From Collective Site of Memory into National Institution. Jews, Poles, and the Polish Armed Forces, 1918 to 1939

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The integral part of the consolidation of the so-called Second Polish Republic after the First World War was the creation of the national military forces. Influenced by military conflicts on almost all borders of the Polish Republic, the Polish Army was transformed into a national institution deeply rooted in the Polish collective memory of the 19th century. The fundamental importance of the military sphere as an element of the Polish collective memory in 19th century raises the question how far these traditional elements were recovered and incorporated into the new Polish Army and the independent Polish state after 1918. There are two parallel levels of research. The first objective of the study is to show how, in a new political and social reality of the Polish Republic, dominant national collective memory narratives originating from the 19th century traditions were implemented into the building of the Polish army. It is also crucial to investigate the importance of the founding of the Polish military forces for the state and society and their influence on the nation building processes. At the parallel level, the correlation and interdependence between the military and Jewish population of Poland is analyzed. The particular emphasis is put on the recognition of Jewish military and patriotic achievements, and, consequently, placing and integrating them in the polish military tradition. The conflict between integration willingness of a part of the Jewish population and Polish defensive demeanour was clearly visible in the treatment of Jews in the Polish army. On one hand, it was possible that Jews fought e.g. in the Polish Legions and were accepted and appreciated as commendable patriots, on the other hand, there were incidents casting a shadow over the Polish-Jewish relations. The detention of several thousands of Jewish recruits and volunteers in Jablonna during the Polish-Soviet War in 1920 distinctly depicts how complicated the relations between Poles and Jews were. The research project represents an attempt at analysing the Jewish-Polish relations of the inter-war time from the military historical point of view. The conversion of the 19th century legacy of the cultural memory into the national state institution of the Polish Army standing for and symbolizing a significant nation building function is of the highest priority here. The research activities constitute a socio-cultural historical study providing a substantial contribution to the understanding of the Polish contemporary history which was influenced by the presence of the military forces.