Between Two Kin-States: The Round Table Meetings on the German Minority in Poland and the Poles in Germany 2010–2019

Abstract

This paper analyses the series of Polish-German Round Table meetings on supporting members of the German minority in Poland and the Poles in Germany which took place during 2010–2019. The course and results of these talks can be interpreted as a clash of kin-state policies that treat these groups as a ‘foreign’ extension of the nation and emphasise the need to care for them. They carry interesting conclusions regarding: the role of minority groups themselves as non-state entities influencing and shaping kin-state policies; and the tension surrounding the use of the terms ‘national minority’ and ‘immigrant community’.