Germans In Poland Research Articles

Polish Physical Culture in Germany and the German Minority's Physical Culture in Poland until 1939 – A Comparative Study

The article represents the first attempt to depict the similarities and differences in the development of Polish physical culture in Germany and German physical culture in Poland during the interwar period of the 20th century. In both Poland and Germany, up until 1939, national minorities, notably the Germans in Poland and the Polish in Germany, played a significant role in fostering the development of physical culture. Drawing upon scholarly research and archival sources, commonalities between Polish physical culture in Germany and German physical culture in Poland can be discerned. They included: significant politicization, utilization for shaping patriotic attitudes and national integration, activity in the field of physical education, sports, and tourism, similar forms of activity of the Sokół Gymnastic Society in Germany and the German Turner Association in Poland, concern for the development of physical education among children and youth, and support from the respective home countries. However, notable disparities exist, including the longer-standing traditions of German physical culture on Polish soil, the considerably smaller scale of material support from Polish authorities for minorities in Germany, and the involvement of Deutsche Turnerschaft in Poland in a revisionist campaign against Poland in 1939.

Selbst- und Fremdbilder in der Fremdsprachendidaktik am Beispiel des DaF-Unterrichts in Polen

This article aims at providing an answer to the question of whether, and if so to what extent (intensive) German language learning and exploring German culture leads to a positive change in the image of Germany and Germans in Poland. The article opens with theoretical considerations on the Us–Them dichotomy, the essential components of self-image and the image of the Other, as well as the interpenetration of the self and otherness. In turn, the empirical part of the article, which is directly related to the theoretical one, is devoted to the analysis of the results of a qualitative study conducted among Polish students of German Philology. The results of the analysis of the students’ utterances show that the exploration of German culture and the improvement of one’s German language proficiency at school and during German studies at university, as well as direct contact with the Germans have resulted in a positive change in the respondents’ attitudes towards Germany, Germans and the German language. The article ends with conclusions along with clearly outlined avenues for further research.

Language and Identity of the German Minority in Poland According to a Language Biographical Study Conducted in Pomerania and Warmia-Masuria Regions

This paper provides an insight to the language use and identity construction of the German minority inhabiting northern parts of Poland, studied through their language biographies. The border shift after World War II changed the lives of millions of people. For the Germans who decided or were forced to stay in Poland, it meant learning a new language and culture. This study examines the influence of language management on the language biographies and identity constructions of German minority members living in northern parts of Poland. This study uses the tools of discourse analysis and aims to answer the following questions: How did language management at the macro level (primarily the post-war language policy) influence the language biographies of the interviewees regarding their language use? How do the interviewees define their identity and what patterns do they use? The language use amongst the German minority varies greatly, ranging from speakers who are competently bilingual and still use both languages in everyday communication to people who have lost the ability to speak German. One of the factors that influenced this is language management at the macro level, especially the post-war language policy, which not only affected the linguistic situation of Germans in Poland but also contributed to the creation of three different identity patterns.

Zum Stellenwert des Deutschen in Polen

The German language in Poland has a very long tradition dating back to the 18th century. Over the centuries, under the influence of historical, political, economic and social factors, the image of Germany and Germans in Poland as well as the attitude of Poles towards the German language have been subject to continual evolution. The aim of this article is to discuss the position of the German language in Poland, mainly in the 21st century. Particular attention is paid to the discussion of the importance of this language in the Polish educational system in the past two decades, and the changing number of people learning, predominantly in primary and secondary education. Moreover, the reasons for the relatively high level of dislike of the German language among Poles (including learners of German) are presented and analysed. The discussion of the current status of German in our country is preceded by a brief historical outline showing the significance of the German language in Poland as well as the attitude of Poles towards this language over the centuries, beginning with the Old-Polish period

