Contested Histories, Democratic Challenges: Decolonial Discourses in Polish Museums

Lecture with Joanna Wawrzyniak, University of Warszawa.

Abstract

Decolonial frameworks have gained traction in Central and Eastern Europe in recent years, shaping debates over history, identity, and governance. In Poland, these discourses intersect with broader struggles over democracy, cultural policy, and the politics of memory. Museum professionals, activists, and scholars engage and disengage with decolonization in divergent ways: some frame Poland’s past through the lens of internal colonization or situate it within global (post)imperial histories, while others reject postcolonial and decolonial perspectives as inadequate for understanding the region’s complex historical legacies. These debates have been further intensified by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has prompted renewed reflection on imperial structures in the region, as well as the role of museums in shaping historical narratives and fostering transnational solidarities. At the same time, Poland’s domestic politics of memory landscape – from right-wing governments’ cultural policies (2015-2023) and the present (post)populist turn, to the influence of activist movements and historiographical reassessments of serfdom, empire, and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth – adds further complexity to these discussions. By mapping competing positions within decolonial discourse, I explore if and how these debates reflect broader democratic challenges in Poland today.