. Discussion contains past events, commemoration of heroes (monuments, name of street), right to use dialect.