Recovered Territories in Source Materials of the Polish Ethnographic Atlas: Selected Examples of Socio-Cultural Change in Post-Migration Areas

• Authors: Drożdż Anna

Title variants

CS

Znovuzískaná území v pramenných materiálech Polského etnografického atlasu. Vybrané příklady sociokulturních změn v postmigračních oblastech

• Languages of publication: CS

Abstracts

EN

After the Second World War, significant territorial changes took place in Poland. As a result of the decisions at Yalta and Potsdam, Silesia, the Lubusz lands, Western and Eastern Pomerania, Warmia, and Masuria were granted to Poland, while the so-called Eastern Borderlands were taken away from Poland. This resulted in the forced migration of several million citizens. The displaced German population was replaced by Polish settlers from the regions which ended up outside the country’s eastern border after the war, as well as from other parts of the country. It was a voluntary migration resulting from a desire to improve own material situation, and a forced migration based on political decisions adopted by the then government. The new settlers faced different natural and cultural conditions in the new place. Despite war damage, western villages and towns made a great impression on the new arrivals. The civilisation development was most surprising. Contact with a different social environment often caused a culture shock. This situation forced those displaced and those newly resettled to test their own standards and values. Materials collected within the “Polish Ethnographic Atlas” project can contribute to the research on strategies for building a new identity in post-migration areas, as well as strategies related to the memory of the place of origin. These materials represent an interesting and still little recognised source of knowledge. The interviewers’ personal data and records, concerning mainly the processes of spreading selected cultural elements, are most notable.

Keywords

EN

Polish Ethnographic Atlas; forced migration; spread of cultural phenomena; creation of new cultural identity

• Publisher: The National Institute of Folk Culture
• Journal: Národopisná revue (Journal of Ethnology)
• Year: 2021
• Volume: 31
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 213 - 224

Contributors

author

Drożdż Anna