Analiza polskiego i austriackiego przekazu medialnego wokół 72. rocznicy wyzwolenia byłego niemieckiego obozu koncentracyjnego KL Gusen

Abstract

This article concerns the media coverage of the 72nd anniversary of the liberation of the German Nazi concentration camp KL Gusen in 2017. It was attended by the representatives of the Polish and Austrian authorities, i.e. the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jan Dziedziczak, the Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage Magdalena Gawin and – for the first time – by Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen. The revival of remembrance about KL Gusen has become one of the priorities in the politics of memory pursued by the current Polish government. For Poles, the Gusen camp is of special significance because it was built with the intent of destroying the Polish intelligentsia. The Austrian government sees Polish efforts to commemorate their victims in the context of nationalist and protectionist tendencies in Poland. A just fight for historical truth is overshadowed by the mutual lack of understanding in the countries, which both suffered under German occupation between 1939 and 1945.