Open Access«SARMATIAN KATYŃ». THE IMAGE OF THE MASS EXECUTION OF POLISH CAPTIVES AFTER THE BATTLE OF BATIH IN 1652 IN HISTORIOGRAPHY AND COLLECTIVE MEMORY OF POLAND
Author(s) -
Ігор Андрійович Усатенко
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
naukovij vìsnik užgorodsʹkogo unìversitetu. serìâ ìstorìâ/naukovij vìsnik užgorodsʹkogo unìversitetu. serìâ: ìstorìâ
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2786-6513
pISSN - 2523-4498
DOI - 10.24144/2523-4498.1(44).2021.232503
Subject(s) - battle , historiography , narrative , history , construct (python library) , prisoners of war , collective memory , law , literature , world war ii , ancient history , political science , art , computer science , archaeology , programming language
The article represents a comprehensive study of a typical image of the mass execution of Polish prisoners, who were captured after the battle of Batih in 1652, constructed by the Polish historiography. It contains an in-depth analysis of a wide range of eyewitness testimonies, historical writings, publicist and journalistic articles closely related to the research topic. It has been determined that the Polish chroniclers and most other recent authors repeatedly dealt with the themes of Batih defeat and subsequent execution of Polish prisoners. Almost all authors tried to construct a narrative that simultaneously included both heroic and victim paradigms. This position of most neighboring country scholars contrasts with several interpretations regarding the tides of the other battles that occurred during the Cossack-Polish war. Unlike the Battle of Batih in 1652, none of them were marked by similar tragic events. It was also found out that numerous descriptions, evaluations, and assessments of the prisoner massacre that many Polish authors have implemented differ significantly from each other. The discrepancy might explain the main subjects of such difference about the number of victims and the lack of consent on who was the initiator and who performed as an executor of capital punishment. Special attention was given to the issue of determining the place of the Battle of Batih and the execution of prisoners after that in the collective memory of the Poles. In addition, the article considered attempts to introduce the narrative of «Sarmatian Katyn» in which the events from the XVIIth century were linked with the events of the Second World War. The academic community did not accept a construct despite its popularity in the media at the beginning of the 2000s.