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#guernica2017/coldcivilwar

In the summer of 2017, on the eightieth anniversary of Pablo Picasso’s Guernica – some fragments from Paweł Jasienica’s Thoughts on Civil War (Czytelnik, 1993)
Idea and photographs of the village inhabitants in the ruins of the elementary school in Masuria: Katarzyna Wińska
graphic design; post-production: postNoviki – Katarzyna Nestorowicz and Marcin Nowicki
Paweł Jasienica: “A true historian will always rise superior to the political disturbances of his day” (Robert Graves) (p. 116)

…A still less laudable custom and phenomenon – cowardice in how we think – compels us to be forever inquiring into the significance of historical events. For it is not easy to admit, even to ourselves, the discovery that history abounds with facts that have engendered nothing useful, that it is tightly packed with absurdities. (p. 86)

…For theorists, those purveyors of failproof prescriptions for salvation, are eternally wandering this vale, filled with contempt for its illogical contrivances. It is precisely this human tendency – amusing when it occurs in beerhouses or social clubs, at times obnoxious in library reading rooms – that becomes lethally dangerous when the truly capricious course of history happens to give a prophet or an entire group of visionaries the power to rule. (p. 54)

…A dictator’s control of our knowledge of the past is among the familiar and woefully effective means of manipulating the present. (p. 119)

…Knowledge of and sentiment for history are among the chief factors that bind nations together. They play this role, however, only when no one attempts to amputate knowledge or suppress some perspectives, so as to nurture others artificially. If this occurs, the falsified history will divide people, forming a gulf between them. (p. 121)

…A sense of jealousy is undoubtedly among the main psychological drives of history. It often plays a positive role, encouraging social rotation, forever helping to undermine the status of those who enjoy privilege at a given moment. Yet it can also be blinding, it can make us inclined to bestow excessive trust upon individuals who are capable of denying food, the opposite sex, drink, and money, but who are utterly shameless when it comes to wielding power. Despots have included even those who practice total self-abnegation in their private life. (p. 95)

…Even in a hereditary monarchy a political leader is generally a canny and enterprising fellow who is able to outmaneuver the competition at just the right moment and install himself in command. His program need not prove itself correct, as his skillfulness and precautions, combined with his ruthlessness, are far more persuasive. (p. 91)

…Skill, canniness, a lack of scruples, and the ability to exploit others’ mistakes are doubtless valuable attributes of the soul. Yet in themselves they do not create the sufficient legal foundation to decree how people ought to apprehend matters of utmost importance, or for the identification of twenty-five million (or sometimes substantially more) citizens with the figure of the leader. (p. 92)

…The modest party member who is not corrupted by money advances in his career more steadily than another. He quietly and modestly gathers up the state and the law as his own property. (p. 93)

X…Reform can never come to an end; it is the essence of programs that deserve our devotion. Basically, it involves striving for the real levelling of differences between people – in absolutely all walks of life. By the nature of things, this principle will not tolerate a situation in which a small group of people, even with the noblest of intentions, creates and effectively reserves for itself the privilege of passing judgments – for then the remaining millions of people sacrifice their right to self-defence. (p. 126)

…Experience teaches us to be cautious. This is not only because the excesses of the Romantic reformer inspire (sometimes absurd) resistance in those beneath him. But also because the ruthless clearing of values can degrade a person. (p. 40)

…Few countries have been capable of safeguarding themselves against leaders who were thoroughly convinced that true history only began with them. (p. 39)

…Yet it is high time we all buried the “Thought Police,” whose actions prevent people from understanding and respecting one another. (p. 122)