Немцы бывшего Царства Польского в 1918–1920 годах

The article discusses the main aspects of the political history of the Germans in the former Kingdom of Poland in the first several years after the First World War. The political programs and views of the leaders of the German national movement are presented in detail. A general overview of the situation of Germans in Poland is given. The main occupations of the German national minority and their numbers are analyzed. The political alternatives facing German politicians in the country are considered, in particular, during the Soviet-Polish war of 1920—1921. It was characteristic of the political development of the Germans in the former Kingdom of Poland that their political associations were, in fact, broad political coalitions, "fronts". The leadership of the Republic of Poland pursued a policy of Polonization towards Germans and other national minorities. The Germans were subjected to political and economic pressure and repressions. The Polonization was pronounced in the West of Poland, i.e. in Poznań, Pomerania, and Upper Silesia. These were territories of the former German Empire, and local Germans extremely painfully perceived entering into structure of Poland. The Germans of the former Kingdom of Poland quickly adapted to the new status by accepting and recognizing Polish citizenship. They remained loyal subjects of the new state. Only after the Nazis came to power in Germany, the “Grossdeutsche”, Pro-Nazi sentiments, began to spread among the Germans of the former Kingdom of Poland. Ath the same time, these sentiments were less pronounced here than among the Germans in the former German ("Eastern") territories. The attempt to create a single "Young German" movement was unsuccessful. After World War II, most Germans in Poland were deported from the country.

KSZTAŁCENIE INTERKULTUROWE W DYDAKTYCE JĘZYKA NIEMIECKIEGO W POLSCE I W BADANIACH GERMANISTÓW. ANALIZA PORÓWNAWCZA WYBRANYCH DOKUMENTÓW I MATERIAŁÓW GLOTTODYDAKTYCZNYCH

This article is intended to contribute to the academic debate on inter-cultural German language teaching and the relevant research in Poland. The authors present a critical overview and analysis of selected constitu-ent aspects of intercultural education and keywords which are im-portant for the evaluation of goals and content within the framework of interculturally-oriented teaching of German in Poland. The authors also discuss the form of presentation of intercultural aspects of educa-tion in The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment (Council of Europe, 2001), in the Polish core curriculum and in selected German language teaching materials which are meant to shape the intercultural competence of Polish learn-ers at different levels of proficiency and in different types of schools.

WCZORAJ I DZIŚ DOSKONALENIA NAUCZYCIELI JĘZYKA NIEMIECKIEGO W POLSCE

The main condition for the successful implementation of educational changes and reforms is professional development of teachers. The idea of lifelong learning has a long tradition. This paper presents the main principles of the professional development of teachers of German in Po-land from the 1990s onwards within the framework of the project Del-fort and Polish Association of German Teachers (PSNJN). The author will specify changes in areas and needs in the professional development of foreign language teachers in recent years.

FORMUŁA POŚWIADCZAJĄCA TŁUMACZA PRZYSIĘGŁEGO

The article deals with the problem of using the certification formula in certified translations in the context of the Polish-German language pair. The formula is a mandatory formal part of each certified translation, placed at its end in the appropriate language version. At the beginning of the article, the author discusses Polish guidelines relating to the formula, prepared by professional associations or found in the relevant literature. Next, in order to compare the rules for formulas in Poland and German speaking countries, he describes binding guidelines in this respect developed by German institutions and translators' associations in Germany and Austria. In the second part of the article, he presents several examples of the certification formula used by sworn translators of German in Poland and then analyses both their content and language. He also examines this issue from the perspective of the examination to become a sworn translator. Finally, the author proposes a correct and complete certification formula which could be binding on all sworn translators in Poland and should prove particularly useful to candidates for sworn translators.

