Celebrating historical events in the Polish media (tv)

by Urszula Jarecka

National Commemoration Day for the Accursed Soldiers (March 1st)

For analysis 3 particular national holidays were chosen: National Commemoration Day for the Accursed Soldiers Day (March 1st) which is the normal day of work; the national holiday – the Constitution Day (May 3rd), which is officially celebrated and free from work from 1989; and the commemoration day – the end of the WW2 (May 8th), usually it is a regular week day, however this year it was Sunday. The first clue from the TV schedule observation is that in every mentioned case celebration was not limited to one particular day, before the national holiday and later on some positions of programming were subsequently broadcast as new or repeated from the celebration day. The second notion is connected with the origin of celebration – first two of them are relatively new in Polish reality of the 21st century, and the third one – was celebrated since 1945, however on different day of May (9th).

It is worth mentioning that Polish Independence Day is celebrated on November 11th, since transformation era begun. The same happened with the soldiers’ day, the Polish Army Day – August 15th, earlier – it was October 12th. Nowadays the victory on the Red Army in 1920 is celebrated, s.c. A Miracle on the Vistula River (Cud nad Wisłą); previously – the anniversary of the battle of Lenino, during which the Polish Army formed in the USSR had its “baptism in fire”. The last change is not so popular among soldiers who remember the Polish People’s Republic era. They are disappointed because the effort of the Lenino battle now is forgotten, the Army which was formed in the USSR is treated as dependent to the Red Army or at least, to the Polish socialist government.

Television. March 1st, Narodowy Dzień Pamięci Żołnierzy Wyklętych (National Commemoration Day for the Accursed Soldiers)

It is quite new national holiday, established in 2011, although the day is not free from work, as it was mentioned before. A few words about these soldiers are needed – the first period just after the WW2, after V-day in May 1945 Poland landed in the communist bloc, political opposition was not formed yet, however some of the soldiers engaged in the war, fight on the side of “London government”, did not lay down their arms. They were active in the whole country up to 1963 as military opposition, as guerilla movement, which was claimed criminal activity in communist propaganda. Some of them were captured, tortured, executed after trial or killed by the communist system (it’s a great simplification). Killed soldiers were buried in anonymous graves close to the jail or in the special sections in the graveyards. Nowadays, archeologists search for their remains, e.g. one of the places identified as the burial place for the victims of communist regime is located in Warsaw, called Łączka is presented in the documentary (see description below). Still, some bodies have been identifying, in August 28th 2016 the funeral of two accursed soldiers took place in Gdańsk. 17-year-old girl Danuta Siedzikówna „Inka”, and 42-year-old Feliks Selmanowicz „Zagończyk” had national funeral 70 years after their execution. The representatives of all Army formations, scouts; president of the state, the prime minister, members of parliament, the main politicians, and crowds of common people paid tribute to them[1]. A lot of young people participated in this celebration, and it is worth noticing that the accursed soldiers are admired by the Polish youth.

However, the name “accursed soldiers” is controversial, it is very broad category embraces people of honor and good will, and hooligans or bandits as well. Some journalist, historians and the common users of the internet argue that the most appropriate name is “undeterred/ unbroken” than “accursed”[2]. The mention funeral and the buried soldiers were criticized by some historians, and some groups of Polish society, especially those who were deeply engaged in the socialist system, and they still believe in the old propaganda. Of course, it is not so simple, historical pendulum moved into one side, and now very diverse group of soldiers and ideological fighters is glorified, despite the fact that historians still work on the documents to find the whole context and facts. In the media discourse there are a lot of controversial paths of understanding the past events, it is easy to find opposite opinions on the same person, who belongs to the group of accursed soldiers, e.g. one can be hero to Polish public and the brutal murderer to the Ukrainians, and vice versa.

Polish public television devoted a lot of programming to that topic, however, earlier (on February 29th), and later during the first days of March, some documentaries and other types of broadcast were also presented. During the whole day of March 1st , Polish public television transmitted the specially designed symbol “Niezłomni” (Undeterred) to commemorate the Accursed Soldiers, even during popular programming for kids, or soap operas that sign was visible on the left bottom of the screen.

In every edition of the news the Accursed Soldiers Commemoration Day was mentioned. During the typical news services on television, in every station – public television TVP1, TVP2, TVP Info, TVP Polonia, and the commercial channels such as Polsat, TVN24, Superstacja, or TV Trwam (religious channel) – the information about this commemoration was provided. The amount of information was rooted in the type of news, and the character of medium, e.g. short, during the 5 minutes long service, less than 1 minute was devoted to the topic. During the longer, 20 minutes long edition – proportionally we’ve got more information up to 4 minutes per service. Not only the meaning of the day was explained, some footage from celebration in different Polish cities was presented. In some news editions the editors put  also the street poll showing the common knowledge about the March 1st (e.g. Superstacja, a commercial, tabloid channel in the news and in the programing devoted to the accursed soldiers at 14:30).

Even accidental viewer of television can notice the celebration. Concerning only the one public television channel – different types of news in TVP1 are broadcast at the chosen time of day: 15 minutes at 8.00; 10 minutes at 12.00; 20 minutes at 15.00; 20 minutes “Tele-express” at 17.00 (a popular TV programing, light in form consists of short clips of news on world matters, local and even very individual ones, often funny or ridiculous events); and the main edition of news “Wiadomości”, at 19.30, 30 minutes long news service with developing stories, in this particular day, service devoted more minutes in developing and continuous news to the celebration and history of these soldiers. To sum up, in the news – a few minutes devoted to the Accursed Soldiers celebration, in the Table 1 they are also included, however, the others positions of programming in this table are totally devoted to that celebration (7 hours and 35 minutes out of 24 hours of programming + information provided in the news).

