The memory studies community in Poland has suffered a profound loss: Barbara Szacka passed away on January 17, 2025, at the age of 95.

Szacka was affiliated with the University of Warsaw, where she initially focused on the history of ideas. In the mid-1960s, during the communist era, she was part of a research team led by Nina Assorodobraj-Kula that conducted pioneering survey studies on the historical consciousness of the Polish intelligentsia. At a time when the state tightly controlled historical narratives, Assorodobraj’s and Szacka’s work stood out for its empirical approach and its focus on how ordinary people remembered the past—an area of research that was largely unexplored in the Eastern Bloc.

Over time, Professor Szacka emerged as a trailblazer in sociological memory studies in Poland. Her research became a key reference point for many sociological inquiries, particularly in understanding the mechanisms shaping collective memory. For decades, working within a political system that sought to shape collective memory from above, Szacka’s research revealed the limits of state influence. She demonstrated that changes in collective memory occur gradually over decades and show a remarkable degree of independence from official historical policies. One of her final research collaborative projects, conducted in the late 2000s, examined Polish society’s memory of World War II. She was particularly interested in the role of communicative memory—family narratives and intergenerational transmission—in shaping perceptions of the war.

Beyond her academic contributions, Szacka reflected on her life and intellectual journey in her recently published memoir, Życie i pamięć w mrocznych czasach (Life and Memory in Dark Times, 2024). In this poignant work, she intertwined personal history with broader reflections on memory, politics, and the challenges of conducting sociological research under communism. The memoir not only sheds light on the historical transformations she witnessed but also offers invaluable insights into the development of memory studies in Poland.

Her scholarship, developed in a context where the study of memory was both politically sensitive and methodologically original and at a time when academic careers for women were far from obvious, will continue to inspire future generations of researchers.