Task-Based Language Learning and Teaching with Technology

Task-Based Language Learning and Teaching with Technology

Kontrowersje wokół nauczania języka niemieckiego jako języka mniejszości narodowej w Polsce po 1989 roku – podtrzymywanie tożsamości narodowej czy nauka języka obcego

This article attempts to analyse the problems of teaching German in Poland as a language of a national minority. According to the Polish law, the aim of such language classes is to maintain the national identity. As early as in the 90s of the twentieth century, however, when people were allowed to learn German as a minority language, there were allegations that some of them would send their children to these lessons without feeling de facto any relation to the German minority; they just wanted their children to learn a foreign language. During more than two decades of teaching German as a minority language, a number of interpretation problems appeared in the Polish education system concerning the principles of this teaching and persons entitled to receive education in this form. Applications for the admission of children to a German language course are treated as a declaration of nationality. A controversy also arises about the amount of additional financial resources provided for the organization of the minority language classes from the educational part of the general subsidy that is often compared to the funds allocated by the German authorities on the activities of the Polish diaspora and Poles in Germany. At present, the German minority in the Opole region undertakes a number of activities to promote bilingualism and thus overcome the conflicts around the German language, and to draw attention to the benefits of knowing more than one language as a first/second language, and not just as a foreign language.

Inicjatywy organizacyjne mniejszości niemieckiej w Polsce w latach osiemdziesiątych XX wieku w świetle polityki państwa polskiego

The nineteen eighties saw more than ten attempts to establish German minority organisations in Poland. These efforts were aimed at the obtaining the Polish authorities’ acknowledgement of this minority’s existence, a fact which was denied at that time. None of the attempts succeeded. The refusal was justified by a lack of a social basis for the existence, of such an organisation, as well as by concerns that it might endanger security and public order. The organisers were met with harassment and were forced to emigrate from Poland. Despite these setbacks in the second half of the eighties, these initiatives did not fade out; they just changed their nature. The formation of German ‘friendship circles’ began. They operated on an informal basis, without applying for registration and approval on the part of the authorities. Their main objective was to stimulate and develop the German national consciousness among those people who declared themselves to be ethnically German. It was more difficult for the authorities to oppose activities of this kind among the Germans in Poland; nevertheless, they still attempted to block any and every manifestation of the German minority, both by way of administrative measures and by exerting pressure on specific individuals. The liberalisation of the Act on Associations of 1989 brought no progress and neither did subsequent attempts aimed obtaining legal status for an organisation, which were supported by an action whereby signatures were collected on the lists of persons of German origin. The situation was not to change until after Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s visit in November that year. It was only then, when the Polish authorities acknowledged the existence of a German minority in Poland, that its legal organisational life began.

'Unsere Heimat ist uns ein fremdes Land geworden...' Die Deutschen östlich von Oder und Neiße 1945-1950. Dokumente aus polnischen Archiven, 3: Wojewodschaft Posen, Wojewodschaft Stettin (Hinterpommern) by Wlodzimierz s> Borodziej Hans Lemberg (review)