Table 1. TVP1 programing concerning the National Commemoration Day of the Accursed Soldiers, March 1st, 2016. Almost all the day some programming devoted to the commemoration day was broadcast.

Time	Duration	Title Polish/ English	Type of programming	Promoted values
6:40	40 minutes	Czy warto było tak żyć / Was it worth it to live like this	Documentary	Patriotism Devotion Love of freedom
8:15	15 minutes	Polityka przy kawie / Coffee and politics	Live discussion	National identity
8:40	20 minutes	Historia dla ciebie – pamięć.pl/ History for you – pamięć.pl (pamięć – remembrance) Episode: 35	Documentary	Patriotism Heroism Devotion to own country
12:40	10 minutes	Notacje/ Notations Episode: 337	Documentary – one episode from the series of short stories	Patriotism Heroism
12:50	45 minutes	Kwatera Ł Zapis pracy zespołu ekshumacyjnego odkrywającego prawdę o komunistycznych morderstwach w	Documentary	Honor Partriotism Justice Freedom
		pierwszym dziesięcioleciu PRL-u.
13:35	25	Notacje / Notations Episode: 336	Documentary – one episode from the series of short stories	Patriotism Heroism
17:50	1 hour 40 minutes	Narodowy Dzień Pamięci Żołnierzy Wyklętych / National Commemoration Day of the Accursed Soldiers	Live broadcast of special events	National tradition Military tradition Patriotism National identity Independence
20:25	1 hour	“Niezłomnym – honor” (Honor to unbroken), Part 1	Life performance – musical concert	Heroism Bravery Patriotism
21:25	1 hour	Warto rozmawiać / It’s worth talking	Talk show	National identity Role models Heroism
22:30	1 hour	“Niezłomnym – honor” (Honor to unbroken), Part 2	Concert	Heroism Bravery Patriotism
4:55	25 minutes	Notacje / Notations Episode: 336	Documentary – one episode from the series of short stories	Patriotism Heroism
5:50	10 minutes	Notacje / Notations Episode: 337	Documentary – one episode from the series of short stories	Patriotism Heroism

TVP History, surprisingly did not dedicate as much time as TVP1 to commemorate the heroes of the day: 5 hours out of 22 hours of broadcast was devoted to the Accursed Soldiers. One position is repeated from TVP1 – the broadcast of the official national celebration, here at 21:20. Four other positions are documentaries, the first one, broadcast at 6:50 is the movie devoted to some families of the accursed soldiers, Sny stracone, sny odzyskane, dir. Arkadiusz Gołębiewski, 2008.

Table 2. TVP History. The programs directly connected with the March 1st celebration.

Hour	Duration	Title	Type of programming	Values
6:50	30 minutes	Sny stracone, sny odzyskane / Lost dreams, recovered dreams	Documentary – interviews + videos and voice off	Tradition Fatherland Polishness
11:45	1 hour	Mit o Szarym / The Myth of Szary	Documentary	Devotion to country Independence Heroism Patriotism
19:00	1 hour	Dzieci Kwatery Ł / The Children of “Ł” Quorter	Documentary	Patriotism Polishness Independence
20:10	1 hour	Żołnierze Wyklęci / The Accursed Soldiers	Documentary	Patriotism Polishness Independence
21:20	1 hour	Narodowy Dzień Pamięci Żołnierzy Wyklętych (national official celebration)	Re-transmission of the event	National tradition Military tradition Patriotism National identity Independence

TVP2 was also engaged in celebration the accursed soldiers, especially during the news (usually only two editions are broadcast at 15:40, and main edition, Panorama, at 18.00). However, its mission is a bit different than TVP1; here a lot of entertaining programing is broadcast: TV series, soap operas, docu-soaps etc. The other channels of public television include TVP Historia, TVP Kultura, TVP Polonia, TVP Info, and TVP3. The last one is the frame for broadcast local programming in 16th TV stations in Polish cities like Białystok, Poznań, Szczecin, Łódź. broadcast the information about the accursed soldiers mostly during the news. It is impossible for one researcher located in one city to follow the local programming in different regions. From the schedule it is obvious that the local television could use the same materials, however, some stations prepare their one programming more often than others.

During the whole day local stations provided information services including reports from local celebrations, and adding their own programming. E.g, TVP3 Bydgoszcz at 17: 45 broadcast a 13 minute long documentary Nieugięci. „Żołnierze Wyklęci” gminy Białe Błota (Unbroken. “Undeterred Soldiers” from the Białe Błota region, dir. Adam Gajewski).

Thematic stations also provided some programming concerning the accursed soldiers’ stories, but not in the amount known from TVP1. In TVP Info in the morning, a special edition of „Poranek TVP INFO” was broadcast: a visit in the Museum of Accursed Soldiers in Ostrołęka, followed by the interviews with soldiers and their families, historians, reconstructionists and artitsts honoring the memory of anticommunist oppositions, heroes and victims of the Stalinist regime.

