Identity In Poland Research Articles

Untangling Invasive Narratives: Boundaries, Belonging, and Narrative Agency

ABSTRACT This article explores the ways that stories about boundaries and belonging are bound up with cultural narrative frames that set the stage for the interpretation of new, or often recreated, accounts. I use the term “invasive narrative,” to refer to the force with which these narratives can invade and shape interpretations of unfolding situations. These disputes are entangled with broader narratives that provoke ambivalence toward open borders, migration, as well as cultural and biological fluidity. Narratives can be “invasive” in another sense when they dwell on the apparent unnatural, intrusive, and unwelcome elements of a species’ presence – a label that can also be used to target native species that have reemerged after a long absence. To explore these concepts, I examine the blurring, substitutions, and differentiations between wild species and human migrant/foreigner/other categories with regard to public debates on conservation, migration, and identity in Poland. These accounts are significant because they promote fear and radically exclusionary concepts of belonging and are linked to acts of violence. Here I examine conflicts between fishermen and conservationists, including the inflammatory comments of an extreme nationalist politician and the illegal killings of protected Baltic grey seals.

A concept at the edge of national and European constitutional law: different understandings within the same region. Constitutional identity in Poland and Hungary

A concept at the edge of national and European constitutional law: different understandings within the same region. Constitutional identity in Poland and Hungary

Kultura i tożsamość wschodniego pogranicza Polski

Culture and Identity in Poland’s Eastern BorderlandThe article deals with the compound nature as well as the territorial, political and cultural diversity of eastern Poland. Particular emphasis is put first on the historical rivalry of the Poles and the Russians, who both had strong national cultures and the will to exert great influence on the identity assumed by the population of eastern Poland. This political rivalry was accompanied by cultural rivalry. It was all later summed up in the unique cultural heritage and social and cultural separateness of the region.Today this region is composed of compact settlements of Lithuanians, Belarusians, and Ukrainians. The author discusses in detail the specific designates of the area still existing in its architecture, and in the languages and ethnic identity of the local people. His conclusion is that what we have here is not just one borderland of eastern Poland, but several different borderlands. Local architecture, dialects and local feelings of identity cannot be currently understood without narrations about their past, as well as cultural revitalisation. Only then can the culture and identity be regained in the eastern region of Poland.

Synagogi w płomieniach. Kres polskiej architektury synagogalnej w latach 1939–1941 w ikonografii niemieckich żołnierzy

The outbreak of World War II marked the beginning of a tragic period in history that determined the fate of Polish Jews. From its first days, the German terror was not only remembered as a prelude to the Holocaust, but also as the beginning of the end of synagogue architecture in Poland. The iconography presented in the article draws attention to the burning synagogues and, at the same time, the end of a world that was indisputably part of the culture, art and identity of Poland before 1939.In the landscape of Poland it constituted a kind of individuality, which in the vocabulary of the Third Reich was perceived as: “Jewish culture and architecture” (Judische Kultur und Architektur), “Jewishtypes” (Judische Typen), “subhumans” (Untermenschen). This is the vocabulary of the German soldier who has occupied Poland since September 1939. And although some of them had already become familiar with this world during the First World War, it was mostly the young recruit born between1920 and 1922 who perceived it in an alien way, unprecedented for him. Convinced of their mission to expand their living space (Lebensraum), and thus their right to rule over Poland and Eastern Europe, the young Germans simultaneously made a visual perception of Polish Jews. The main part the article consists of iconographic documents visualising the silent historical source and studies of the subject created after 1945. They cover the period from 1939 to 1941 and depict the process of destroying Polish synagogue architecture. These are significant years because it was during this period that the largest number of synagogues built in Poland before 1939 were destroyed.

The Ballets of Eugeniusz Morawski in the Context of the Search for Polish National Identity

Abstract The topic of this article is Eugeniusz Morawski’s ballet music analysed in the context of the search for national identity in Poland after it regained independence in 1918. The author’s reflection is focused on two fully preserved ballet compositions written in the 1920s. In the monumental four-part dance poem Miłość [Love] by Morawski, together with the author of the libretto, Franciszek Siedlecki, presents an allegorical journey of the pair of protagonists in search of spiritual renewal in a world threatened by progressive mechanisation. Their pilgrimage ends on Earth, and Mazurka is the central point of the last part of the composition. The two-part ballet Świtezianka [Fair Maiden from Svitez], written by the composer to his own libretto, contains in the first part a group scene in which the composer stylizes Polish folk dances. Morawski uses in these works numerous archaizing elements, such as col legno articulation in the strings or empty fifths in the bass; he also uses a pentatonic scale and modal scales, these fragments are distinguished by incisive rhythms. The composer’s treatment of folk material brings to mind an analogy between his work and the works of composers regarded as representatives of the national-folkloric trend in Polish music: Karol Szymanowski, Stanisław Wiechowicz and Roman Palester. Similar tendencies can also be observed in numerous literary and art works created during the inter-war period. A return to folklore and combination of its elements with modern composing techniques can also be found in the works of the most ou-standing representatives of the avant-garde: Igor Stravinsky and Béla Bartók.

