"Nie Zapomnimy Nigdy!" Narracje o Przeszłości Odczytywane z Drugoobiegowych Znaczków i Kart Pocztowych Rozpowszechnianych w PRL w Latach Osiemdziesiątych Dwudziestego Wieku
"We will Never Forget!" The Story of History Based on the Samizdat Post Stamps and Cards Distributed in the Polish People's Republic in the 1980s

Summary/Abstract: In the 1980s, in the Polish People’s Republic, the activity of the underground publishing houses was expanding. In the samizdat, there were thousands of various prints, which were a common carrier of historical motifs. The conducted research involves over 1000 printed items including post stamps and cards, which were published to commemorate events and/or people from the past. The underground creators often refer to the Second World War – in the analysed materials, there are over 400 printed items devoted to, e.g., the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the invasion of Poland, chosen battles, especially the Battle of Monte Cassino, the Katyn Massacre, the Warsaw Uprising. Other popular events are, e.g., the decreeing of the Constitution of the 3rd May 1791 (14 items), the national uprisings (72 items), the restoration of Poland’s sovereignty (86 items). It is also worth noting that there are events that were not exposed as, e.g., the Battle of Grunwald (only one item); it can be assumed that it was not promoted by underground publishing houses as it was promoted by the communist authorities. The historic motifs are reproduced not only on postage stamps but also occasionally on, e.g., postcards and envelopes. These kinds of prints were a part of oppositionists’ visual language. The transmitting and receiving strategies were not formalized whereby quite consistent. It can be assumed that such prints could arouse social historic awareness especially in the case of events and/or people that were a ‘terra incognita’ in the politics of memory in the Polish People’s Republic.

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