Good piece. Having lived in Poland and married a Pole, I’d also point out that Ursula Von Der Leyen is portrayed by PiS as a classic arrogant German imposing her Green Deal and refugee sharing policies on her Polish colony, to which she seems to play along, withholding money when PiS are the government and releasing it when Tusk is in charge. Tusk’s party haven’t won the popular vote since 2011 and his recent government of 2023 has been a damp squib. He is a fading force.
Tusk is from the Kashubia area west of Gdansk, which is an almost a separatist state, and many saw themselves as more German than Polish before WWII and fought for the Wehrmacht as a result, as did Tusk’s grandad (though he was forcibly conscripted). Hence his moniker.
Thank you, Katja, for yet another excellent article, this time on the Polish-German relationship, an issue that is as important for Europe as is the relationship between Germany and France. The result of the recent presidential elections in Poland do not augur well for things getting better between Germans and Poles, at the contrary. I believe that's the time to do something on the field of the civil society. About two million Poles live and/or work in Germany. They are respected and enjoy a good relationship with the Germans they are in touch with. History is important; there has been enmity, but Poles and Germans have been living together for many centuries. Immanuel Kant never left East Prussia, but in his youth, from 1750 - 1752, he worked as a domestic teacher in the family of baron Bernhard von Huelsen in a village then called Gross Arnsdorf. After 1945 its German inhabitants were expelled, the village was re-named Jarnoltowo, and its Lutheran church became catholic. But not long ago some local inhabitants and the catholic priest of the village took the initiative to create a Kant memorial there, with a statue and quotations from Kant's works. The members of the youth programme of our society FRIENDS OF KANT AND KÖNIGBERGS attended a conference at Jarnoltowo organized by the local priest exactly one year ago which was dedicated to Kant's 300th anniversary (https://freunde-kants.com/projects/kant-zukunftswerkstatt-2024-in-polen-und-deutschland/) Our society sponsored a huge portrait of Kant painted at the wall of a house next to the church, with a quotation from Kant's work "Toward Perpetual Peace" in Polish and German. I was invited to give a little speech which I did in halting Polish. When I said that in spite of having learned only little Polish so far, I wanted to address my audience in their mother tongue, I got spontaneous applause: https://onedrive.live.com/?qt=allmyphotos&photosData=%2Fshare%2FB1320E3457C4BF12%2119913%3Fithint%3Dvideo%26e%3DR0S4tT%26migratedtospo%3Dtrue&sw=bypassConfig&cid=B1320E3457C4BF12&id=B1320E3457C4BF12%2119913&redeem=aHR0cHM6Ly8xZHJ2Lm1zL3YvcyFBaEtfeEZjMERqS3hnWnRKR0pmZVJveXg3WnZSeGc%5FZT1SMFM0dFQ&v=photos . In the state archive of Olsztyn, the former Allenstein, there is a considerable part of the archive of Königsberg's university Albertina, including letters written by Kant. Kant's home country East Prussia is now divided between Lithuania, Russia and Poland. Kant brings them all together. He shows the direction "Toward Perpetual Peace".
Further to my comment earlier today, please let me add that today is Whitsuntide. Referring to Katja's adventure of being unable to speak Polish and trying Russian with a German accent instead, I'd like to quote the Acts of the Apostles 2, 1-4: "When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." It's interesting that in Latin, in the Vulgata, the word for "wind" and "Spirit" is the same: "spiritus". To me that shows that "the Spirit" is not something theoretical, but a real force that exists and can take hold of us if we are ready for it. Regarding foreign languages, however, it is useless to sit and wait until the Holy Spirit will fill us with them, but we could try to reach the Spirit by learning and in this way climbing up to it. I very much hope that the young Poles, French, Germans, Italians, Spanish do not learn only American English to speak with each other. Every educated European should be fluent in at least three, better even four languages. That's the reality and the great advantage of Europe, that's the European Spirit that unites us. José Ortega y Gasset wrote in "La rebelión de las masas": "La unidad de Europa no es una fantasía, sino que es la realidad misma, y la fantasía es precisamente lo otro, la creencia de que Francia, Alemania, Italia o España son realidades sustantivas e independientes." All those petty nationalisms that have appeared recently in certain European countries are not going to last. They have no future. What's needed is the European Spirit - more: the overall human, the cosmic Spirit - and it will come.
An interesting insight into Poland and politics ,their history is really complex and i guess they do have reason not to be best buddies with either Germany or Russia, but saying that maybe it's time to look for a better relationship with Germany at least ,Russia can probably wait another generation. Poles are quite euro sceptic part of their general outlook. We had a week's holiday there last year great place great people .
Thoughtful piece, and I share your hope that the German state can work delicately with Poland to build trust. They should in particular work on cooperative defense planning with countering Russia to the east.
And it would be good to learn more Polish if you intend to spend more time in Poland. At least a lot of the grammar and vocabulary are similar to Russian. (I have some basic Polish, and am a strong speaker of Russian.)
Great piece 👏personally I love the polish trips I’ve had , Gdańsk and Warsaw, if you enjoy WW2 and Cold War history and naturally there are countless other things to do, I always felt that the hostilities didn’t end in 45 for the poles , Stalin didn’t like or trust the poles , he always wanted them as a buffer for further conflicts against the west , oddly I had a lot of dealings with polish customers in the uk when they came over in their thousands, lovely hard working people , How well was the „Warsaw kneefall „ from Willy Brandt received in the early 70s ?? I was under the impression that it went a long way in Poland ? but apparently not ?
I think the issue with Brandt then as now is that people don't understand that what made him fall to his knees was the memorial to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, I.e. part of Holocaust history - still no real reflection on what Nazi Germany had done to Poland as a whole
What do you think brought about the significant deterioration in Polish views of their relationship with Germany, between 2020 and 2023 (at least, as suggested by the polls referenced in your piece)? Very enjoyable article, as always. Thank you!
Partially Germany's relationship with Russia; partially ongoing misunderstandings and conflicts; partially political convenience and conflation of Germany with the EU. I'm sure there is more.
The shadow of the Second World War lingers and rarely lightens. I think the extent to which Germany and Poland have reconciled is remarkable, when one considers the history. Nothing will be gained by straining relations between both countries. I’ve read a couple of books that covered the reshaping of the Eastern European map and attendant upheaval; it needs to be better understood. And Poland does have a challenging history of antisemitism (As a Brit I hesitate to criticise as we have an entirely different SWW history). The only answer is honesty from all, the history explained within the appropriate context. Katja I seem to recall your mildly inflected English getting you in bother before; something something Bismarck something something Hall of Mirrors.😉
Yes.. although I think that had nothing to do with my accent. I could have asked that question in Japanese and would probably have had the same response.
Really interesting piece, Katja. I visited Poland for the first time last year (Warsaw & Krakow, by train) and I’m glad I didn’t slip into using German to communicate with Polish people, as I had when I visited communist-era Czechoslovakia in the 1970s! We did have a number of very interesting conversations with Polish people while we were there, as they were only too willing to use their excellent English to talk to us, and we did get some insight into what at first might have seemed rather insular thinking. Poland has a centuries-old history of being invaded or used as a convenient corridor for other countries’ aggressive ambitions, and the present desire for independence and self-determination is very strong, even if many people recognise the economic benefits of EU membership. There’s a delicate balance to be trodden, I think, both by Polish politicians and those from the countries who are their neighbours. There’s prospects aren’t great at the moment, are they?
“It deeply rooted in history, it deeply rooted in daily life”. It also deeply rooted in family history, if your family talks about history, and affected by current propaganda.
In the history of every country there are periods of glory and defeat. When a state is strong, it often goes on offense, and tries to create a buffer zone around to increase its security. In 16 century, Poland invaded Russia and burned Moscow. Most of current Western Ukraine was ruled by Poles for a long time. Is Lwów a Polish or a Ukrainian city? Depends on whom you ask.
When in 17 century Poland became weak, it had been divided by the neighboring countries and ceased to exist as a state.
Formation of a national state is long, and most of the time, a bloody story.
I just returned from another visit to Poland. The anti-Russian propaganda is the same as everywhere in the West. The anti-German sentiment is growing. Germany’s plans to create the largest army in Europe make Pols uneasy. The most noticeable is anti-Ukrainian mood, and anti-Trump on the left. No Polish revanchism noticed, no desire to go to war.
All languages are spoken on the streets. (We haven’t visited Warsaw or Krakow). A lot of Russian and Ukrainian. Plenty of English and German.
Good piece. Having lived in Poland and married a Pole, I’d also point out that Ursula Von Der Leyen is portrayed by PiS as a classic arrogant German imposing her Green Deal and refugee sharing policies on her Polish colony, to which she seems to play along, withholding money when PiS are the government and releasing it when Tusk is in charge. Tusk’s party haven’t won the popular vote since 2011 and his recent government of 2023 has been a damp squib. He is a fading force.
Tusk is from the Kashubia area west of Gdansk, which is an almost a separatist state, and many saw themselves as more German than Polish before WWII and fought for the Wehrmacht as a result, as did Tusk’s grandad (though he was forcibly conscripted). Hence his moniker.