Lomir kinder lernen – Yiddish textbooks in Poland 1945–1949

ABSTRACT Textbooks, which are a little-noticed source for historians, offer an interesting insight into the present state of the respective society as well as into the intended concepts for the future, not only of the textbook authors but also of certain social groups or even the state. In which direction and how should the next generation be shaped? These were important questions that surviving Jews in Poland asked themselves after the Holocaust. This article presents and analyses Yiddish textbooks from 1946-1948. They reflect the search for a Jewish life and a post-Holocaust identity in Poland. In this search, two factors play a particularly important role: the Yiddish language and dealing with the Holocaust.

What nation? Peasants, memory and national identity in Poland

AbstractIn the article, I analyse the ways in which peasants built their national identity within the Polish territories. The 16th century saw the emergence of the so‐called “noble democracy” founded upon the idea of “the Polish nation.” This “noble democracy,” constructed in opposition to the figure of king, was organized around the notion of civil liberty, the right to ownership and the right to decide about the state affairs. Yet, it put peasants outside of the framework of the nation. After the collapse of the state and the partitions, the founders of the modern idea of the nation within the Polish territories in the 19th century referred to that “(noble) democratic” tradition of the nation. To them, this gesture was an act of resistance against the politics of the states that had conducted the partitions. The tradition, however, became a dominant one. Peasants then build the national identity on the basis of the 16th‐century tradition which excluded them from the body of the nation, and I call this prothesis of identity.

The Politics of a National Identity Survey: Polishness, Whiteness, and Racial Exclusion

AbstractThis article analyses a popular survey on national identity in Poland. However, the analysis of the survey is a pretext to remind one of the limitations of crude quantitative methods and to look at the Polish national identity itself. The article shows that the survey questions are far from unambiguous, and respondents might attribute different meanings to them. The survey does not “measure” national identity existing in the world, rather it serves to maintain the hegemonic concept of Polishness. It diminishes the significance of Catholicism and the perceived biological dimension of Polishness. It ignores public sentiment linking Whiteness and Polishness, contributing to maintaining the dominant image of Polishness as free of racism. Under the guise of objective research, the survey is one of the elements sustaining the image of a relatively open and inclusive Polishness. Referring to my own qualitative research and recent literature on the topic, I argue that Polish identity must be seen in terms of selective racism without racism—that is, it is an identity based on racial premises but which at the same time neglects its racial character.

Kulturowe źródła prawa i kulturowe uwarunkowania władzy politycznej. Wewnętrzny kolonializm i casus akulturacji prawnej Ślązaków

Cultural Sources of Law and Conditions of Political Power. Internal Colonialism and the Case of Legal Acculturation of Silesians The article addresses legal pluralism, namely the interaction of norms resulting from either custom or law, which takes place in the face of emancipation processes in Polish Silesia. It concerns legal conceptualizations of regional autonomy and the negotiations of the legal status of the regional group that aims at a higher level of sovereignty. Namely, investigating the relationship between cultural and legal norms, I analyse the judicial procedure regarding the way of adjudicating and defining Silesianness. Considering the existence of multiple parallel ethnic identities in Poland, I strive to illuminate the question of the legal definition of Polishness and the normative dimension of legal definition. I bring to light the making of the adjudication in the Polish justice system, and thus highlight the mechanisms present in the legislative process and rationalisations operating wherein. I am interested in the consequences of these processes for establishing the legal and the factual status of different groups. The conception of identity used by modern jurisdiction derives from the definition of the dominant group (of Poles) and works towards strengthening its status against the status of other, parallelly existing groups whose self-identities do not fall squarely within the hegemonic construction. My hypothesis is that the process of interpreting the law in force in Poland follows subjective ideas and is often drafted in programmatic terms.

EtnoPolska – animacja, edukacja, partycypacja?

The text focuses on the objectives of regional animation and education in Poland, with particular emphasis on grant programs that are addressed to local and regional communities in the field of activities for national heritage. The subject of reflection are the EtnoPolska program, which is operated by the National Centre For Culture (Narodowe Centrum Kultury), as well as the objectives of actions stimulating and supporting regional cultures as formulated at the state level. The subjects of the analysis are the answers to the objectives of these programs, as well as the understanding of these goals by the beneficiaries of grant programs. The analysed data and observations contribute to the analysis of the state of regional identities in Poland and of the identification of local communities with those identities.

Black/white mixed-race experiences of race and racism in Poland

ABSTRACT Whilst literature on race and ethnicity in Poland is growing, it has yet to fully grapple with the diverse range of racial identities in Poland. Simultaneously, despite calls for Critical Mixed Race Studies (CMRS) to develop into a more global field, there remains a paucity of literature focusing on racial mixedness in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), and no substantive consideration of the lived experiences of mixed-race people in Poland. Taking these absences as our entry point, we bring Critical Mixed Race Studies into conversation with pieces of literature on race and ethnicity in Poland in order to extend the theoretical and empirical terrain of both fields. Drawing upon data from interviews conducted with black/white mixed-race people in Poland, this article casts light on the lives of this nascent group, and specifically on their experiences of racism and exclusion in a society imagined as homogenously white.

