In this essay the author investigates the contradictions in Polish cultural memory in an analysis of 'Medallions', the 1946 memoir of poet Zofia Malkowski. The overarching theme of the collection was the exploration of the human capacity for for evil as a pressing ethical enterprise. She was among the first writers to challenge her compatriots to recognize thier problematic roles as bystanders, vitims and victimizers. Her critical goal was to prompt her Polish readers to confront their complicity and accept their share of the guilt.