Ah, I didn't know about Tusk's origins. Thanks for adding another insider-outsider perspective.
No all very clean
Good news.
Indeed, Tusk is Brussels’ puppet.
It is amazing that the election was close - is it suspected that there was an attempt to rig it, as the EU did in Romania?
I really like your posts, Katja. This American is learning a lot of things I didn't even know enough about to have a question
"the massive demographic and political changes that came with the redrawing of the map of Europe in 1945"
Sounds like an excellent subject for a book.
Indeed. A brave soul whoever takes it on :)
Thank you, Katja, for yet another excellent article, this time on the Polish-German relationship, an issue that is as important for Europe as is the relationship between Germany and France. The result of the recent presidential elections in Poland do not augur well for things getting better between Germans and Poles, at the contrary. I believe that's the time to do something on the field of the civil society. About two million Poles live and/or work in Germany. They are respected and enjoy a good relationship with the Germans they are in touch with. History is important; there has been enmity, but Poles and Germans have been living together for many centuries. Immanuel Kant never left East Prussia, but in his youth, from 1750 - 1752, he worked as a domestic teacher in the family of baron Bernhard von Huelsen in a village then called Gross Arnsdorf. After 1945 its German inhabitants were expelled, the village was re-named Jarnoltowo, and its Lutheran church became catholic. But not long ago some local inhabitants and the catholic priest of the village took the initiative to create a Kant memorial there, with a statue and quotations from Kant's works. The members of the youth programme of our society FRIENDS OF KANT AND KÖNIGBERGS attended a conference at Jarnoltowo organized by the local priest exactly one year ago which was dedicated to Kant's 300th anniversary (https://freunde-kants.com/projects/kant-zukunftswerkstatt-2024-in-polen-und-deutschland/) Our society sponsored a huge portrait of Kant painted at the wall of a house next to the church, with a quotation from Kant's work "Toward Perpetual Peace" in Polish and German. I was invited to give a little speech which I did in halting Polish. When I said that in spite of having learned only little Polish so far, I wanted to address my audience in their mother tongue, I got spontaneous applause: https://onedrive.live.com/?qt=allmyphotos&photosData=%2Fshare%2FB1320E3457C4BF12%2119913%3Fithint%3Dvideo%26e%3DR0S4tT%26migratedtospo%3Dtrue&sw=bypassConfig&cid=B1320E3457C4BF12&id=B1320E3457C4BF12%2119913&redeem=aHR0cHM6Ly8xZHJ2Lm1zL3YvcyFBaEtfeEZjMERqS3hnWnRKR0pmZVJveXg3WnZSeGc%5FZT1SMFM0dFQ&v=photos . In the state archive of Olsztyn, the former Allenstein, there is a considerable part of the archive of Königsberg's university Albertina, including letters written by Kant. Kant's home country East Prussia is now divided between Lithuania, Russia and Poland. Kant brings them all together. He shows the direction "Toward Perpetual Peace".
Thanks, Gerfried. Kant is a great unifier :)
Further to my comment earlier today, please let me add that today is Whitsuntide. Referring to Katja's adventure of being unable to speak Polish and trying Russian with a German accent instead, I'd like to quote the Acts of the Apostles 2, 1-4: "When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." It's interesting that in Latin, in the Vulgata, the word for "wind" and "Spirit" is the same: "spiritus". To me that shows that "the Spirit" is not something theoretical, but a real force that exists and can take hold of us if we are ready for it. Regarding foreign languages, however, it is useless to sit and wait until the Holy Spirit will fill us with them, but we could try to reach the Spirit by learning and in this way climbing up to it. I very much hope that the young Poles, French, Germans, Italians, Spanish do not learn only American English to speak with each other. Every educated European should be fluent in at least three, better even four languages. That's the reality and the great advantage of Europe, that's the European Spirit that unites us. José Ortega y Gasset wrote in "La rebelión de las masas": "La unidad de Europa no es una fantasía, sino que es la realidad misma, y la fantasía es precisamente lo otro, la creencia de que Francia, Alemania, Italia o España son realidades sustantivas e independientes." All those petty nationalisms that have appeared recently in certain European countries are not going to last. They have no future. What's needed is the European Spirit - more: the overall human, the cosmic Spirit - and it will come.
“It’s a mess that reflects the complex political and social situation in Poland”.
Ditto the whole of Europe.
Brussels’ days are numbered……
……..it’s surely the reason why these hideous, unelected grafters are attempting to start a war with Russia.
