| Abstract [eng] |
The Master Thesis for the first time attempts to analyze the uprising led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in light of cultural memory research. Cultural memory cannot be apolitical. Hence, the present paper analyzes Lithuanian and Polish recollections and political history issues in relation to the memories of Tadeusz Kościuszko. The shapes that the remembrance of this historical figure take and the ways it is manifested in public opinion are researched. The paper is based on the Western European cultural memory researches and historiography. The research results revealed that, contrary to the Lithuanian experiences, the Polish tended to tell the myth of Tadeusz Kościuszko with great importance in the 19th century. The stories were later assimilated by the Polish romanticists of the 19th century who highlighted and gave prominence to certain merits of this historical figure. The historical discourse of the interwar period showed that the character of Tadeusz Kościuszko was overshadowed by the grand dukes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Similar to the 20th century, the historical discourse of the interwar Poland revealed that the historians chose two different positions: the ones who glorified Tadeusz Kościuszko and the ones who criticized him. During the Soviet time, both the Lithuanians and the Polish attempted to turn Tadeusz Kościuszko into a symbol of propaganda of social progress and class conflict. The historical sources of the independent Lithuania showed that the importance of the Uprising of 1794 itself was deemed the most prominent. Meanwhile, a different tendency was noticed in the Polish historical discourse which believed that the leader Tadeusz Kościuszko was the most important figure. There is one monument and seven streets named after Tadeusz Kościuszko in Lithuania. The Polish, however, employ a variety of means to immortalize the memory of Tadeusz Kościuszko, such as monuments, busts, memorial boards, etc. There are 21 streets named after this historical figure in Poland. The memory of Tadeusz Kościuszko in the public opinion in Lithuania is shaped via the news channels, educational portals and exhibitions in museums. The historical novel of V. Zeitler and the memoirs of M. K. Ogiński can also be attributed to such. The memory of Tadeusz Kościuszko in the Polish public opinion is shaped through the relation of the people with the entirety of the recollections of this historical figure. |
