Echoes of the Past (1944-2020)

Against the backdrop of the first flurry of the season, the snow seemed to bear down on the soldier statues, making them come alive. Taken in Warsaw, Poland in January 2020, this image shows the monument to the Warsaw Uprising (1944) that stands in front of the Polish Supreme Court. The same building houses the archives where I conduct research for my dissertation examining post-war Polish Jewish life in the 1950s, a period defined by traumatic wartime memory and failed post-stalinist political liberalization. I was struck by this image in contrast to the Supreme Court building behind it. There are increasing measures in Poland to limit judiciary independence. As my research shows, history has long played an important part in Poland's political landscape. This image represents how very alive historical memory remains in Poland--and that the battle over this memory continues in light of growing challenges to democracy.