Towards origines de la Pologne contemporaine – Stefan Kieniewicz in the years 1946–1948 and his search for method

Abstract

This article deals with Stefan Kieniewicz’s theoretical reflection on history in the years 1946–1948. A distinguished student of the history of the lands of partitioned Poland, Kieniewicz played his part in the elaboration of the Marxist interpretation of this period of Polish history. In the period under consideration, scholars still enjoyed a significant amount of freedom in the pursuit of their studies, including in terms of the search for methodological inspirations. The author’s attention is specifically drawn to Kieniewicz’s discussioin of the strenghts and weaknesses of the traditional model of historical research (the one based on the doctrine of individualistic historicism) on one hand and what was then regarded as new approaches to historical studies, inspired by Marxism and sociology, on the other. The author also attempts to show the extent to which these new inspirations informed Kieniewicz’s concept of ‘integral history’ and his program of the social history of partitioned Poland.