Scholarly Article
The Limits of the Language. Holocaust(s)? Between Decorum and a "Rhetorically Useful Concept" (The Case of Discourse in Poland)
Kowalska-Nadolna, Urszula
2025-12-15 · Poznańskie Studia Slawistyczne · Adam Mickiewicz University Poznan
Abstract
The article presents several examples of the rhetorical use of the Holocaust in contemporary public discourse in Poland, the place where the extermination of the Jews took place on the largest scale. It evokes a recapitulation of the discussion of the uniqueness and recurrence of the Holocaust experience, and the ways in which this experience is metaphorized in contemporary popular culture, especially in the Polish public discourse. An important part of the text consists of case studies (rather limited for formal reasons), i.e. the rhetorical use of the concept of the Holocaust in relation to issues relevant to the public sphere in recent years. In the Polish context, these are mainly: issues related to the protection of animal rights; to the Polish abortion law; discussions about the COVID-19 pandemic and the refugee crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border.
Keywords
Holocaust, rhetoric, Holocaust discourse, COVID-19, prenatal ethics, Polish-Belarusian border crisis
Citation Details
Poznańskie Studia Slawistyczne