| Translated Title: |
Milosz and nationalism |
| Publication: |
Works and days
(46/2006) |
| Author Name: |
Lewandowski, Waclaw;
|
| Language: |
Lithuanian |
| Subject: |
Philology / Linguistics |
| Issue: |
46/2006 |
| Page Range: |
147-152 |
| No. of Pages: |
6 |
| File size: |
202
KB |
| Download Fee: |
2 Euro (€) |
| Summary: |
This article deals with rhe evolvement of Milosz' views on nationalism, notably his views concern¬ing the use of national stereotypes by communists as a useful tool for sovietizing Polish society. The article describes arguments exchanged between Mifosz and the nationalists of the interwar period (basically, the fascistic ONR "Falanga"). It also presents the poet's outlook on the negative effects of a hangover from the "Falanga" on post-war Polish mentality. The author also discusses attacks and actions undertaken against the poet by nationalistic forces during the last period of his life. The dispute about his burial place is also mentioned in this article.
As Tomas Venclova used to write, was one of the last representatives of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (the Wielkie Ksiptwo Litewskie) generation. For this generation all matters associated with nationalism were of secondary importance, not significant in terms of wider meaning. For this reason the poet was horrified by the peculiar flirtation of the regime under Pilsudskį with na¬tionalist parties, especially the ONR, in the Warsaw of the 1930s. During the war was reluctant to comprehend the nation in purely ethnic terms. Therefore, he kept the underground soldier-poets, like Gajcy or Baczynski, at some distance. The poet deluded himself that the change in the political system in post-war Poland, despite some unfavorable effects, would bring about a positive transfor¬mation in eliminating chauvinism from the social consciousness of the Polish nation.
After emigrating in 1951, he continued to think that the Polish generation in exile held on to its nationalistic patriotism in the spirit of the ONR "Falanga" and thus represented a mental anachronism. That is why he regarded his choice of living in exile as suicide and expressed this thought in the program article, "Nie". However, he quickly realized how wrong he had been. It was the Polish emigre society, which, in general, cleansed itself of nationalistic tendencies. Conversely, in Poland, chauvinism survived because the conservative community in the nation flirted with the communists (a meaningful sign of this link is the genesis of the "PAX" Association). Even more telling is the fact that, following the political changes in the years 1989-90, nationalist literary criticism in the spirit of the pre-war weekly periodical, Prosto z mostu {Straightfrom the Shoulder), was revived in Poland. One critic spoke of imposing on Milosz "the loss of national identity" and identified his break with communists as a betrayal of Poland. The high point of this kind of criticism occurred after the poets death. |
| Keywords: |
Milosz; nationalism; |
|
