The War that Never Ends

Paweł Machcewicz

Open Access Published by De Gruyter Oldenbourg 2019

The War that Never Ends

The Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk

Paweł Machcewicz

Volume 1 in the series Public History in International Perspective

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110659092

Overview
Contents

About this book

The story of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk epitomizes one of the most important and dramatic clashes in the European culture of memory and public history in last decades. The museum became the arch-enemy for the nationalist right-wing as “cosmopolitan”, “pseudo-universalistic”, “pacifistic” and “not Polish enough”.

Paweł Machcewicz, historian and museum`s founding director, was removed from his position by the Law and Justice government immediately after opening the museum to the public. In his book he presents this story as a part of cultural wars that tear apart not only Poland but also many countries in Europe and on other continents.

Author information

Paweł Machcewicz, Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw.

Reviews

"The collapse of democracy, the museum’s first theme, could hardly be more salient than it is right now. And the presentation of the conflict as a global tragedy could hardly be more instructive ...　 Unlike other museums devoted to history’s most devastating war, which tend to begin and end with national history, the Gdańsk museum has set out to show the perspectives of societies around the world, through a sprawling collection ... and through themes that bring seemingly disparate experiences together. It is hard to think of a more fitting place for such a museum than Poland, whose citizens experienced the worst of the war". Timothy Snyder

"The story of Machcewicz and the museum in Gdańsk is worth reading for anyone who is interested specifically in the current developments in Poland or in the prospects and difficulties of public history practice in general. It is a striking example of the impact historical museums may have upon society and of how politics might try to control and manipulate the narratives told in exhibitions – especially if it affects questions of national identity. […] The War that Never Ends is a manual of practice on how to build a museum and how to prepare a complex historical exhibition. Since there is little explicit academic training for curators or directors of newly founded museums, this report might be helpful for anyone
dealing with similar questions." Linda von Keyserlingk-Rehbein in: International Journal of Military History and Historiography 40/2020, 340-341.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	V
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	IX
Paweł Is a Dead Man Publicly Available Download PDF	1
I. The Beginnings
It All Started with an Article … Publicly Available Download PDF	7
Museum, but What Museum? Publicly Available Download PDF	13
“Disintegration of the Polish Nation” Publicly Available Download PDF	16
History Museums: Between Collective Imagination and Politics Publicly Available Download PDF	27
II. Making the Museum
The First Months at the Office of the Prime Minister Publicly Available Download PDF	37
Assembling the Gdańsk Team Publicly Available Download PDF	48
Architecture, Archeology, and Construction Publicly Available Download PDF	55
Building the Collection and Planning the Exhibitions Publicly Available Download PDF	62
The Academic Advisory Committee, or a Multitude of Perspectives Publicly Available Download PDF	76
From the Concept to the Exhibitions and Everything in Between Publicly Available Download PDF	83
Before the Storm Publicly Available Download PDF	92
III. The War
“The Polish Point of View” Publicly Available Download PDF	97
Minister Gliński Comes at Night Publicly Available Download PDF	104
The Race Against Time Publicly Available Download PDF	111
Parliamentary Committee on Culture: Hunting for “Encyclopedists” Publicly Available Download PDF	116
Reviewers Unmasked Publicly Available Download PDF	125
Stalingrad Instead of Blitzkrieg Publicly Available Download PDF	138
The Finale Publicly Available Download PDF	154
Not the End of the Story Publicly Available Download PDF	173
Bibliography Publicly Available Download PDF	180
Index of Names Publicly Available Download PDF	182
Photos Bartosz Makowski Publicly Available Download PDF	185

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter Oldenbourg
Pages
- Front matter: 10
- Main content: 194
Illustrations
- Coloured Illustrations: 10

eBook

Published: October 8, 2019
ISBN: 9783110659092

Hardcover

Published: October 8, 2019
ISBN: 9783110654608

Paperback

Published: September 20, 2021
ISBN: 9783110763492