Zagłada (nie) dla dzieci. Nadużycia w polskiej literaturze dziecięcej XXI wieku
Holocaust (not) for children. Abuses in Polish children's literature of the 21st century

Summary/Abstract: This article analyzes three children’s books which talk about the Holocaust (Joanna Rudniańska’s Kotka Brygidy [Brygida’s kitten], Grażyna Bąkiewicz’s Ta potworna wojna [That horrible war] with Artur Nowicki’s illustrations, and Agata Tuszyńska and Iwona Chmielewska’s Mama zawsze wraca [Mom always comes back]) as well as academic and journalistic works regarding this phenomenon. Holocaust children’s literature is often described as an educational medium that shapes young readers. Thus, it presents various values and constitutes a sphere of ideological tensions. Within this framework one can identify the abuses present in the works and discussed in the studies such as the characters’ moral ambiguity, use of comedy and the comic book form, or aestheticization and commercialization of books about the Holocaust. The article is to interpret the artistic phenomena and their reception by adult readers, who often adopt clearly subjective stances, expressing political and moral judgments on works for children and the images of the Holocaust presented there as well as the very act of writing for children about the Shoah.

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