368 SEER, 84, 2, 2006 the time are available.This, unwittingly,leaves the impressionthat Hungarian politicianshad good reasons for tacklingthe Jewish question'. The book offers a wealth of detail on the organizational structuresand individualsthat oversawthe self-financinggenocide in Hungary.The focus on the economics of genocide and its profiteersrightlysuggeststhat mass murder had a 'rational' motive and was not simply a mass psychosis. Moreover, as Gotz Aly claimsin his latestbook, HitlersVolksstaat (Frankfurt am Main, 2005), the distributionof Jewish property among the Gentile population probably contributedto the broad acquiescence to the persecution of theJews. Yet no genocide has ever been committed on the basis of greed alone. The authors' hypothesis of the primacy of economics turns out to be the weakest point in their account. In fact, their own findingssuggestthat ideologicalmotives such as racistanti-Semitismand a long traditionof xenophobic nationalismplayed a significantrole too (e.g., pp. 30, 70, 76-82). A concluding chapter (missing from the book) would have placed their research into the broader discussion surrounding the motives behind the Holocaust and the conditions under which it was executed. Some reflectionson Hungary'slong-standingpolicy of Magyarization, and the role of anti-Semitism in the fate of Hungary'sJews would have rounded off the argumentwell. Histogy Department ULRIKE EHRET King'sCollege London Borodziej, Wlodzimierz and Lemberg, Hans (eds). 'UnsereHeimatist unsein ftemdesLandgeworden. . .' Die Deutschen dstlich vonOderundNeiJ3e I945-I950. Dokumente auspolnischen Archiven, 3: Wojewodschaft Posen,Wojewodschaft Stettin (Hinterpommern). Verlag Herder Institut, Marburg, 2004. viii + 701 PP. Documents. List of Documents. Thesaurus. List of Abbreviations. Indices. Map. ?70o00. THE transferof Germansfrom Centraland EasternEuropehas been the subject of numerous scholarlyworks. Indeed, the Second World War resultedin unprecedentedsocial and demographicshiftsin Europe, one of which was the removal of German minorities from places they had inhabited for centuries. Post-warevents in Poland are unique because the war brought about a shift in frontiersas well as populations. Poland gained territoryat the expense of Germany but was, in turn, also forced to cede territoryto the Soviet Union. WlodzimierzBorodziejand Hans Lemberghave edited a seriesof volumes on the transfer of Germans from Poland containing original documents from Polish archives. The third volume addressesevents in the Poznan (137 documents)and Szczecin (155 documents)regions. The firstpartof thisvolume dealingwith Poznan and the surroundingareas is introduced by StanislawJankowiak. In an effort to provide the reader with some historical background information on the German minority in the Poznan region, a number of sections covering differentperiods up until the outbreakof the Second WorldWar are included in the Introduction.The history of the German minority before I9I8 and during the interwarperiod REVIEWS 369 is discussed. The sociopolitical organization of the German minority in the Poznan region during the interwaryears is described as is its changing economic and culturalposition.Jankowiakbriefly,but convincingly, depicts the political evolution taking place among Germans in Poland during the I930s. Shortly after Hitler's ascent to power, a non-aggression pact was signed between Poland and Germany. Immediatelythereafter,some considered this an improvementin relationsbetween the two countries.However, such sentiments proved to be unfounded. Germany'sincreasingforeignpolicy successes only served to encourage anti-Polish sentiments among Poland's Germans, in whom nationalist sympathies had been fuelled by Hitler's policies and propaganda. Nazi occupation policies in Poland during the Second World War are discussedin detail. The goal of Germanizationwas to be achievedby means of exterminationofJews and Poles as well as expulsionscombined with the resettlementof ethnic Germans from other countries in Eastern Europe. In I944, as the situationon the easternfrontdeteriorated,increasingnumbers of Germans in Poland began searchingfor ways to evacuate Polish territory and move westward. FromJanuary I945 onwards, a very hasty exodus of Germans fleeing the steadily advancing Red Army took place. With the exception of a few cities, the Soviet forces met little German resistanceand, therefore, advanced rapidly . The establishmentof Polish authorityin the liberated regions occurred with varying degrees of difficultydepending on local conditions. By the time Polish authoritywas definitely restored, about io per cent of the population was German. The Poles in the Poznan region were convinced that the Germanminorityought to be expellednot only as punishmentforthe wartime behaviour of the Germans, but also to make room for Polish settlerscoming from eastern territoriesceded to the Soviet Union. From liberation up until September I945, expulsionsof Germanswere...

Ethnic Germans in Poland and the Czech Republic: A Comparative Evaluation*

This paper seeks to analyze the nature of the German minorities in the Czech Republic and Poland. In order to achieve this goal, the relationship between Czechoslovakia/the Czech Republic and Poland with the Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Federal Republic of Germany/FRG) forms an essential intellectual backdrop to our main theme. Reference to the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (German Democratic Republic/GDR) will be made as and where appropriate. As we shall see, tensions simmered between the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (Socialist Unity Party of Germany/SED) and the Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza Zjednoczona (Polish United Workers' Party/PZPR), and in reality relations between the two sides were poor. Reference will be made to wartime German occupation policy in both Poland and the Czech lands. Due attention will also be paid to the consequent expulsion of ethnic Germans from Poland and Czechoslovakia. However, due to limitations of space these themes, that have been exhaustively dealt with elsewhere, do not form part of our main focus of study.

