Historia i pamięć: korzyść zdystansowana

At the end of the 20th century memory became a value corresponding to the modern pluralistic vision of the past. Today it is believed that “historical memory” in some way reproduces necessary for society communication with the past which before was provided by tradition. Issues of identity – individual and collective – have been attracting the attention of representatives of various social sciences and humanities for a long time. It is totally understandable that in contemporary historiography special attention is paid to the role of ideas about the past and historical myths as elements of social identity. Historical myths are perceived as credible “memories” and are a significant part of a specific world image while playing an important role both in the orientation of individual behaviours and the translation of ethical values. Therefore, there is a need to analyze the formation of various historical myths, their specific functions, their living environment, their marginalization or re-actualisation in everyday historical consciousness, their exploitation and ideological re-evaluation, including changing one another or competing national history narratives. A solution to one of the most important problems is becoming more and more current. It is associated with learning the mechanisms of recording and converting in memory of different generations their experiences of historical events, how nations and specific groups experienced profound social changes and conflicts (including the wars and revolutions), especially in the intercultural and comparative-historical perspective because these provide a key role in ideological polemics and political practice. What is the difference between “the history of historians” and other representations of the past, and what is the benefit of separating history from memory? Historical memory meets the sense of justice on the road of historical criticism. History gets its scientific status of historical knowledge by distancing itself from memory and making it the subject of critical analysis.