Table 3. TVP2 and the other public channels, and the programing concerning the National Commemoration Day of the Accursed Soldiers, March 1st, 2016.

Time	Duration	Title Polish/ English	Type of programming	Promoted values
14:30	50 minutes	Witold            Pilecki. Ochotnik                   z Auschwitz” (Witold Pilecki. Volunteer for Auschwitz),            dir. Joshua Whitehead   TVP3 Repeated at 23:45 and 03:25	Ep1. of the documentary series „Polscy bohaterowie wojenni” (Polish war heroes)	Fatherland Heroism Bravery Honor of soldier Patriotism
22:50	40 minutes	“Kochankowie z lasu” (Lovers from forest, dir. Arkadiusz Gołębiewski, 2016)   two times repeated (in the night at 02:25; and on March 5th at 13:05). TVP2	documentary	Love of the country Fatherland Heroism Bravery
23:45	1 hour 30 minutes	„Inka    1946”[3],     dir. Natalia       Koryncka- Gruz. TVP2	theatrical performance	Devotion to fight, loyalty to the collegues,  and Love of the country Patriotism Honor

Nonpublic stations and not so heroic vision of the Accursed Soldiers

Viewers of non-public TV station were given much less amount of information about the accursed soldiers than the ones watching public TV. E.g. in the TVN24 channel, which is devoted to the news a and designed in the style of CNN, during the regular news services, the most important was the problem of searching the house of General Jaruzelski’s widow, and finding some classified files (probably important to the state security during the Polish People’s Republic era), also the report of Venetian Commission about Polish political conflict referring to the Constitutional Court was discussed, etc. The information about the National Commemoration Day of Accursed Soldiers was provided on the strip in the bottom of the screen, among other news. One sentence from President Andrzej Duda speech was quoted: “I’m proud to be able to tell and honor the history of the true heroes”. And Prime Minister words were quoted: “Restoration of memory on the unbroken soldiers, whose main value was country, and transfer of it to the next generation, is our responsibility”. The long lines are visible, and readable for those who seek this information. More information was broadcast after the ending of official part of the celebration.

Superstacja, the tabloid news channel, put much more information than tvn24, however, the interpretation of the unbroken soldiers was different than in the official, public TV channels. In the live programming at 14.41, Raport (Report) a guest of the program, Bartosz Machalica, historian and journalist from the I. Daszyński Center (Centrum im. Ignacego Daszyńskiego, CID[4]), argued that the name of the soldiers is not appropriate, and some of them also “committed crimes, and it should be also spoken out”. He proposed the name “anti- communist underground”, and tried to divide this broad category into two main groups such as the civilian resistance (in the cities) and military guerilla (in the forests). In his opinion, the guerilla often degenerated itself, and “the longer the fight, the more crimes were committed”. Then the street poll was presented, and almost all interviewed Polish of different generation know who the accursed soldiers were.

The host of the programming asked about the way of commemoration and cultivation the memory, which is often simplified in “comic books” narratives. Machalica talked about the dramatic circumstances after the WW2 and the generation which faced hard choice in the new reality (go to forest, or live in their homes and “rebuild Poland”). The guest talked also about the left side of Polish scene after WW2, and some people who were important to the history, and now forgotten (e.g. Edward Mikołajczyk), he also said that the IPN version of history is too simplified. Machalica said that the “other side” of Polish political scene could feel overwhelmed by all this “state machinery with the president” which was launched today to commemorate the unbroken soldiers. Again the problems of crimes commited by some of them were discussed, some names were mentioned (“Bury”, “Ogień”). Visually the screen was divided into 3 parts – large bottom with some news, and live interpretations of Machalica words, and on the blue background two screens were located, in the smaller one – the speaker and it the biggest – some photographs of the accursed soldiers, video from exhibition, the lights and flowers on the memorials and graves moving slowly. The music is not present, only the voices of host and guest of the programming. To sum up, close to the words just like “beautiful legend”, “beautiful card of our history”, the viewer can here that history is not black and white, but myth is; and that we need to learn more about their [unbroken soldiers] “crimes” (e.g. “killing civilians”).

After this studio talk, the street interviews were presented, now the dramatic music builds the message, and common people talk about tortures, grief on the background of the photos from prison. One man said that “they are role models for the young generation”. At the end of this two-minute video, the slogan “Cześć i chwała bohaterom” was put on the grave light photos, the national colors are involved here. This part of Raport ends at 14:52, and some crime stories were broadcast (victims of fire, extradition of an aggressive cannibal, the files in the house of General Jaruzelski).

In my opinion, the clash between the studio talk with “crime” as a leading motive of the presentation the heroes of that day celebration, and the common people opinion is tremendous. Who are the unbroken soldiers? heroes or criminals? However, it can also rise a question, how criminal could stay for role model? What is also interesting, the studio talk started earlier than scheduled in the programming. It could build an impression that the story was told longer.

The Constitution of May 3 Day

The holiday refers to the adoption by the Polish parliament (Sejm) resolution of the first modern constitution in 1791, it is called “Constitution of May 3”. The importance of reforms introduced by the “Great Sejm”, democratic solutions to some social issues were influential in Europe, despite the fact that it was adopted during the Partitions of Poland era. In the 20th century it had been celebrated since 1919, during the interwar period. However, after the end of the WW2, during the Polish People’s Republic era the celebration was not continued, instead, the May 1st was celebrated as the workers day. This holiday was introduced in 1990 anew, one year after the beginning of system transformation. May 1st is still celebrated as a public holiday, and actually, now May 2nd is also a sort of national holiday, “Flag day”. The Day of Polish Flag was introduced in 2004. So, in Polish social life the beginning of May is called “majówka”, for some Poles it is free from work (some companies decide to make May 2nd free, and during the whole tirade we can have a spring vacation).

