The story of the Museum of the Second World War in Gdansk epitomizes one of the most important and dramatic clashes in the European culture of memory and public history in last decades. The museum became the arch-enemy for the nationalist right-wing as cosmopolitan, pseudo-universalistic, pacifistic and not Polish enough. Pawel Machcewicz, historian and museum`s founding director, was removed from his position by the Law and Justice government immediately after opening the museum to the public. In his book he presents this story as a part of cultural wars that tear apart not only Poland but also many countries in Europe and on other continents.

Pawel Machcewicz, Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw.