THE FUNCTIONING OF THE COLLECTIVE MEMORY OF LOWER SILESIANS WITHIN THE MULTICULTURAL COMMUNITY OF BORNE SULINOWO

In the context of multiculturalism, the processes of seeking and creating of collective identity of the local community are quite specifi c. In these processes, it is the collective memory that plays a major role as a deciding and organizing factor of the integration of the community at all levels. A town unique – Borne Sulinowo – has existed within the state borders for only 21 years now. In the past, it was a military base of for the Third Reich, and aft er the World War II, it served as a military base for Soviet Army. Th e community of Borne Sulinowo is still in the process of seeking of its identity and its place in history. In 1993, when the town was created and organized, the prospective citizens came from 36 regions of Poland. Th e interesting process of entering of incoming people into the new achitectural and cultural space, the space which never belonged to the cultural heritage of Poland, has begun. People from diff erent backgrounds, diff erentiated in view of the place where they came from, in view of age, profession, education and life experience, were trying to accustom the new space. Th e process of shaping the local community in Borne Sulinowo is still in progress and has not fi nished yet. One of the major factor that infl uence the above mentioned process is the collective memory of particular groups of people, such as the groups from Upper and Lower Silesia or Western Pomerania

Border twin towns in the V_{4} countries : partnerships through tourism as a way of exploiting the potential of the historical and cultural heritage of towns^{1}

The border twin towns (urban settlements adjacent to each other but at the same time separated by a state border) are a particular example of historic towns in Europe. In Europe, approx. 50 border twin towns can be indentified, of which more than half are in East-Central Europe. For a long time, these towns on the borders of V4 had been developing in similar socio-political conditions. Since the 90s of the XXth century, along with the process of transformation and taking steps towards the integration with the EU, the growth opportunities for the border areas had changed. Within framework of the above the aim of this paper is to analyze the potential of historical towns and cities located on the Polish border from the point of view of the links between the cultural heritage of these towns and tourism development

Polish Interstate Relations with Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania After 1990 in the Context of the Situation of National Minorities

When we compare the contemporary ethnic structure and national policy of Poland and its eastern neighbours, we can see clear asymmetry in both quantitative and legal-institutional aspects. There is currently a markedly smaller population of Ukrainians, Belarusians and Lithuanians living in Poland than the Polish population in the territories of our eastern neighbours. At the same time, the national minorities in Poland enjoy wider rights and better conditions to operate than Poles living in Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania. Additional complicating factor in bilateral relations between national minority and the home state is different political status of Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine and different processes of transformation the consequence of which is differentiated state of political relations of Poland with its eastern neighbours. Lithuania, like Poland, is a member of EU, Ukraine, outside the structures of European integration, pursued a variable foreign policy, depending on the ruling options and the economic situation, and Belarus, because of internal policy which is unacceptable in the EU countries, is located on the political periphery of Europe

Present consequences of the post-war migration in the Czech borderland for regional development

Czechia lost more than 3,000,000 inhabitants as a result of the WW II. Germans displaced from the borderland formed the largest part. The newcomers after 1945 were of a different character – without any relation to their new settlements. This population formed a special social milieu familiar with the socialist way of thinking and that of a suppressed middle class. The consequences of it are seen in demographic, economic, environmental and social areas. After 1989, the factories in the borderland were mostly closed down, armies left the territory, people were not prepared to start their own businesses. Large-scale landscape protection formed a new barrier. Tourism is not able to substitute for the decrease in employment. The hope in cross-border collaboration has been overestimated