In 2016, May 1st was also celebrated as Easter in the Orthodox Church, and some celebrations were broadcast in TVP1, TVP2, and regional channels of TVP3.

In the night May 2/3 was the beginning of the 3rd Silesian Uprising (1921), which goal was to connect Silesia to Poland after the WW1. This year, Wojciech Korfanty, the leader of this military action (“dyktator”), was commemorate in one documentary and in the live discussion in the studio (Warto rozmawiać) broadcast by TVP1 (see the table below), and some positions in the local programming in TVP3 Katowice were devoted to the history of Śląsk.

Television. May 3rd, Święto Konstytucji 3 Maja (the Constitution of May 3 Day)

Referring to this holiday, patriotic or historical programming is available in a small amount during the whole “majówka”, so historical events sometimes could be discussed even for 3 days. To the comparative research only the programming broadcast during May 3rd, 2016 was chosen.

In television, during the Constitution of May 3 celebration, the programming was rather entertaining than patriotic or historical. Even in the article describing the programming of different TV channels, an author recommended “worth watching”[5] positions such as movies School Daze (dir. Spike Lee), Rozmowy kontrolowane (Calls controlled, dir. Sylwester Chęciński, a Polish comedy on the Marshall Law in Poland), Blue Jasmine (dir. Woody Allen), Jaws (dir. Steven Spielberg), musical programming Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, or some reality show episodes, e.g. Hell’s Kitchen (a Polish edition). In some TV channels public (e.g. TVP Kultura) or commercial (e.g. Polsat), nothing connected to the anniversary was broadcast.

Table 4. TVP1 programing on the Constitution May 3 Day, 2016.

Time	Duration	Title Polish/ English	Type of programming	Promoted values
7:40	15 minutes	Historia dla ciebie – pamięć.pl/ History for you – pamięć.pl (pamięć – remembrance) Episode: 44 [6]	Documentary built of the old newsreels	History
10:40	1 hour	Za zasługi dla Polski i Polaków poza granicami kraju [7]/ For merit to Poland and Polish citizens abroad	Reportage from the awards ceremony	Polishness National identity Love of fatherland Work for Poland
11:45	1 hour 5 minutes	Święto Konstytucji /The celebration of Constitution of May 3	Live broadcast of official, national commemoration	Democracy, freedom, independence
12:50	35 minutes	Rodzinna opowieść o Wojciechu Korfantym / Family tale on Wojciech Korfanty	Documentary: the interview with Korfanty’s daughter in law; with archival photos and films	Polishness, nationality, freedom, independence
20:10	10 minutes	26 Bieg Konstytucji 3 Maja/ 26th Run „Constitution of May 3”	Report from the commemorative mass sport event	Independence, patriotism
21: 30	1 hour 5 minutes	Warto rozmawiać / It’s worth talking	Talk show – discussion on the 3rd Silesian Uprising in 1921, who cares about that fight now?	Polishness, nationality, freedom, Independence
3:40	25 minutes	Notacje / Notations Episode: 86	Documentary – one episode from the series of short stories on Józef Piłsudski, the creator and leader of the Second Republic. His daughter Jadwiga Piłsudska- Jaraczewska talks about him.	Independence, freedom, Poland as the highest value

Table 5. TVP2 programing on the Constitution May 3 Day, 2016.

Time	Duration	Title Polish/ English	Type of programming	Promoted values
14:35	10 minutes	Krótka historia Konstytucji 3 maja / A Short history of the Constitution of May3	Documentary, an expert, Prof. Zofia Zielińska speaks, a lot of pictures and snapshots	Art in everyday life Democracy
15:55	10 minutes	Kolekcjoner / Collector	Reportage on the collection with 2 original examples of the Constitution of May3	History Democracy
17:45		Obraz /Painting	Reportage on the places connected with the adoption of Constitution, and explains Jan Matejko painting Konstytucja 3 maja on the context of historical events	Patriotism Freedom Democracy

Table 6. TVP3 programing on the Constitution May 3 Day, 2016.

