Read more
This book is the first study of the mentality of anti-Communist underground fighters and presents, especially, their thinking, ideals, stereotypes and customs.
The models and psychological processes that the volume analyses are relevant not only to the Polish partisans, but also to members of other underground organisations, in East-Central Europe, South America and Asia. It explores how the underground organizations were created, who joined them and why, what thoughts and emotions were involved, and what were the consequences of the decisions to join them. Experiences and situations are illustrated with excerpts of diaries and memoirs which reveal the thinking of people in extreme situations, when their lives are in danger, when they are caught in desperate conflicts, or are fighting against overwhelming government forces.
The Mentality of Partisans is useful for upper-level undergraduates, postgraduates, and scholars interested in the history of Europe, resistance movements, anticommunism, military and political conflicts, World War Two and non-classical historiography.
List of contents
Introduction 1. Soldiers and partisans 2. Notions and Illusions 3. A world of values and beliefs 4. Dispositions and mental states; their roots 5. Attitudes and behaviours 6. Stress-reducing factors 7. "Approaching the end ..." 8. Conclusion
About the author
Mariusz Mazur is a historian from Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, Poland. His research interests include the Polish People’s Republic, the post-Second World War anti-Communist underground in Poland, mentalities, totalitarianism and propaganda. His books O człowieku tendencyjnym … (2009) and Antykomunistycznego podziemia portret zbiorowy 1945-1956 (2019, 2020) were awarded with prestigious prizes.
Summary
This book is the first study of the mentality of anti-Communist underground fighters and presents, detail, their thinking, ideals, stereotypes and customs.
