Children of German-Polish Relationships

This book analyzes the process of national identity formation and identification of children born into formal and informal Polish-German relationships in Poland and Germany, and how that process is impacted by their upbringing at the intersection of two cultures. The sociological-historical approach explores a wide range of processes in interethnic couples related to the case at hand, such as migration, acculturation, and assimilation, as well as integration and increased participation in the structures of the host country, ties with the country of origin, generational changes and decreasing knowledge of the native tongue, and developments affecting mixed partnerships and their children. Taking an original approach to its focus on the long-term relationships between bilingualism and biculturalism and their impact on national identity and identification, the book considers the future and significance of binational and interethnic families and their children in the European integration process and European identity. This volume will appeal to sociologists, historians, political scientists, anthropologists, and linguists, and especially to students and scholars interested in the relations between national, linguistic, and political matters.

Piotr Madajczyk is a Professor at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw. His research interests include German-Polish relations, forced migrations, and ethnic cleansing. He is the author of The Biographical Landscapes of Raphael Lemkin (2023). Magdalena Lemäczyk is an Adjunct Researcher at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw. Her research interests include sociology of ethnicity and migration, recent German-Polish relations, and social innovations. Kamila Schöll-Mazurek is a Research Associate at the Viadrina Center of Polish and Ukrainian Studies at the European University Viadrina. Her research interests include European issues, migration, and German-Polish relations, in particular, social inequality and freedom of movement in Europe. Anna Burek, PhD, is a graduate of the University of Wroclaw (Poland) and the University of Ostrava (Czech Republic), majoring in Polish philology and specializing in communicology and sociolinguistics.

Introduction 1. The History of Polish-German Relationships 2. Between Two Countries, Two Policies and Two Cultures 3. (Re-)Constructing National and Ethnic Identity in Germany and Poland 4. Sociolinguistic Analysis. Conclusion