The partisan unit under the command of captain R. Rajs (Bury) activity on the territory of Białystok region in 1944–1946 in the politics of memory of the Republic of Poland

Abstract

The polish politics of memory concerning the activities of the unit under the command of captain R. Rajs (Bury) in Białystok region in 1944–1946 is considered in the article. The aim of the study is to analyse public practices, places of memory and their role in forming and reflecting the collective memory about R. Rajs’s unit (whose representatives are referred to as «cursed soldiers»). The analysis of public practices, memorable days and places of memory in Poland revealed a confrontation between two narratives. The first one is the nationalist and anti-communist narrative. It is transmitted by the state through the Institute of National Remembrance, museum institutions, as well as by right-wing political parties, movement, public organisations and the media close to them. According to them, R. Rajs is a hero who fought in the interests of the Polish state. Another narrative is presented by Belarusian national minority, their public organisations and mass media. They try to preserve the memory of the 1946 tragedy in the society and define the activities of the R. Rajs’s unit as crimes. The author emphasises that the judicial investigation completed in 2005 by the Institute of National Remembrance came to the conclusion that R. Rajs actions had signs of genocide. The author notes that the polish historical politics departs in some sense from humanistic, universal values. It focuses on the nationalist vision of history and actually ignores the interests of the Belarusians of Białystok region.

Keywords

• politics of memory
• poland
• belarusians
• romuald rajs
• «cursed soldiers»
• the institute of national remembrance
• genocide