Time	Duration	Title Polish/ English	Type of programming	Promoted values
8:45	5 minutes	Pamięć Polski. I edycja Polskiej Listy Krajowej Programu UNESCO Pamięć Świata / Memory of Poland. 1st edition of the Polish list of UNESCO project the Memory of World	Short documentary on the Constitution of May 3, 1791.	Modernity, democracy
8:50	1 hour	Za naszą i waszą wolność / Per la nostra e vostra libert, dir. Elena de Varda, 2014	Documentary movie, on the Polish soldiers participated in the WW2 fights in Italy, the fate of 2nd Korpus Polskich Sił Zbrojnych gen. Andersa after the end of war, Italian-Polish connections	Loosely connected with the topic of main celebration, however patriotism is mentioned
12:35	5 minutes	Pamięć Polski. I edycja Polskiej Listy Krajowej Programu UNESCO Pamięć Świata / Memory of Poland. 1st edition of the Polish list of	Short documentary on the Constitution of May 3, 1791.	Modernity, democracy
		UNESCO project Memory of World
15:40	20	Król Staś lubił rosół/ King Staś liked chicken soup	Short reportage from the Royal Palace with the expert talk on everyday life of the King Stanisław August, who initiated the works on the Constitution	Tradition
16:00	30 minutes	1200 muzeów /1200 museums	Reportage from the Panorama Racławicka Museum and the story of this patriotic painting	Patriotism Tradition
17:20	5 minutes	Pamięć Polski. I edycja Polskiej Listy Krajowej Programu UNESCO Pamięć Świata / Memory of Poland. 1st edition of the Polish list of UNESCO project the Memory of World	Short documentary on the Constitution of May 3, 1791.	Modernity, democracy
18:13	25 minutes	Wolność ponad stany / Freedom regardless of social strata	Documentary on the Constitution of May 3, 1791.	Democracy Independence Freedom Social justice
19:03	13 minutes	3 Maja /May 3	Documentary on the May 3rd celebration accross Poland (1923-1991)	Tradition Patriotism Solidarity
19:17	30 minutes	Majówka pod Biało- Czerwoną / May vacation under Polish Flag	Reportage from the Flag Day Warsaw Run	National identity Tradition Patriotism Joy
19:48	20 minutes	Jak Czarniecki… / How Czarniecki… (2008)	Reportage from the motorcyclist patriotic rally	Patriotism Joy
0:35	5 minutes	Pamięć Polski. I edycja Polskiej Listy Krajowej Programu UNESCO Pamięć Świata / Memory of Poland. 1st edition of the Polish list of UNESCO project the Memory of World	Short documentary on the Constitution of May 3, 1791.	Modernity Democracy
1:45	20	Król Staś lubił rosół/ King Staś liked chicken soup	Short reportage from the Royal Palace with the expert talk on everyday life of the King Stanisław August Poniatowski (Staś), who initiated the works on the Constitution	Tradition History
2:30	30 minutes	1200 muzeów /1200 museums	Reportage from the Panorama Racławicka Museum and the story of this patriotic painting devoted to the Battle of Racławice during the Kościuszko Uprising (Insurekcja Kościuszkowska, 1794)	Patriotism Tradition

TVP Historia is the channel devoted to history programming. During the discussed holiday, small parts of programming talks about the Constitution May 3 1791, or the events which followed it. A lot of movies and TV series were dedicated to WW2: 6 hours and 40 minutes from the whole 24 hours of programming; and only 1 hour 5 minutes to the main event of the day (including 20 minutes or repeated programming), and 1 hour and 30 minutes were devoted to the Silesian uprising, the third of these shares its anniversary with the Constitution May 3 Day.

Table 7. TVP Historia programing on the Constitution May 3 Day, 2016.

Time	Duration	Title Polish/ English	Type of programming	Promoted values
7:40	10 minutes	Konstytucji 3 maja 1791/ The Constitution of May 3, 1791 Ep.1	Short documentary	Modernity, democracy Law Patriotism
9:55	10 minutes	Serca polskie, odc. 6/ Polish hearts ep. 6 on Hugo Kołłątaj	Documentary on the co-author of The Constitution of May 3, scientist, philosopher and the praticipant of Kościuszko Uprising (Insurekcja	Patriotism Polishness Freedom Justice
			Kościuszkowska, 1794)
10:05	25	Flesz historii / Flashlight on history	Informational progamming on the events, conferences, movies devoted to history	Polish history Patriotism
16:40	10 minutes	Konstytucji 3 maja 1791/ The Constitution of May 3, 1791 Ep.1	Short documentary	Modernity Democracy Law Patriotism
19:30	10 minutes	Serca polskie, odc. 2/ Polish hearts ep. 2 on Hugo Kołłątaj	Documentary on the co-author of The Constitution of May 3, scientist, philosopher and the praticipant of Kościuszko Uprising (Insurekcja Kościuszkowska, 1794)	Patriotism Polishness Freedom Justice
22:25	1 hour 30 minutes	Gdy nad Anną gorzało niebo / When sky burns under the St.Anna mountain	Documentary on the history of Silesian uprisings	Patriotism Homeland Polishness Independence

TVP Polonia prepared special services for Polish immigrants living in Europe and the other parts of world. May 2nd  is celebrated as the day of Polonia. And during the May 3rd news the events connected with this year celebration were presented, together with the reports from the Polish Flag Day in many places of Poland. The news reported also the special law concerning immigrants (Polish school ID’s for Polonia children). During the news editions in public television, not only in TVP Polonia, the flag accompanied the logo of public stations (see the picture below from the TVP3 news). Some news editions were repeated in the night.

What is worth mentioning, patriotic programming here was also devoted to the Baptism of Poland 1050 anniversary (celebrated 15.04. 2016). The documentary with discussion on that historical event, considered as the foundation act of Polish national history, was presented. During May 3rd the special holy mess devoted to that anniversary took place in Poland, and the information about it was provided in the public news services. Religious channel, TV Trwam not only broadcast live the church celebration, but also some other patriotic materials devoted to the Baptism, and the Constitution May 3 as well.

In TVP Polonia a short documentary from the series Krótka historia[8] was dedicated to Władysław Sikorski, his military and political carrier, and the WW2 issues (collage of newsreel, archival films and photos with voice off, however a speaking expert was also shown). So, history was present in the programming, however loosely connected with the celebration of the first democratic, modern constitution in Poland.

