The Contemporary Stereotype of the Polish Gentry and its Historical Conditions

Abstract

Stereotypes constitute an important means of explaining past and present reality. Therefore, they are a significant component of consciousness of all times and places. In this context, stereotypes have always been associated with the conscious propaganda of contemporary power centers. In practice, they enable not only to degrade competitors, but above all they occupy a permanent place in the mass consciousness. In the end, these efforts aim at embedding stereotypical beliefs about the value or anti-value of certain individuals, social groups and entire nations. Moreover, even when the validity of a given propaganda wanes, the once-established stereotype remains alive. The contemporary stereotype of Polish nobility is not only a product of our time. Old Polish preachers, intellectuals of bourgeois and peasant origin, anti-Polish spokesmen and antinobility propaganda promoted during the partitions, as well as architects of the post-war political system who made the nobility the number one enemy worked within this frame of mind. The final effect is a clearly negative image of a modern nobleman. To a large extent, it has been based on an equally negative stereotype. It is confirmed by a survey conducted in the selected groups of high school students, university students and PhD students. The same conclusions can be made on the analysis of school textbooks and direct observation of media communication on educational portals. They all comprise a collective portrait of native nobility, in which flaws take precedence over merits, while the slogan that has been popular nowadays — “the nobility does not work” — should be considered the essence of antinobility myth.