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Katedra Urbanistyki i Planowania Przestrzennego Wydziału Architektury Politechniki Śląskiej w Gliwicach

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Silesian University of Technology, Poland

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Niechciany Auschwitz

Marek Rawecki

Culture Management, Volume 17, Issue 1, 2016, pp. 77 - 89

https://doi.org/10.4467/20843976ZK.16.006.4480

The heritage of Auschwitz from the local perspective of Oświęcim appears differently − personally. It is a stigma the town residents have to face every day when fulfilling their own needs and life aspirations, both in the semantic sense (a stigmatising name) and in the material sense (the remains of the camp in the city space). Comments, opinions and criticism concerning the city’s development are received from all over the world. The former camp conservation requirements impose development restrictions for the protection of the place which was created without the participation and consent of the local community. The question asked many times in Oświęcim: “Where does the former camp end and normal life begin?” may be incomprehensible from outside, but is painfully valid here. Highly publicised conflicts, unsolved for years, in which the local heritage becomes meaningless, are caused by the coexistence of the memorial place and urban space. The population of Oświęcim living “in the shadow of Auschwitz” become a social minority for the world, marginalised in the face of the atrocities of the genocide committed here. On the other hand – the moral dimension of Auschwitz either paralyses local initiatives or supports extreme attitudes. The worldwide debate about Auschwitz lacks the local perspective, whereas the local community lacks the historiosophical view and the understanding that today you can reach Oświęcim only through Auschwitz.

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Stygmat katastrofy a ochrona dziedzictwa kulturowego czarnobylskiej strefy wykluczenia

Marek Rawecki

Arts & Cultural Studies Review, Issue 1 (27) , 2016, pp. 35 - 48

https://doi.org/10.4467/20843860PK.16.003.5043

A breakdown of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant became a reference point for countless debates on the global consequences of introducing the nuclear technology. The most severe aftermaths of the catastrophe were witnessed, however, not because of radioactive contamination, but as a result of the resettlement of 336 thousand people and the degradation of the unique cultural heritage of eastern Polissia. Chernobyl, due to the stigma of radioactive contamination and apocalyptic landscapes, is perceived in complete detachment from its rich history and tradition. It has been stigmatised by the myths and stereotypes of mass culture. The article presents the specificity of eastern Polissia and discusses the Ukrainian researchers’ activities, conducted for many years, to rescue the relics of Polissia culture in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. It presents problems arising from the gradual degradation of traditional architecture in this area. As conservatory activities have not been carried out for many years and considering the lack of the overall vision of protection, this heritage may be completely destroyed in the near future.

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