The author analyses the problem of soaking up, or internalising, communism in the times of the Peoples’ Republic of Poland (PRL) and claims that it constitutes a fascinating, though difficult, field of research. In order to impose some limits on the problem and make its analysis feasible, he uses his memories from his former workplace from the communist times, as a starting point for a study of manifestations of communism in everyday life. Paraphrasing the language of communist propaganda, the author analyses the title question in terms of mutual influences of “the base” (i.e. The History Institute and its institutional surroundings) and “the superstructure” (i.e. the faculty, and life histories of some of its members). He asks what was the influence of the milieu on the quality and scope of research conducted in the Institute. While the author asserts that communism was undoubtedly wrong, he also maintains that presenting a uniformly bleak view of the period makes it impossible to conduct rational analysis. For example, it makes it difficult to make sense of the last days of the regime, the birth of opposition, or the fact that the establishment was gradually giving way and losing ground. The author claims that, in spite of all their faults, the final appraisal of the activity of Polish historians is not unanimously negative. Their activity constituted a part in the historical processes unfolding around them, being at the same time one of its causes and its effect.
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