Minority v subsytéme kultúry

The results of 1995 show that the identification of young people are diverse and heterogeneous. The specificity of thisenvironment means that only part of the students, especially those of migrant and mixed origin, are able to definitely definethemselves. Therefore, identification of respondents should be placed on a continuum, on one end would be "definite Poles",and on the second "definite Germans". In the middle would be "Polish oriented Silesians", "Silesians", and "German orientedSilesians". Some of the respondents were not able to determine their nationality . This characteristic may be accompanied bythe allocation by A.Kłoskowską to identification: unified, dual, ambivalent and cosmopolitan. Unified Polish identification isrepresented mainly by students of migrant and mixed origin. Dual or ambivalent identification were declared by autochthonousstudents, with one person identified as cosmopolitan . The continuum of national attitudes and variety of identification is specificfor areas such as Glogowek and its surroundings, where autochthons were for years influenced by both of the prevailing culturesof the area: Polish and German. This was even further enhanced by the waves of migration after World War II. The migration ofautochthons to FRG during the 70s and 80s strengthened the German influence 256 . Co-existing together in one space, causedelements of one nationality to unconsciously permeate the other. It should be noted that with such specifics of national identification,an important role is played by the concept „private homeland“, which is the bonding agent, the central axis defining thecommon value for different national orientations among youths.The aim of the study from 2005, was to compare the responses and capture the changes in the national identification of theyoung generation. The political and social situation of Poland have changed. Poland is now a member of the European Union andthe citizens and residents of the country can feel completely European. The nationality is important, but in Europe the regionalaffiliation is also very important. Sociological literature and publications discuss the issues of borderlands and the complicatedbiographies of its people who are not always able to self-identify nationally 257 . These same processes apply to Opole, wherethe younger generation is growing up under the influence of two nations. Since national identification on the borderland isnot uniform, the following question was asked: „What is your nationality? You can describe it broadly, if not possible in a singleword“. Students responded differently to this question, the majority answered in one word, but there were also some answerswith broader explanations. Answers were grouped as follows:Type of Identification Number %Pole 30 27,8Pole with German origin 11 10,2Pole – Silesian 4 3,7Silesian 22 20,4Pole – Silesian – German 3 2,8Pole – German 10 9,2No description of response (German affiliation) 3 2,8German 2 1,8Not Sure 3 2,8No response 20 18,5Total 108 100Tab. 3 National identification of the respondents (2005). N=108. Source: Own research and calculations.256 SOŁDRA-GWIŻDŻ T. Problem dominacji kulturowej w społecznościach lokalnych Śląska Opolskiego. In: Kultura dominująca jako kultura obca. Ed. J. Mucha.Warszawa: Oficyna Naukowa. 1999. (83-85505-89X).257 KŁOSKOWSKA A. Otwarte i zamknięte postawy narodowe w sytuacji pogranicza. „Kultura i Społeczeństwo” 1995 nr. 3. (0033-2437).131