ИСТИНА

Referring to the title of our conference, I decided to entitle my speech “Trialogue of WWII history”. By this, I meant three interconnected elements, which largely help to constitute our understanding of the history of the Second World War and its lasting impact – historiography, memory and education. The relations in the triangle “historiography–memory–education” are not always harmonious and trialogue often does not go ideally. More so, each element itself, if to speak metaphorically, passes through internal struggles. Historiography having as an ideal academic objectivity and neutrality does not always correspond to it. If to consider the high political stakes linked to the “battles” over WWII history, the impact of politisation upon historical works is rather strong. Memory, as historiography, remains open to different interpretations and conflicts; it goes through transformation not only because of the generations’ change, which is something inevitable, but also under the conscious impacts made on it by different social and political forces. Finally, the system of education (especially the primary and secondary ones) combining the “enlightenment” functions with many other aims, including the socialisation and the “growing up” of citizens, is subjected to the different influences also. In this paper I explore three above-mentioned elements of WWII history’s “trialogue” and try to present the contemporary discussions about the Second World War held as between the academics, as in the more broad social and political circles.