ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the official support of national cultural traditions, particularly the support of Polish romanticism. In the post-Stalinist period, most of the national traditions, including the romantic literary tradition was given the support of official cultural institutions. These traditions were widely published, taught in schools and universities, produced in theater, films and on radio and television–in general, they have become accepted and promoted by the Party for mass distribution. Some of the most important works of student theater draw upon the romantic tradition, often doing so in opposition to the utilization of romantic tradition by the political elite. Theater STU's ambivalent treatment of the romantic tradition is a manifestation of a less romantic and more practical orientation toward Polishness similar to that of the positivist tradition. The works created by student theater in the 1970s are in the main unanticipated consequences of official support of aspects of the national tradition.