Table 8. TVP Polonia programing on the Constitution May 3 Day, 2016.

Time	Duration	Title Polish/ English	Type of programming	Promoted values
5:45	1 hour 30 minutes	Za zasługi dla Polski i Polaków poza granicami kraju  [9]/ For merit to Poland and Polish citizens abroad	Reportage from the awards ceremony	Polishness National identity Love of fatherland Work for Poland
11:45	1 hour 5 minutes	Święto Konstytucji /The celebration of Constitution of May 3 (the same as in the TVP1)	Live broadcast of official, national commemoration	Democracy, freedom, independence
13:35	1 hour 30 minutes	Za zasługi dla Polski i Polaków poza granicami kraju [10]/ For merit to Poland and Polish citizens abroad	Reportage from the awards ceremony	Polishness National identity Love of fatherland Work for Poland
16:20	1 hour	Jego imię Polska. Tadeusz Kościuszko/ Poland is his name. Tadeusz Kościuszko	Documentary built of the old movies, archival pictures, new films and photos from different locations.	Individualism Love Military traditions Devotion to fight for freedom and independence
17:20	5 minutes	Krótka historia /Short history Episode 47:„The first in Europe”   Repeated at 3:35	Short documentary – studio introduction made by an expert, and visual representation of the topic with photos and films	Democracy National pride

The end of WW2

When the Second World War ended? The answer is not so obvious, concerning the end of military actions on the whole territories involved in fights. In Poland, during the Polish People’s Republic era, the main celebration was on May 9, just like in the USSR. After the collapse of the previous system, V-day is celebrated on May 8.

The end of the WW2 means the incorporation of Poland to the communist bloc. The end of war did not mean peace and freedom, some Polish citizens did not accept forced subordination to the USSR, and formed the anticommunist military underground (it was mentioned previously). Military underground was active to 1963, the Soviet soldiers stayed in Poland to 1993. In opinions of some Poles, the end of war is prolonged to the end of communism.

However, some issues concerning these facts are still vivid, such as the monuments of the Soviet soldiers, treated by propaganda of the PPR era as liberators, and after system transformation hidden facts about the USSR invasion in 1939, and the postwar Polish-Soviet relation are revealed. In the media discourse these topics are also discussed.

Television. May 8th, Dzień Zwycięstwa (V-day)

During the official commemoration day – May 8th – in the news in the public channels and in the commercial and religious TV stations some information concerning the end of war were provided. However, the official celebration started in Saturday, May 7th, and informational services talked about the commemoration and the special parades in different countries from Saturday to Monday. However, the politics interfere with the celebration in Poland, on May 7th the opposition protest organized by KOD[11] dominated the media reports. The most important information in the news was the number of participants, the huge difference in the official data (more than 40 000), and unofficial data put by the city council of Warsaw (the president of Warsaw also participated in the march), and the organizers (250 000) was the topic of a lot of studio discussion, and even next week open a lot of editions of news[12]. The V-day celebrations across the country and across the world were mentioned on the second or third place.

In the news service Panorama, in TVP2, the information why in the past May 9th was celebrated, and now May 8th. Some information about the celebrations in the sites of national memory were provided, almost all celebrations were organized to commemorate the soldiers, veterans participated in these events. In some comments – on the background of archival films on which fallen swastikas and German eagle signs were presented – the information on the Accursed Soldiers was also provided together with the explanation about the subordination of Poland to the Soviets. It is still the actual problem – when the WW2 was ended?

In the April 2016 the special exhibition was open in the Saint Cross Church in Warsaw. And periodization could be treated as provocation, the exhibition was entitled “Od wojny do zwycięstwa” From war to victory 1939-1989. So, when the WW2 was ended? This interpretation was also mentioned by one of veterans from the Home Army (AK): “For us, for AK soldiers, the war ended in 1990”. The exhibition underlines the Soviet rules introduced in some spheres of life in Poland. On the Polish territory during the Polish People’s Republic era, the Red Army stayed in 59 garrisons. After the system transformation and some hard diplomatic efforts, the process of sending Red Army to the USSR began in 1991.

 

May 8th was also the day of arrestment of rtm. Witold Pilecki, who is one of the Accursed Soldiers (a volunteer to Auschwitz). Special event was organized by the patriotic youth – a reconstruction of his wedding day, and the information about it was provided in the news, with support and criticism of the idea.

Referring to the particular stations, in TVP1, surprisingly, during the specific Sunday, May 8th , nothing connected with the anniversary was broadcast (only the information in the news).

Table 9. TVP1 programing concerning the end of WW2 (7-9 May 2016).

Time	Duration	Title Polish/ English	Type of programming	Promoted values
May 7 13:45	2 hours 5 minutes	Eskadra “Czerwone ogony” / Red Tails, 2012, dir. Anthony Hemingway	Feature film on the process of liberation from German occupation in Europe	Bravery Military effort
May 7/8 0:45	50 minutes	Wojenna narzeczona, Bride of war Episode 4	TV mini-series on WW2	Loyalty Heroism
May 7/8 4:35	50 minutes	Pamięć obozów[13] / Memory of the camps 2005	Documentary based on visual materials gathered in 1945 after liberation of the	Human rights
			prisoners from the German concentration camps in Dachau, Auschwitz, Buchenwald.
May 9 21:55	1 hour	Tajemnica Hitlera / Hitler’s Hidden Drug Habit (2014), dir. Chris Durlacher	Documentary on the Hitler’s addictions, the end of war was also described visually	Justice History as such
May 9 3:05	20 minutes	Notacje / Notations Ep. 183: Antoni Jabłoński	Documentary on a soldier who was forcibly conscripted into Red Army	Patriotism Military effort

Table 10. TVP2 programing concerning the end of WW2 (9-10 May 2016).