Für Glaube und Volkstum: Die katholische Wochenzeitung “Der Deutsche in Polen” (1934-1939) in der Auseinandersetzung mit dem Nationalsozialismus (review)

Far Glaube and Volkstum: Die katholische Wochenzeitung Deutsche in (1934-1939) in der Auseinandersetzung mit dem Nationalsozialismus. By Pia Nordblom. [Veroffentlichungen der Kommission fur Zeitgeschichte, Reihe B: Forschungen, Band 87.] (Paderborn: Ferdinand Schoningh. 2000. Pp. 758.168.00 DM.) In the large and multi-national Polish state of the 1930's, Catholics constituted a minority of about 15% within a German minority of about 4%, and outspoken opponents of National Socialism made up an even smaller portion of this minority-in-a-minority. This relatively small population included, however, at least one individual who, though scarcely known even to professional students of National Socialism, deserves to be counted among its most dogged and principled German opponents: Eduard Pant (1887-1938). While this very substantial monograph, based on a 1995 Heidelberg dissertation, treats many other issues, and does so with impressive skill and thoroughness, its primary virtue may be to have rescued Pant himself from undeserved obscurity. Pant's background was Austrian rather than Reich-German: he took up a teaching position in the Galician (albeit majority-German) town of Bielitz/ Bielsko shortly before it was ceded to Poland, and then combined with Poland's share of German Upper Silesia (following the post-plebiscite division of that region in 1922) to form the new Polish province of Silesia. Pant was a pious Catholic whose political views had been shaped by Austria's Christian-Social movement; he was also an energetic administrator and effective public speaker. In a province where most of the Germans as well as the Poles were Catholic, he soon rose to head of the Union of German Catholics (in served as leader of the German-Catholic Peoples Party in the Silesian parliament, and functioned as de facto editor of Oberschlesischer Kurier (Kattowitz/Katowice), the largest-circulation German newspaper in interwar Poland. All this changed, however, with Hitler's acquisition of power in Germany in 1933. While most leaders of the German minority in Poland, their organizations and activities heavily dependent upon financial subsidies from Germany itself, accepted at least formal ideological Gleichschaltung, Pant insisted almost from the start on the fundamental incompatibility of Christianity and National Socialism and was unrelenting in his criticism of the compromises and opportunism of most of the minority's other leaders. Nor was he reluctant to criticize the hierarchy of his own Church on those too-numerous occasions when it too demonstrated a lack of political foresight and/or moral courage with respect to the Nazi challenge. By mid-1934, however, a campaign orchestrated by agencies in Berlin had deprived Pant of most of his positions of influence among the German minority in Poland. He responded by founding a weekly newspaper, Der Deutsche in Polen (The German in Poland), with which he continued his struggle with National Socialism until his death in 1938. He was capably assisted (and succeeded) by the equally steadfast Johannes Maier-Hultschin, a German Upper Silesian. While the first 200 pages of this massive but clearly organized study are devoted to the lives and times of Pant, Maier-Hultschin, and their journal, and to the general situation of Germans in interwar Poland, the remainder consists of an exhaustive analysis and deconstruction of Der Deutsche in Polen and its commentary over the course of its five-year life span (1934-1939). Basically, Nordblom analyzes five years of political and ideological controversy, above all Church-state issues involving German Protestants as well as Catholics but also questions of foreign policy and anti-Semitism, through the prism of the DiP. …

The Expulsion of the Germans from Hungary: A Study in Postwar Diplomacy

The key to the problem of the expulsion of the Germans from Hungary* was the Potsdam Conference, where the representatives of the three major Allies declared “that the transfer to Germany of German populations, or elements thereof remaining in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary, will have to be undertaken.” Thus the three major Allies assimilated the problem of the Germans in Hungary with the problems of Germans in Poland and Czechoslovakia, although in reality the situation in Hungary differed greatly from that in the other two countries. The terms of the Potsdam decision might have been suitable for the Polish and Czechoslovak situations, but were most misleading when applied to Hungary.