Shaping the National Identity of the Youth in the Polish Scouting Association (ZHP)

Studies on patriotism and national identity occupy a special place in the social sciences related to the comprehensive and integral develop­ment of the human person. The shaping of national identity in Poland is particularly important due to the recently celebrated 100th anni­versary of independence. An important role in this process has been played by social organizations, whose members take care of maintain­ing and cultivating the Polish tradition. One of such organizations has been the Polish Scouting Association (ZHP), founded in 1918. The aim of the paper is to show the positive role of ZHP in building national identity and shaping the patriotic attitudes of contemporary youth. This goal will be verified through a systematic review of litera­ture related to identity, patriotism and patriotic education. The article also contains an overview of initiatives related to shaping the patriotic identity in the Polish Scouting Association.

Constitutional Identity of Poland: Is the Emperor Putting on the Old Clothes of Sovereignty?

This paper analyses the way the term “constitutional identity” is understood and applied in the case-law of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal. The Tribunal first used this term in the Treaty of Lisbon decision to demarcate limits of the state power to confer competences to the European Union. In this context, the Tribunal reaffirmed that membership in the EU is a form of self-limitation and the contemporary form of expressing national sovereignty. In the following discussion, the paper presents decisions in which the constitutional identity of Poland denotes the axiological equivalence or convergence with the EU legal order, or conversely, divergence from common constitutional standards. These standards, setting out the core of the EU constitutional identity, are based on the protection of fundamental rights, rule of law, and democracy. We examine the application of constitutional identity as convergence and divergence on the examples of the right to respect the private and the family life and the right to a fair trial. Yet, we argue, it is the recent constitutional crisis surrounding the Constitutional Tribunal which shows the Polish constitutional dispensation. Failing to cooperate with the European institutions with regard to legal reforms affecting the rule of law the Polish government is not merely insisting on its constitutional identity, but trying on the “old clothes” of national sovereignty.

Weekly Newspaper “Nashe Slovo” (Warsaw) in the Context of the Formation of Ukrainian Statehood

Abstract This article analyses creation and development of weekly newspaper “Nashe Slovo” (Our Word) and its role in the protection of Ukrainian identity. Also the author analyzes the role of newspaper in strengthening of Ukraine-Polish relations and the maintenance of Ukrainian national identity in Poland.

LAND, HISTORY AND IMAGINATION, OR REMARKS ON THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE NEW PATRIOTISM

Article will address the issue of changes in national identity in Poland in the 20th and 21st centuries. Issue will be considered with the importance of territory in the sense of man’s national identity – this will apply to territories which became a part of the Polish state aft er World War II: in particular, the lower Silesia. Th e main problem will be, therefore, the presence in the common consciousness concepts describing nationality in relation to the category of territory. Area of empirical research will be artefacts of mass culture – and specifi cally Polish popular literature resulting in the mentioned time.

Constructing a Lemko identity: tactics of belonging

Lemko identity in Poland is contested in a number of contexts, including social, linguistic and political domains, among others. The members of this minority have to learn to negotiate multiple identities, not only from an in-group perspective but also in interactions with the majority community in Poland. This paper examines how the Lemkos attempt to do this, with varying degrees of success, and the tensions which arise as a result. In particular, a Lemko identity is examined from the perspective of ideologies of language in order to draw out the major themes which are apparent in this re-emergent minority.

Branding the nation: the global business of national identity

List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction: There Must Certainly Be Some Such Place 1. Nation and Brand: Keywords for the Twenty-first Century 2. The New and Improved Nation: How Culture Became Competitive 3. Living the Brand: The Identity Strategies of Nation Branding Consultants 4. Creative Tension, Normal Nation: Branding National Identity in Poland 5. From Bland to Brand: Transforming Canadian Culture 6. Trading Spaces: The World Tour Conclusion: Variable Utopias List of References Notes Index

Caught between Germany and Russia: Memory and National Identity in Poland's Right-Wing Media Post-2004

Caught between Germany and Russia: Memory and National Identity in Poland's Right-Wing Media Post-2004

Caught between Germany and Russia: Memory and National Identity in Poland's Right-Wing Media Post-2004

Caught between Germany and Russia: Memory and National Identity in Poland's Right-Wing Media Post-2004

Głowiński: tożsamość prozą (od początku)

The article is an attempt to reach the first statements and texts by Michal Glowinski, relating to Jewish identity in Poland, the condition of a child of the Holocaust, the trauma of a Holocaust survivor, and the situation of an intelectual. The author of the article tries to demonstrate continuity of all creative gestures, from the frist writings and statements, signed with pseudonyms, through Czarne sezony [The Black Seasons] and their continuations, to the autobiographical Kregi obcości [Circles of strangeness]; the continuity is seen in the perspective of identity. The author is also interested, in the given subject scope, in Glowinski’s spatial obsessions (especially claustrophobia and phantasmagoria). The stake of literary “self-therapy” is in the most crucial things: truth of oneself, memory, self-identification.