Peripheral East? Contested Narratives and Architectural Heritage

In my paper, I take architecture, or rather architectural heritage, as a starting point to reflect upon the ‘European imaginary’ in Poland. Presenting three case studies of built heritage, I will address the conflictual potential of dealing with national history in the face of shifted borders in the 20^th century. Taking a closer look at two formerly Jewish sites in Poznan and Olsztyn, and one monumental site in Wroclaw, my paper problematizes the very conception of European history and its embeddedness in local histories, that is, changingnarratives.

In 2006, when the Centennial Hall in Wroclaw was accepted into the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, a fierce debate surfaced about its suggested renaming. While it had been called Hala Ludowa (People’s Hall) throughout the People’s Republic of Poland and up until 2006, changing its name back to Hala Stulecia (Centennial Hall) was regarded as a “re-germanization initiative”, reminiscing its national German origin and evoking past Polish challenges in dealing with a multi-national heritage. Yet not only formerly German sites are part of current Polish identity work – also Jewish places are resurfacing along with contradicting stories incorporating these buildings into local identities.

In my paper, I will specifically address the role of the EU, local initiatives, European volunteer services, Jewish community work, and other policy-setting actors in the context of current memory work in Poland. Thereby, architectural heritage itself will be questioned as an agent in the formation – and in the conflicts – of a uniting European imaginary.