Time	Duration	Title Polish/ English	Type of programming	Promoted values
May 9 22:50	1 hour 10 minutes	Grabież Europy / The Rape of Europa (2006) dir. Richard Berge et al. Part 1 (repeated at 4:05)	Documentary movie on the Nazi organized stealing of fine arts masterpieces during the WW2	Cultural heritage Search of justice History
May 10/11 22:50	1 hour 10 minutes	Grabież Europy / The Rape of Europa (2006) dir. Richard Berge et al. Part II (repeated at 2:55)	Documentary movie on the Nazi organized stealing of fine arts masterpieces during the WW2, and their postwar fate.	Cultural heritage Search of justice History
May 10/11 0:55	45 minutes	Prokurator / (2015) Persecutor	TV series on contemporary issues, however this time it is the story of one art dealer found dead and dressed up in SS uniform	Justice

TVP Polonia focused on the Baptism of Poland, and broadcast a few documentaries on that topic with different opinions about circumstances, knowledge, and meaning of that fact. In the TV series Tajemnice początków Polski (Mysteries of the Poland’s genesis), and Polska 1050 (Poland 1050), discusses also the changes in the new kingdom, and consequences of the Baptism (repeated on May 8 and May 9). With some delay the 95th anniversary of the 3rd Silesian Uprising was honored with the broadcast of a concert from Sosnowiec (transmitted two

times, May 8 and 9). Surprisingly, the issues connected with WW1 were discussed in some episodes of Krótka historia series: Poles incorporated to the armies of Russia, Germany, Prussia (episode 51), and organization of the Polish army in 1918 (episode 52), broadcast on May 9.

Table 11. TVP Polonia programing concerning the end of WW2 (7-11 May 2016).

Time	Duration	Title Polish/ English	Type of programming	Promoted values
May 9 12:25	5 minutes	Krótka historia /Short history Ep. 50: Victory	Documentary – short story on the V-day	Military history
May 10 7:00	25 minutes	Cafe Historia Ep. 86	Studio discussion on the documentary Gorzkie zwycięstwo (Bitter victory), dir. Zofia Kunert.	Peace Multinational country
May 10 23:40	50 minutes	Święta wojna Rosjan / The Sacred War of Russians (2015), dir. Barbara Włodarczyk   (repated at 4:50)	Documentary built of interviews with Russian soldiers and common citizens on the most popular war song The Sacred War and the sense of Russian involvement in WW2; and of visual materials on parades during V- day anniversaries.	Criticism of the USSR Antiwar attitudes

TVP Historia celebrated the end of WW2 for more than 3 days. The programming referring to these events occurred from May 7th until May 11th, 2016. During these days a lot of positions were devoted the WW2 as such, e.g. Polish feature film Hubal, 1973, dir. Bohdan Poręba; Russian movie The Dawns Here are Quiet, 1972, dir. Stanisław Rostocki; or documentaries such The Secrets of Third Reich, or on different war heroes and victims such as Jan Karski and rev. Maksymilian Kolbe, or reportages such as Dar serca / Gift of heart, on the German charity action to commemorate Polish children killed during WW2.

Table 12. TVP Historia programing concerning the end of WW2 (7-11 May 2016).

