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Accepted Paper
Paper short abstract
In the 1950s Polish explorers returned to Svalbard. Searching through preserved archives, I examine the narratives about relationships with the Arctic landscape. I investigate the relationships they established with the landscape and examine the skills and knowledge they developed in this process.
Paper long abstract
Polish explorations on Svalbard started in the interwar period, when Poland became the signatory of Spitsbergen Treaty. The outbreak of World War II and subsequent repressions by the communist authorities installed in post-war Poland halted these activities. However, in the mid-1950s, a political thaw occurred, and Polish explores returned to Svalbard.
In the 1950s and 1960s Poles mostly subscribed to the international scientific programmes on the Artic, however, as in the pre-war years, they also conducted mountaineering and other exploration activities. These complex and paradigmatically modern expeditions left behind rich source material scattered in various archives – up to this day they have been relatively little researched, primarily by historians or polar enthusiasts. However, even a cursory glance at the archives reveals an incredibly ethnographic record of complex experiences and activities embedded in a unique landscape.
Poles developed a close, intimate, and interactive relationship with Svalbard`s landscape. Apart from a few individuals familiar with the Artic since the pre-war period, the remaining members of the expeditions had to learn Svalbard`s landscape from scratch. This process is clearly visible in the preserved sources, which include texts, documents, images, and material objects. Using methods developed by historical and landscape anthropology, I ask precisely how the process of acquiring knowledge about the Arctic landscape proceeded? What relationships did climbers and explorers enter into with the landscape? What skills did they acquire in the process? And finally - what what narratives on Svalbard have been preserved in the sources?
More than repositories: archives as narrative landscapes of nature and culture
Session 1 Sunday 14 June, 2026, -