Zaranie Śląskie

How do societies remember? Through the efforts of historians, or through the phenomenon of social memory? Or perhaps these processes intertwine? An example of the overlap between two types of reconstructing the past can be found in reflections on the events that took place in the region after the end of the Second World War, which came to be known as the Upper Silesian Tragedy. A telling example is the record of a panel discussion held at the Silesian Library on 6 March 2025, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of these tragic events. These issues are also addressed in two other texts published in our pages: a description of Racibórz, practically occupied by the Soviets at the beginning of 1945, and a review of the book Turning Point. A Conversation about the Year 1945 in Upper Silesia by Sebastian Rosenbaum and Bogusław Tracz.

There are, however, issues that would not have survived in social memory were it not primarily for the painstaking work of researchers and scholars from various academic disciplines. In this year’s issue, readers can become acquainted with the results of the work of archaeologists and art historians, as well as historians studying the history of education, socio-economic life, and transformations of the spatial structure of the Silesian agglomeration. In addition to these diverse images of the region, extending beyond the borders of Upper Silesia, readers will also find a polemic surrounding the recently fashionable concept of people’s history—yet another way of describing the past.