Time	Duration	Title Polish/ English	Type of programming	Promoted values
May 7 20:40	52 minutes	8 maja 1945 roku. Szczególny dzień[14] / May 8, 1945. A special day in history (2013) dir. William Karel Repeated May 9, at 11:55	Documentary built of archival video materials (black and white)	Military history Antiwar attitudes, Justice
May 7 22:45	30 minutes	Encyklopedia II wojny światowej / Encyclopaedia of WW2 (1995) Ep. 10: The final blow	Documentary on the battle of Berlin, 1945	The victory over fascism
May 8 22:50	30 minutes	Encyklopedia II wojny światowej / Encyclopaedia of WW2 (1996) Ep. 77: Prisoners of war	Documentary on the fate of prisoners of war	Peace Human rights
May 9 10:35	50 minuts	On wierzył w Polskę / He believed in Poland (1992), dir. Alina Czerniakowska	Documentary with interviews, reportage and archival material on gen. Emil Fieldorf “Nil” (one of the military leaders of Home Army, executed in 1953)	Patriotism Unbroken character Loyalty
May 9 13:40	15 minutes	Cafe Historia Episode 136	Studio discussion on the end of war (guests – two veterans)	Everyday life in peace
May 9 15:45	30 minutes	Sensacje XX wieku Sensations of the 20th century Episode: 53	Documentary on the contexts of Red Army’ offensive in Berlin.	Military tradition
May 9 16:15	30 minutes	Sensacje XX wieku Sensations of the 20th century Episode: 54	Documentary on the contexts of Red Army’ offensive in Berlin.	Military tradition
May 9 16:45	20 minutes	Historia dla ciebie – pamięć.pl / History for you – pamięć.pl (pamięć – remembrance) Episode 1	Documentary on the anticommunist underground as a result of the postwar order. Archival photos, experts comments, voice off story.	Freedom Independence Solidarity
May 10 15:45	30 minutes	Sensacje XX wieku Sensations of the 20th century Ep. 122	Documentary on the Martin Bormann’s life after 1945.	History Search for truth
May 10 16:20	30 minutes	Sensacje XX wieku Sensations of the 20th century Ep. 123	Documentary on the Martin Bormann’s life after 1945.	History Search for truth
May 10 17:25	25 minutes	Defilada bez zwycięzców / A parade without victors Dir. Włodzimierz Stępiński	Documentary built on the archival movies and photographs. It is about the Polish soldiers engaged in the fights in Western Europe.	Devotion to fight for freedom Honor Independence
May 10 20:50	1 hour 5 minutes	Sensacje XX wieku: Odc. 81, Goering (2003)/ Sensations of the 20th century Episode 81: Goering   Repeated May 11, at 15:50	Documentary on the misterious death of Heman Goering, and the execution of the other Nazi dignitaries.	Justice
May 11 19:45		Polscy bohaterowie wojenni / Polish war heroes Episode 2   Repeated May 12, at 10:45	Documentary devoted to the Polish mathematicians worked on the codes to the Enigma in the 30s.	Innovativeness Moral fight Heritage Heroism
May 11 20:50	1 hour	Sensacje XX wieku: Odc. 82, Tajemniczy zamek (2002)/ Sensations of the 20th century Episode 82: Mysterious castle Repeated May 12, 15:50	Reportage and documentary hosted by Bogusław Wołoszański on the 1945 search for Russian coding machine.	Moral fight Intellectual fight
May 12 21:55	1 hour	Sensacje XX wieku: Odc. 70, Tajemnica Heinricha Himmlera (2001)/ Sensations of the 20th century Episode 70: The Secrets of Heinrich Himmler	Documentary on the postwar fate of Heinrich Himmler.	Justice

Note:

1 The photo gallery from the official funeral and information on it are available here: http://www.dziennikbaltycki.pl/wiadomosci/gdansk/a/uroczystosci-pogrzebowe-inki-i-zagonczyka-andrzej- duda-polska-o-was-nie-zapomni-relacja,10561312/, and in a lot of internet sites.

2 Even in October 2016, the discussion on Facebook is alive, however in the context of new political issues.

3 The heroine of the spectacle was Danuta Siedzikówna (“Inka”), who served as a nurse in one legendary squad of the Home Army (V Brygada Wileńska AK), with colonel Zygmunt Szendzielarz (“Łupaszka”) as a commander. She was captured, and tortured in the prison.

4 This organization is devoted, according to its statute, to the „ activities for the dissemination of Polish and foreign leftist thought” (https://www.facebook.com/centrum.daszynskiego/about/?entry_point=page_nav_about_item). So, he is representative of oppositional view to the ruling party, which is deeply engaged in restoration of the accursed soldiers memory.

5 http://www.telemagazyn.pl/artykuly/program-tv-na-wtorek-swieto-konstytucji-3-maja-2016-zobacz-co-warto- obejrzec-plan-dnia-50367.html

6 http://pamiec.pl/pa/ipn-notacje-ipn-tv/historia-dla-ciebie-pam/16020,IPN-TV-Historia-dla-Ciebie-pamiecpl- Odcinek-44-Obchody-1-i-3-maja-w-PRL.html

7 http://www.tvp.pl/polonia/nagrody-tvp-polonia-2016/galeria/za-zaslugi-dla-polski-i-polakow-poza-granicami- kraju/25174606

8 Some of the episodes of that TV series are still available on the public television site: https://krotkahistoria.tvp.pl/

9 http://www.tvp.pl/polonia/nagrody-tvp-polonia-2016/galeria/za-zaslugi-dla-polski-i-polakow-poza-granicami- kraju/25174606

10 http://www.tvp.pl/polonia/nagrody-tvp-polonia-2016/galeria/za-zaslugi-dla-polski-i-polakow-poza-granicami- kraju/25174606

11 KOD – Komitet Obrony Demokracji, Committee for the Democracy Defence, the oppositional organization without the status of political party.

12 It is a quite interesting case of media manipulation. The foreign media services followed the results of counting provided by the Polish political opposition. Polish commercial media presented these information as a separate news, and opinions of German, French journalists were broadly quoted. Few days later, the corrected number of participants officially confirmed oppositional portal Gazeta.pl: 55 600 persons (http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/1,114871,20085482,pokazujemy-ratuszowi-nasze-liczby-z-marszu- kod-komentarz-liczy.html). After a lot of discussions, criticisms of the police, public television and “pro- government” of unfair report, the city council representative said that “the idea is important, not numbers” And nobody corrected the information for the Western media, nobody was ashamed, nobody said “we’re sorry for that mess”.

13 http://www.efilmy.tv/film,25179,Pamiec-obozow-Memory-of-the-Camps-2005-Lektor-PL.html

14 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pWaBueM6og

Frozen frame from the documentary Za naszą i waszą wolność / Per la nostra e vostra libert, dir. Elena de Varda, 2014. The logo of the station is accompanied by the Polish national flag.