An interesting insight into Poland and politics ,their history is really complex and i guess they do have reason not to be best buddies with either Germany or Russia, but saying that maybe it's time to look for a better relationship with Germany at least ,Russia can probably wait another generation. Poles are quite euro sceptic part of their general outlook. We had a week's holiday there last year great place great people .
It seems to me that the EU is one of a number of topics along which society here is split.
Thoughtful piece, and I share your hope that the German state can work delicately with Poland to build trust. They should in particular work on cooperative defense planning with countering Russia to the east.
And it would be good to learn more Polish if you intend to spend more time in Poland. At least a lot of the grammar and vocabulary are similar to Russian. (I have some basic Polish, and am a strong speaker of Russian.)
Great piece 👏personally I love the polish trips I’ve had , Gdańsk and Warsaw, if you enjoy WW2 and Cold War history and naturally there are countless other things to do, I always felt that the hostilities didn’t end in 45 for the poles , Stalin didn’t like or trust the poles , he always wanted them as a buffer for further conflicts against the west , oddly I had a lot of dealings with polish customers in the uk when they came over in their thousands, lovely hard working people , How well was the „Warsaw kneefall „ from Willy Brandt received in the early 70s ?? I was under the impression that it went a long way in Poland ? but apparently not ?
I think the issue with Brandt then as now is that people don't understand that what made him fall to his knees was the memorial to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, I.e. part of Holocaust history - still no real reflection on what Nazi Germany had done to Poland as a whole
What do you think brought about the significant deterioration in Polish views of their relationship with Germany, between 2020 and 2023 (at least, as suggested by the polls referenced in your piece)? Very enjoyable article, as always. Thank you!
Partially Germany's relationship with Russia; partially ongoing misunderstandings and conflicts; partially political convenience and conflation of Germany with the EU. I'm sure there is more.
What a pleasant way to start the day. Clever humour and enlightement all in one. Vielen Dank
The shadow of the Second World War lingers and rarely lightens. I think the extent to which Germany and Poland have reconciled is remarkable, when one considers the history. Nothing will be gained by straining relations between both countries. I’ve read a couple of books that covered the reshaping of the Eastern European map and attendant upheaval; it needs to be better understood. And Poland does have a challenging history of antisemitism (As a Brit I hesitate to criticise as we have an entirely different SWW history). The only answer is honesty from all, the history explained within the appropriate context. Katja I seem to recall your mildly inflected English getting you in bother before; something something Bismarck something something Hall of Mirrors.😉
Yes.. although I think that had nothing to do with my accent. I could have asked that question in Japanese and would probably have had the same response.
Indeed. I was joshing. With my occasionally incomprehensible accent I hesitate to comment on anyone.
Really interesting piece, Katja. I visited Poland for the first time last year (Warsaw & Krakow, by train) and I’m glad I didn’t slip into using German to communicate with Polish people, as I had when I visited communist-era Czechoslovakia in the 1970s! We did have a number of very interesting conversations with Polish people while we were there, as they were only too willing to use their excellent English to talk to us, and we did get some insight into what at first might have seemed rather insular thinking. Poland has a centuries-old history of being invaded or used as a convenient corridor for other countries’ aggressive ambitions, and the present desire for independence and self-determination is very strong, even if many people recognise the economic benefits of EU membership. There’s a delicate balance to be trodden, I think, both by Polish politicians and those from the countries who are their neighbours. There’s prospects aren’t great at the moment, are they?
Good luck with your trip.
“It deeply rooted in history, it deeply rooted in daily life”. It also deeply rooted in family history, if your family talks about history, and affected by current propaganda.
In the history of every country there are periods of glory and defeat. When a state is strong, it often goes on offense, and tries to create a buffer zone around to increase its security. In 16 century, Poland invaded Russia and burned Moscow. Most of current Western Ukraine was ruled by Poles for a long time. Is Lwów a Polish or a Ukrainian city? Depends on whom you ask.
When in 17 century Poland became weak, it had been divided by the neighboring countries and ceased to exist as a state.
Formation of a national state is long, and most of the time, a bloody story.
I just returned from another visit to Poland. The anti-Russian propaganda is the same as everywhere in the West. The anti-German sentiment is growing. Germany’s plans to create the largest army in Europe make Pols uneasy. The most noticeable is anti-Ukrainian mood, and anti-Trump on the left. No Polish revanchism noticed, no desire to go to war.
All languages are spoken on the streets. (We haven’t visited Warsaw or Krakow). A lot of Russian and Ukrainian. Plenty of English and German.
Nothing new. Business as usual.
I guess what's new is that many people are trying to find ways out of these conflicts and away from using war as politics by other means.