À Sombra da Chaminé

As Conexões entre Memória, Esquecimento e Ressentimento nas Lembranças Operárias de Telêmaco Borba (PR)

Abstract

This paper proposes a theoretical discussion on the possible connections between memory, forgetfulness and resentment in the memories of workers in Telêmaco Borba (PR) – a city organized around the installation of Indústrias Klabin do Paraná (IKPC), a paper and cellulose factory, and its company town, during the 1940s and 1950s. The city, which takes as its meta-collective identity the pioneering spirit and industrial progress carried out by “great men”, exalts the role of engineers and directors of the IKPC, leaving its rural past to the sidelines and the decisive role of workers in their development and history. Therefore, this article focuses on the contributions of Pierre Ansart, Joël Candau and Michael Pollak to reflect on the existence of weak and subterranean memories in the oral narratives of Telêmaco Borba's workers. Such memories, when they break through the oblivion barrier, present themselves in a fragmented and resentful way.