The Past in the Present - The Construction of Polish History

What do we remember from our national past and why ? What are the dangers of history being (mis-)appropriated by politicians ? Past in the Present provides a critical analysis of recent disputes over Polish historiography. The author uses theories of collective memory as a guideline, and the Polish-German borderlands as his leitmotif. Western academic currents and long-standing (and often forgotten) Polish intellectual traditions serve as backdrop.
Throughout his work – with topics ranging from Golo Mann and Stefan Czarnowski to the "other side of memory" and the "political cult of the fallen" – Traba advocates modernization and "polyphony" in the construction of a new Polish history.