The Burden of Freedom
Polish Culture 1989–1999
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
For Poland, the year 1989 marks the return from Socialist alienation to a responsible handling of history. This change was carried forward by euphoria, but it also brought about risks, breaks with the past, and burdens. The historical challenge lay not least of all in combining the once separate cultural spheres of dissidence, exile, and official policy. The debates of the 1990s often fundamentally called into question Poland’s conventional self-image. However, through these debates, Polish culture gained in freedom.
(Osteuropa 11/2009, pp. 37–52)