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Paper short abstract:

The paper explores relations between history and belonging at the example of historical reenactment in Poland. I investigate how representing transnational history is used to establish sense of belonging on a local or national and rather rarely transnational level.

Paper long abstract:

In this paper I refer to the concept of transnational history (see Iriye 2013) which may be perceived as a point of reference for common experiences and shared fate of various nations and ethnic groups. I discuss the example of Poland where nationalistic and often also xenophobic attitudes are visible in the public sphere, somehow contradictory to the more and more translocal and transnational character of social life. I focus on representing transnational history of WWII which results in construing communities of values guided by one of two main principles: 1) perceiving Poles as members of a transnational community, sharing some common historical experiences and facing common present challenges or 2) seeing Poland as superior to other nations, as a country which needs to protect itself from negative outside influences. Transnational history is used (by reenactors and by their audiences: spectators, journalists, politicians) to support both above mentioned interpretations of the past. Therefore I pay particular attention to the performative power of reenacting the past, since history not only roots in community (exceeding reenactment groups and including people having similar understanding of the past and thus of the present), but it also establishes and redefines boundaries of such communities. I am convinced that in a moment of increasing nationalistic attitudes in Western world it is especially important to investigate how choosing particular interpretation of a transnational history strengthens sense of national belonging, in fact supporting divisions and polarizations between nations and ethnic groups.