Publiczne konstruowanie historii. Przeszłość w prawicowej ikonografii
The Public Construction of History: The Past in Right-Wing Iconography

Summary/Abstract: Saryusz-Wolska analyses covers of conservative weekly magazines to examine contemporary Polish right-wing iconography. Focusing on historical motifs, she highlights the mechanisms behind the construction of ‘us’ and ‘them’ or ‘enemies’ and ‘friends’ in visual discourses. Drawing on voices from both politics and the media, these right-wingers call attention to perceived threats – such as Europe, Germany, Russia, or refugees. The magazine covers studied here mirror those ‘threats’ by drawing on a simplistic and emotional symbolism. The European Union is likened to Nazism, Angela Merkel to Hitler. We also see collages that draw on historical iconography but in a contemporary context, such as refugees forcing Poland’s borders in the place of Wehrmacht soldiers. Thus the iconography of the right creates simplistic parallels and suggests false analogies.

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