Brr, Bereza. Polish literature towards the Confinement Centre in Bereza Kartuska. 1934–1939

Abstract

The article concerns the presence of the theme and motif of the Place of Isolation at Bereza Kartuska in broadly understood Polish literature. It presents the most important facts pertaining to this institution and the controversy related to its name (considered a euphemism) and the similarity of the “place of isolation” to other places of repression, such as the Russian Katorga, the communist Solovetsky Special Purpose Camp, or the Nazi Dachau concentration camp. The disputes that took place around the Place of Isolation during its functioning (1934–1939) are discussed, in which the writers also participated. Information on writers imprisoned at Bereza (Stanisław Mackiewicz, Leon Pasternak, Andrzej Wolica et al.) and poetry (also non-Polish) created there are also included. The subject of consideration are also literary works created outside the Place of Isolation during its functioning.

Keywords

• place of isolation at bereza kartuska
• concentration camps
• polish literature
• theme and motif
• politics of memory