“Human Lives Are Getting Cheaper…” Discussion with Monika Golonka-Czajkowska, Dariusz Nikiel, Kaja Kajder
“Human Lives Are Getting Cheaper…” Discussion with Monika Golonka-Czajkowska, Dariusz Nikiel, Kaja Kajder

Summary/Abstract: Józef Kuraś “Ogień” and his troops in social imagination: An anthropological study of experiencing the past (National Science Centre grant no. 2016/21/B/HS3/02921) at the Institute of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology of the Jagiellonian University. The aim of the project was to study important cultural phenomena associated with the story of Józef Kuraś “Ogień” and his soldiers. A thorough consideration of how the stories of partisan soldiers affect social imagination seems justified given the conflicts this topic provokes. Such conflicts are observable among residents of the Podhale and Spiš regions; in the broader context of Poland, they are an element of discussions on the so-called ‘cursed’ or “indomitable’ soldiers. Aside from the story of Józef Kuraś, the scope of our research also included the phenomena associated with contemporary perception of experiences from the Second World War and its aftermath in the studied region. The material thus interpreted included existing sources (archival material, historical studies, journalistic texts, statements found in internet media, works of art and pop culture) as well as sources created through ethnographic field research. Observations of events relevant for the topic as well as interviews and conversations were conducted primarily in towns and villages in the Podtatrze region, i.a. Waksmund, Ostrowsko, Łopuszna, “Human Lives Are Getting Cheaper…” Gronków, Ochotnica Dolna and Ochotnica Górna, Krościenko nad Dunajcem, Witów, Nowy Targ and Zakopane; as well as the Spiš region: Nowa Biała, Jurgów, Czarna Góra, Łapsze Niżne.

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