Central Europe in the Rokkanian perspective

Der vorliegende Beitrag diskutiert einige theoretische Perspektiven der politischen Entwicklung im postkommunistischen Mitteleuropa. Das Paradigma der Modernisierung und der Demokratietheorie erweisen sich dabei als unzureichend, Phänomene wie die Erneuerung von ethnisch-regionalen Identitäten zu erklären, die im großen Maßstab zu Sezessionen im zerfallenden kommunistischen Lager geführt haben. Es wird gezeigt, daß der Ansatz von Rokkan Stein zur Erklärung der Staaten- bzw. Nationenbildung für diese Prozesse fruchtbar angewandt werden kann. Dazu werden die Ergebnisse der Wahlen zum polnischen Parlament seit 1991 analysiert. Es zeigt sich, daß ethnische Konflikt- und Spannungslinien (cleavages) im gegenwärtigen Wahlverhalten der Bevölkerung den Territorien der dritten polnischen Teilung (1795-1919) folgen und damit eine historische und ethnische Dimension in der polnischen Gesellschaft nach wie vor stark wirksam ist. (pmb)'Various theoretical perspectives on political developments in post-communist Central Europe are considered. The paradigm of modernisation and democratic theory are found insufficient to explain such phenomena as the renewal of ethno-regional identities, that are typical of the region and sometimes lead to irredentism and secession. It is argued, that these phenomena can be better understood in the context of Rokkan's conceptions of state and nation building. Rokkan's theory on the critical junctures in history is tested on the return of Polish parliamentary election in 1991. The map of the turnout in this elections is produced, showing the lines of the Third Partition (1795-1919) in the contemporary electoral behaviour. Other examples of the re-integration of historic regions are offered as well and the consequences of this development are discussed.' (author'abstract

Theoretical Perspectives on Central Europe

Various theoretical perspectives on political developments in postcommunist Central Europe are considered. The paradigms of modernization & democratic theories are found insufficient to explain such phenomena as the renewal of ethnoregional identities typical of the region & sometimes lead to irredentism & secession. It is argued that these phenomena can be better understood in the context of Stein Rokkan's (1975) conceptions of state- & nation-building. Rokkan's theory on the critical junctures in history is tested on the return of the 1991 Polish parliamentary elections. A map of the turnout in these elections is presented, showing the lines of the Third Partition (1795-1919) in contemporary electoral behavior. Other examples of the reintegration of historic regions are presented, & the consequences of this development discussed

Nationalization campaigns and teachers' practices in Belgian–German and Polish–German border regions (1945–1956)

This contribution looks into nationalization and education in European borderlands inthe early post-World War II period. Belonging to Belgium and Poland, respectively, inthe interwar years, the Eupen – St. Vith – Malmedy and the East-Upper Silesia regionscame under German rule during World War II. Returned to the Belgian and Polishnation-states once the war was over, the regions experienced a pronounced upheavalin the population profile as a result of population transfers and reorientations ineducation curricula. The aim of these measures was to guarantee the nationalreliability of borderland inhabitants, with a special role being designated forteachers, who were perceived as crucial in the raising of children as national citizensimbued with certain core values. This contribution compares the methods employedby the authorities in selecting educational personnel for their borderlands, thenationalizing role teachers were to play and the way teachers gave meaning to theirprofessional practices

Europeanisation - peripherisation? EU-enlargement and touristical strategies of rural areas. Report of SOKRATES Intensive-Programme in Greifswald, 19th of March - 31st of March 2006

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Civil Defence Subject Matter Education in the Former Czechoslovakia in the 1918–1939 Period

Activity of both the individual and the society has been directed towards creation of values essential for their life since ancient times, either for their protection against harmful impacts of natural and anthropogenic phenomena, or a combination thereof. The aim of the research presented in the article is to examine conditions and education development in the civil defence subject matter in the former Czechoslovakia in the 1918–1939 period. The performed research was carried out as a systematic study of socio-educational phenomena in order to obtain knowledge that describes and explains historical approach to civil defence education. The research part included a systematic process of gathering information, synthesizing the already existing knowledge and its structuring and sorting. A system approach to scientific literature research was used in order to obtain available information sources, published results as well as information from the field of education and civil defence education. The results show that the need for civil defence education was seen as an integral part of the education of a conscious, sturdy, disciplined and prepared citizen. Emphasis in school education and training was put mainly on moral awareness, physical fitness and civil defence training