Ewa Ochman (University of Manchester, History Department)
The paper focuses on Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance (Instytut Pamięci Narodowej; IPN). The author investigates the role of the IPN in shaping the collective memory of the communist past, its connections to the post-communist politics of memory conducted by the nationalist Law and Justice party, and its role as a primary facilitator of the de-communisation of public space. The Institute’s long history of efforts to rename streets and remove monuments commemorating communist-era histories and ideologies serves as a lens for understanding the role of memory institutions as facilitators and creators of state memory policy. The paper seeks answers to the following questions: What discourses about the national past did the IPN promote? What means did the IPN have at its disposal to exercise control over public space? Which modes of action and discourse engendered resistance and fostered conflict? The author argues that, although state-sponsored memory institutes are typically intended to have a dominant position in constructing hegemonic national myths and shaping commemorative practices, they do not have free rein. Their position as a single authority on “historical truth” has been challenged by the decentralisation of memory production and the decline of authoritative memories.