The Politicisation of Historical Memory on Twitter: "Positive Antisemitism" in the Holocaust Debate in Poland (Author Accepted Manuscript)

This is an Author Accepted Manuscript (AAM) of the article published in Rethinking History (Taylor & Francis, 2023).
The version of record is available online at the DOI above.

Abstract

This article analyses the politicisation of Holocaust memory in contemporary Poland through discourse emerging on Twitter (X). It introduces the concept of “positive antisemitism”—a rhetorical strategy that paradoxically combines formal condemnation of antisemitism with discursive mechanisms that sustain it.
Using both qualitative and computational approaches (topic modeling, sentiment analysis, and network mapping of hashtags and user interactions), the study explores how political actors, institutions, and grassroots users re-contextualise historical guilt and victimhood narratives in digital spaces.
The authors argue that social media platforms amplify ideological polarisation of memory, transforming Holocaust discourse into a tool of symbolic politics and national self-presentation.
By combining digital humanities methodology with historiographical reflection, the article contributes to understanding how algorithmic visibility, populist framing, and affective communication reshape historical consciousness in the twenty-first century.