Political Myths in History Textbooks: War Images of the Falange in Spain (19391951) and the Polish Workers Party in Poland (19451956)

This book compares the school image of the wartime past of the Falange and the Polish Workers Party (PPR), created during the turbulent first decade of Francoism in Spain and Communism in Poland. Demonstrating the political usefulness of the Party was crucial to the consolidation of both regimes. Legitimisation of the new regime called for emphasising the Partys war effort, not only in defeating the enemy but also in its struggle for social issues. For school-taught history, the early years of both dictatorships marked a period of breaking with prewar educational concepts, introducing and testing new revolutionary pedagogical solutions. This book not only explains the aspirations of political rulers to rebuild the students memory, but also contributes to our understanding of the textbook authors perception of the recent past. It analyses the meanings of terms specific to mythical story, such as nation, power, heroes and their deeds, or wartime struggle.