The Public History Turn in History Education Seen Through the Lens of the Polish–German History Textbook

Abstract

This article presents the changes in history education that bring school history closer to public history and discusses the potential of a textbook as a tool for fostering public history. The analysis of the chapters dealing with the Second World War from the Polish–German history textbook, Europe – Our History, provides arguments in support of the claim that history education may become history for the public – by engaging pupils, not just providing them with knowledge; with the public – by letting the pupils reflect on the lesson content, not take it for granted; about the public – by focusing on ordinary people’s fates, not on political and military operations; and by the public – by referring extensively to people’s memories and letting primary sources speak for themselves, not just illustrate the historiographical narrative.