Memory and Dialogue: Between the Verdicts of History and the Trap of Social Illusions

Przemysław ROTENGRUBER

Abstract

The aim of the article is to find a formula that would enable a political community to construct its own historical identity in a way that protects it from the symbolic pressure exerted on it by other communities of memory, as well as from losing the distance to its own memories. There are (at least) two hurdles that need to be considered in achieving this goal. The first is history treated as an ‘objective rapporteur’ of past events and ‘the only competent conciliator’ in disputes about the correct interpretation of these events. This illusion is not only about history. Émile Durkheim’s claim that the ‘social facts’ are obvious in the cognitive sense has caused a problem history faces today on an equal footing with (other) social sciences. The second obstacle hindering the construction of historical identity are stereotypes, resentments or habits of a community. These obstacles are grounded in its culture, which is the very same culture that equips the community with the ability to eliminate these obstacles. The solution to the dilemma in question is dialogue. The article indicates three of its applications. Dialogue is (1) a necessary condition for the community to reach an agreement on the events it remembers, (2) a measure that makes it possible to compare the memories of the community with the data collected by historians, and, above all, (3) it is a call to participate in the intercommunity process of shaping and protecting the culture of remembrance.