%0 Journal Article %A Szostak, Sylwia %A Mihelj, Sabina %D 2016 %T Coming to terms with communist propaganda: post-communism, memory and generation %U https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/journal_contribution/Coming_to_terms_with_communist_propaganda_post-communism_memory_and_generation/9472856 %2 https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/ndownloader/files/17097308 %K Memory %K Generation %K Post-communism %K Post-socialism %K Propaganda %K Television %K World War Two %K Language, Communication and Culture not elsewhere classified %K Studies in Human Society not elsewhere classified %X This article has two main aims. First, it seeks to contribute to existing research on the mediation of post-communist memory by considering the Polish case and specifically by focusing on audience memories of an iconic television series produced in communist Poland, Four Tankmen and a Dog (TVP, 1966-1970), set during World War Two. Second, the article pays particular attention to the generational stratification of audience memories, and thereby makes a contribution to recent literature that examines the links between generation and mediated remembering. The analysis draws on life-course interviews with viewers of two different generations, conducted in Poland in 2014. The results indicate that the ways in which Polish audiences remember communist-era programming, and specifically the extent to which they perceive such programming as propaganda, vary significantly with generation. We argue that these differences stem from generationally-specific experiences in the past, which gave rise to distinct modes of engaging with the communist era and its heritage. %I Loughborough University