Wynalezione ocalenie. Pamięć o katastrofie cystern z chlorem w Białymstoku w prasie, literaturze i kulturze
Invented Rescue: Memory of the Białystok Chlorine Tank Cars Disaster in the Press, Literature, and Culture

Summary/Abstract: The article presents a way to use the memory of the 1989 Białystok chlorine tank cardisaster for a new interpretation of the city’s history. Based on this example and usingHobsbawm’s concept of “invented tradition,” Kochanowski is the first to present theprocess of creating a new narrative of Białystok in cultural texts. This narrative emphasizesthe merits of the Catholic Church in saving the city from the catastrophe’s aftermath, thuserasing the traces of Jewish history in Białystok. The article draws on texts’ interpretationsand contemporary research in the anthropology of memory (including theories by PierreNora and Aleida Assmann) and reflections on the meaning of catastrophes in culture byUrlich Beck, Milton Friedman, and Marek Bieńczyk.

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