"Re-Germanisation" of west Poland alarms conservatives

[Aptrgangr]

"Re-Germanisation" of west Poland alarms conservatives


11 June 2007
Warsaw/Wroclaw (dpa) - As the Cold War recedes deeper into history, local Polish politicians in Silesia, Pomerania and former East Prussia have become increasingly relaxed about their municipalities' German heritage - too relaxed, say some members of Poland's national-conservative government.

"The re-Germanisation of the Recovered Territories is a real threat," recently warned Jan Zaryn, a historian at Poland's Institute of National Remembrance, in the conservative Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita.

Back in the 1950s and '60s, the political battle lines were clearly drawn: West Germany had not yet recognised the Oder-Neisse Line (the border between Poland and East Germany) as Poland's permanent western border.

Poland declared the erstwhile German territories gained at the hands of the Allies after World War II "Recovered Territories" that is, historically Polish.

"The stones of Wroclaw (Breslau in German) and Szczecin (Stettin) speak Polish," the Poles contended.

And now? Just last year, Wroclaw's Centennial Hall was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list. Built in 1911-1913 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Leipzig (also called the Battle of the Nations, it marked the end of the French Empire east of the Rhine), the building, seen by Polish authorities as a symbol of Prussian nationalism, was renamed Hala Ludowa (People's Hall) after World War II.

In Szczecin, Haken Terrace has been named after Hermann Haken, the city's German mayor from 1878 to 1907. And inhabitants of the Masurian, formerly East Prussia, village of Eichmedien attracted attention last year when a two-thirds majority backed a monument in honour of Otto von Bismarck.

Prussia's "Iron Chancellor" was known, among other things, for his Germanisation policies and attempts to subject the Roman Catholic Church to state controls.

More than six decades since World War II ended, people throughout previously German-ruled Poland are thinking pragmatically, for the most part. German tourists visiting the region often want to see traces of Germany, so the Poles are happy to oblige - even if it means showing off Bismarck.

In Danzig, there are organised walking tours that trace the haunts of Germany's Nobel literature laureate Guenter Grass, its native son. Sopot commemorates the late German actor Klaus Kinski, who was born there.

Now the municipal government of the Silesian town of Swidnica wants to get into the act too. It has decided to remind visitors that German World War I ace Manfred von Richthofen, the "Red Baron," once lived there. Those opposed to the plan point to the aviator's cult status in the Third Reich.

Krzysztof Grzelczyk, conservative governor of the province of Lower Silesia, looks askance at the German reawakening. "Legally speaking, German influence in Poland's western territories stretches just 200 years," he said, urging an intensive search for Polish imprints on the region.

While Silesia fell to Prussia with the partition of Poland only in the 18th century, Grzelczyk, like his Communist predecessors, ignores the fact that the region's German heritage goes back much further.

Teachers, amateur historians and local politicians in Silesia and Masuria frequently say, "Our homeland's German heritage is part of its identity."

Generally speaking, that heritage is no longer a problem for the regions' inhabitants, largely descendants of Poles resettled from eastern Polish territories annexed by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II.

These people have arrived. They are no longer waiting to return to Vilnius, now in Lithuania or Lviv in Ukraine. And they are not afraid that the Germans will return either.

"Re-Germanisation" of west Poland alarms conservatives , News, Germany, Expatica

[Heretik]

This actually might be a way to get poles and germans closer together. Of course if those scary twins (Kaczynsky) and conservatives don't do something to forbid or ban this.

[Menydh]

Don't be so sure. It will attract number of weekend German tourists, some of which are likely to behave arrogant with the locals.

I experienced something similar during a trip through the Czech Republic some 12-15 years ago, where many locals were starting to feel uneasy because of a certain sector of the German tourists there.

The problem is not that they are "Germans". The problem is the element that comes with mass tourism in general, which aggravates certain situation that require a soft approach.

[Heretik]

Well, that is a possibility of course but it is also possible to bring germans and poles together don't you think so?

[Menydh]

So that you understand it better, they are balkanicized.

[ItalianPrincess]

The Poles should be more concerned with the Africanization of Poland. Since most of it's workers are going to the United Kingdom for work, who will the government replace them with? Africans. They'll convince the Poles that it would be enriching for them, yeah look at London with all the single white mothers will mulatto babies. I don't think that will go over very well in Poland. However, it looks like the Polish girls who are interested in black 'culture' go to England to see it first hand.

[Susi]

Ummm... where have you obtained this data, PrincessBella?

I don't think African immigration is so much a problem in Poland as is immigration from other Eastern European nations. Do you wonder why people leave Poland? Why would an African go to Poland when he can go somewhere much closer like Spain or Italy or France?

I don't understand you Americans.

[Menydh]

Thank you for your input, but this is a forum for Europeans where the educated guesses of Americans are not much appreciated.

Please, try Stormfront, The Phora, or other similars.

[Heretik]

Originally Posted by Mynydd

So that you understand it better, they are balkanicized.

Well... Yes.
But you never know mate.

[Crvena zvezda]

Originally Posted by Susi

Ummm... where have you obtained this data, PrincessBella?

I don't think African immigration is so much a problem in Poland as is immigration from other Eastern European nations. Do you wonder why people leave Poland? Why would an African go to Poland when he can go somewhere much closer like Spain or Italy or France?

I don't understand you Americans.

I agree. Polish immigration to the United States is small when one compares it to Polish immigration to Western Europe. furthermore, as Polands economy is weak compared to western Europe there is little or no incentive for an African to go there. I also doubt there is large scale immigration from Eastern European nations to Poland, it doesn't seem like a country one seeking work would migrate to.

[Menydh]

I found this site of postcards, photographs and maps of the old Prussia in modern Poland, apparently for German nostalgics..

Prussian Poland - the former German territories in Poland

.. from Poles not minding to to some business.

Poland Poland: photographs, pictures, and information on Poland

[Menydh]

Schiefer Church Tower
Frankenstein, Silesia


Curious.. I didn't know that Frankenstein was a town in Prussia. Isn't the building strangely leaning towards one side, and again bent near to the top?

[Menydh]

A modern picture and yes, it is leaning towards one side, like Pisa's.

[Menydh]

Ok.. apparently schiefer means inclinded or something like that.

And well, it is a Prussian tradition to incline towers!

A schiefer tower in Köln/Cologne

[Errigal]

Originally Posted by Mynydd

Schiefer Church Tower
Frankenstein, Silesia


Curious.. I didn't know that Frankenstein was a town in Prussia. Isn't the building strangely leaning towards