Minority v subsytéme kultúry

was established in Walbrzych. Along with the growth of German emigration from Poland, which led to the disintegration of thecommunity, the Association operated only formally. In the mid-80s, there was a re-revival of German communities in Poland andthere were efforts made to establish an organization of the German minority. However, only the political changes taking place inPoland after 1989 led to significant changes in the position of the German minority.Another much larger group emerged from the German minority, the Silesian autochthons. This is a community shapedby processes specific to the socio-cultural borderland. This population tends to lean towards and identifies with a particularnationality depending on the level of influence. As a result, the attitude of the socio-cultural borderland’s population remainsunclear and labile. After the Second World War, the native population was subjected to verification. They could opt for Polishidentification and remain in place, or German identification and emigrate to Germany. The majority of Silesians and Warmiansfreely chose the Polish option. The situation was different in Mazury, where about half was forced to choose the Polish option 240 .The main autochthonous clusters were the Voivodeships of: Opole, Katowice, Olsztyn, Wroclaw, Gdansk, Koszalin, Zielona Góra,Poznan. In the early 50’s, more than a million autochthons lived in the western and northern territories of Poland.The situation of the German minority in the period of real socialism underwent constant changes. Starting in 1956, therewere successive waves of migration to the German states, especially to the Federal Republic of Germany. Migration was notalways due only to the national theme but also economic reasons influenced people to opt for the German option. In the 70s,migration to the FRG were officially dictated by „family reunification“. At that time, the Polish government signed an agreementwith the Government of the FRG to resettle a large part of the native population on the territory of Germany. Finally, in the70s, 179.250 people, claiming German descent, emigrated from the country. In some cases, entire communities of Mazuriansemigrated from the voivodeship of Olsztyn. According to the findings of West Germany, during 1950-1989 more than a million„displaced people“ with proven German origin emigrated from Poland to German 241 . Sociological studies conducted in the 80sshowed that about 25 % of Silesians in Opole identified with the German option 242 .As the democratization of social life took place in Poland, minorities became active. One of the most resilient was theGerman minority. Accurate sociological research started being performed. Zbigniew Kurcz estimated the number of Germans inPoland at about 300 thousand, using the declarations made in nearly 50 associations, which in late 1992 associated people ofGerman nationality 243 . This significant increase in the number of the German minority was dictated by the fact that nationallyindifferent Silesians, people expecting support from Germany or conformist orientated people from small communities startedjoining German associations. In the early 90s, German minority associations began emerging rapidly (about 50). The largest ofthese is the current Socio-Cultural Association of Germans numbering in the early 90s at about 180 thousand members. Currentlyit is estimated that there are about 30 thousand active members. The German minority in the early 90s, had six members ofSejm and one senator, and won 1.18 % of votes. Since 1993, the number of seats gained , however, began to decline, in 1993 –three , then from 1997 – two, and in 2011 only 1 member of Sejm was seated with 0.19 % of the vote 244 .It follows from this that since the mid- 90s, the German minority has been losing its members and influence. This is shownby the results of the national Censuses of 2002 and 2011. In 2002, 153 thousand people declared German nationality 245 . In2011, 148 thousand people, of which 45 thousand declared German nationality as the only one, and 64 thousand along with240 SAKSON, A. Polityka władz wobec ludności rodzimej Warmii i Mazur w okresie stalinizmu (1949–1955). In: „Przegląd Zachodni” 1990, nr. 2. (ISSN 0033-2437).241 KORBEL, J. Łączenie rodzin (1952–1981). In: Historyczne, polityczne i prawne aspekty tez RFN o niemieckiej mniejszości narodowej w Polsce. Ed. J. Barcz. Cz.1. Warszawa: CKBZH. 1988, p. 272. (without ISBN).242 KURCZ, Z. Mniejszość niemiecka w Polsce. Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego. Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego. 1995, p. 39,(ISBN 83-229-1287-0).243 Ibid., p. 43.244 Mniejszość niemiecka w Polsce. (online) www.wikipedia.pl [25.09.2013].245 Narodowy Spis Powszechny 2002. Ludność. (online) www.stat.gov.pl [23.04.2005].127