The Motivations of the Opponents of a Social Memory Implant. the Re/Building of the Royal Castle in Poznań (2010-2014)

In 2010 began the re/building of the Royal Castle in the city of Poznań, which was demolished in 1796. The process, which was initiated by the Committee for the Rebuilding of the Royal Castle arouses strong controversy. The builders of the castle are accused of falsifying history (it is not sure how the building looked like before being taken to pieces) and destroying the original remains of the old castle. However, the committee was able to reach both political and social support for the re/building and collect money for this aim. 

Due to a very long absence of the castle in the urban space and lack of any confidence when it comes to its outlook, the object which is being built can be called an implant of social memory. An implant of memory is an object, which function is to construct a particular knowledge of the past, becoming the carrier of this knowledge through its own form – imitating forms of ancient objects, buildings etc. 

The speech will be devoted to the motivations of the people who publicly criticize the re/construction process and take part in different protests against it - the opponents of the Committee for the Rebuilding of the Royal Castle. There will be presented strategies with the help of which those people explain their engagement in the protests and their resistance to the re/building process. Conclusions will be presented on the basis of a series of individual in-depth interviews carried out at the turn of 2012 and 2013.