The Archaeology of Local Identity
Layers of Memory in Szczecin since 1989
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
In the People’s Republic of Poland, the Prussian and German history of cities such as Wrocław (Breslau), Gdańsk (Danzig), or Szczecin (Stettin) was largely taboo for political reasons. Since 1989, things have changed. Historians and citizens are laying bare one layer of memory after the other. They want to know what used to be. Historical events and persons, even those from the city’s German era, are becoming part of communal and regional identity. The transformation of collective memory in Szczecin is seen in the way anniversaries and memorials are handled.
(Osteuropa 8/2013, pp. 19–34)