Maczkowcy w krainie tulipanów. O polskich weteranach w Holandii i o konflikcie pamięci

Abstract

Once they had settled in the Netherlands, Polish veterans seemed to perceive their new fatherland as a friendly environment, where they felt accepted and welcome at first. As time went by, more and more veterans realised they have difficulty in communicating their war experiences to the Dutch society. They felt being left aside and forgotten. They started as honorary citizens and ended as forgotten liberators. This article aims to explain when, how and why this shift took place and what historical and sociocultural factors were responsible for this change. It also looks at the way Polish veterans used their own war narratives and how their commemoration practices clashed with the dominant Dutch war remembrance culture