The New History Curriculum in Poland
On December 30 the Polish government released its draft curricular program for primary schools, to go into effect starting September 1 of this year. Last week the University of Warsaw’s Historical Institute issued a statement criticizing the plan. Given the government’s demonstrated disinterest in expert opinions (after all, trained historians are “elites”), there is no reason to expect that these comments will be incorporated into the final draft. Nonetheless, I wanted to draw attention to this controversy, because it goes right to the heart of what is happening to history in this country. American readers of this blog should take particular notice of this, because the parallels between the current Polish government and the Trump administration are too obvious to ignore.
The government’s proposal defines history as “the storehouse of collective memory.” Children are supposed to study this topic in order to learn “values,” particularly the “idea of freedom,” which the authors of this text believe “has over the centuries been most fully expressed and constantly present in Polish history.” The essence of the new curriculum is captured best in a passage affirming that “the main goal of history as a school subject is to learn important moments from the history of the Polish nation, particularly through the acts of great historical figures, and also to become familiar with national, state, and religious symbols, to be able to explain their meaning, and to develop respect for them.”
In the old curriculum, history was integrated with the social sciences and humanities, so as to cultivate a nuanced understanding of the complex and nuanced social, cultural, economic, and political forces that have shaped the past. In the new curriculum that will be changed, and “genuine” history will return. All those other topics will be downplayed now, but in fairness they will still be present—just not mixed up with the sacred task of history. The goal of these other disciplines will be to “serve in shaping the students civic and pro-community attitude [postaw obywatelskich i prowspólnotowych].”
By the end of grade four, students are henceforth supposed to recognize “individuals and events of great meaning for shaping Polish cultural identity.” Helpfully, the government has provided a complete list, which offers a nice summation of what they consider the highlights of Poland’s past. Here is the complete list, verbatim:
- Prince Mieszko and Dobrawa of the Czechs; the baptism of Poland;
- Bolesław Chrobry, the first king and his international summit in Gniezno;
- the last Piast, Kazimierz the Great;
- Queen Jadwiga, Władysław Jagiełło, Zawisza Czarny, the Polish-Lithuanian Union, and the victory at Grunwald;
- Nicholas Copernicus and the Kraków students;
- Jan Zamoyski, leader and statesman;
- the heroic wars of the 17th century: Prior Augustyn Kordecki, Hetman Stefan Czarniecki, and King Jan III Sobieski;
- Tadeusz Kościuszko and the scythe-men [kosynierze] at the battle of Racławice;
- Jan Henryk Dąbrowski and Józef Wybicki, as well as the Polish national anthem;
- Romuald Traugutt and the insurrectionist state [powstańcze państwo];
- Maria Skłodowska-Curie, winner of the Nobel prize;
- Józef Piłsudski and his soldiers;
- Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski and the construction of Gdynia;
- “Zośka,” “Alek” “Rudy” and the “Grey Ranks”;
- the steadfast soliders [żołnierze niezłomni]: Witołd Pilecki, Danuta Siedzikówna, „Inka”;
- Pope John Paul II;
- Solidarity and its heroes.
In discussing the appropriate pedagogical methods, the text stresses that “in every phase of primary school education, shaping and developing a patriotic attitude, while simultaneously respecting the achievements of other nations, should be in the foreground.” Speaking of those other nations, the curriculum does eventually mention the Jews, although not until after fifth grade. Then, in the context of studying the Second World War, Polish children must learn “to characterize the German policies in occupied Europe; to present the destruction of the Jews and the extermination of other nations, and to know examples of the heroism of Poles who saved Jews from the Holocaust.” The older kids are also supposed to be able to explain the demographics of interwar Poland, but no further specifics are given on that topic. There is also a passing reference to learning about “relations of religious denominations and nationalities” in the Polish-Lithuanian Republic.
The historians at Warsaw University have summarized effectively what is so appalling about this document. As they put it in their January 25th statement:
With regret we state that the new programmatic principles have abandoned concern for such vital attitudes for contemporary society as civic engagement; social awareness; tolerance for differences in opinion, behavior, customs, and convictions; opposition to manifestations of discrimination; the maintenance of bonds not only in local and national communities, but also European and global communities….History is neither a collection of patriotic episodes nor a gallery of heroes. Passing over controversial figures and negative interpretations distorts our image of the past.
The UW scholars are concerned about the total absence of social history, and the lack of any mention of industrialization or the social transformations of the modern world. They are bothered by the fact that the only mention of serfdom comes with a passing reference to its abolition, and there is nothing at all about the movement for women’s emancipation. In a wonderfully laconic passage, my colleagues from UW say “we consider it worthwhile to more fully present the multiethnic and multireligious character of the Republic of Two Nations, including introducing information about the presence and status of Jews in the Polish lands.”
Because education is centralized in Poland, this program will apply to all public schools. One small sliver of hope I have for the United States is the decentralization of our system, in which local school boards still have a role in determining academic programs. I used to think that was a major weakness in the US, because it means that in some states and local districts the students are fed misinformation about topics like evolution, global warming, the history of slavery, reproductive health, sexuality, etc. I confess that I hadn’t fully appreciated the upside of decentralization: it will be possible to have oases of actual education in Trump’s America, at least for the time being. In Poland, that will be harder. Starting in September, the schools will once again be assigned the explicit task of ideological indoctrination, just as they had before 1989.