Minority v subsytéme kultúry

IntroductionThe Polish society, when compared to other European societies, appears to be a single nation country. The national censusresults from 2011 show that 94.83 % of the Polish population declare themselves as Polish nationals, and 2.26 % as both Polishand non-Polish nationals. It therefore follows, that 3.81 % of the population is of non-Polish nationality, and 2.26 % of labilenationalities 234 . Those proportions are not high, but minorities are concentrated territorially, and therefore have a significantpresence in the social structure.National minorities largely live and operate among the Polish population. This ambient influences their sense of nationalidentification. However, there are enclaves where minorities live in large clusters and this allows them to keep their sense ofnational identification and identity. The subject of the analysis is centralized on the German minority. The aims of the article are:1. An overview of the German minority in Poland in the period of real socialism and systemic transformation. Then, based ontwo recent National Censuses (2002, 2011) the current size of the German minority and its territorial distribution will beshown.2. Based on personal research carried out in Głogówek in the Opole region, the evolution of national- ethnic identification ofthe inhabitants, including the German minority, will be presented. The research was conducted by the author in 1988, 1995,2005 and 2008/2009. In conclusion, the models of national identification, with particular attention to German identification,will be presented.1. The German minority in Poland – abundance and regional distributionAfter 1945, the Polish borders changed significantly. Poland lost its eastern territories, and gained former German territoriesto the west. Under the Potsdam Agreement of 2 August 1945 the German population living on Polish territories was subjectto mandatory deportation. In 1945-1949 the Polish displaced more than 3.2 million Germans 235 . After 1949, the estimatednumber of Germans who still lived in Poland was 160 – 200 thousand. In addition, according to the National Census in 1950,1,104.1 thousand people belonging to the autochthonic population (indigenous) lived in Poland, which accounted for 19.7 %of the total population 236 . Representatives of these groups, although to varying degrees, form the modern German minority inPoland.The first of these groups is made up of ethnic Germans. Although the Polish authorities were very interested in the resettlementof Germans from Polish territories, there was a need for continuity in the functioning of the economy in the Westernterritories (mines, mills, factories, shipping on the Oder), which forced the presence of German professionals. During the KhrushchevThaw after 1956 (1956-1959) there was a mass wave of voluntary emigration of Germans and autochthons to both WestGermany and East Germany. Scientific estimates show that in 1957, the number of ethnic Germans dropped to 65 thousand 237 .After this wave of emigration, Polish administrative authorities estimated that the number of ethnic Germans was about fourthousand. Similar estimations of the German minority were made in the seventies and eighties 238 .In the 50s and 60s, ethnic Germans had the opportunity to organize an educational system, and to publish daily Germannewspapers and periodical publications. The peak of educational development was reached in the school year of 1952/3. Therewere 7,674 students in 137 schools. After this period, the number of schools and students began to decline due to the increasingmigration to Germany 239 . A similar situation applied to cultural activity. In the early 50s, there were several German newspapersand periodicals addressed to the German minority. After the Khrushchev Thaw, in 1956, The German Socio-Cultural Association234 Membership to the national-ethnic population – census of population and housing in 2011. (online) www.stat.gov.pl [09/26/2013].235 SKUBISZEWSKI, K. Wysiedlenie Niemców po II wojnie światowej. Warszawa: Ksiązka i Wiedza, 1968. (without ISBN).236 KOSIŃSKI, L. Pochodzenie terytorialne ludności Ziem Zachodnich w 1950 roku. Warszawa: PWN, 1960. (without ISBN).237 SAKSON, A. Mniejszość niemiecka na tle innych mniejszości narodowych we współczesnej Polsce. In: „Przegląd Zachodni” 1991 nr. 2. (ISBN 0033-2437).238 Ibid., p. 195.239 Ibid., p. 195.126