Description
The incorporation of German territories east of the Oder and Western Neisse rivers into Poland in 1945 was linked with the difficult process of an almost total exchange of population and involved the taking over of a region in which the Second World War had effected an enormous level of destruction. The contemporary term 'Polish Wild West' not only alluded to the reigning atmosphere of chaos and 'survival of the fittest' in the Polish-German borderland but was also associated with a new kind of freedom and the opportunity to start everything anew. The arrival in this region of Polish settlers from different parts of Poland led to Poles, Germans and Soviet soldiers temporarily coming into contact with one another. Living together in this war-damaged space was far from easy.
On the basis of ego-documents, the author recreates the beginnings of the shaping of this new society, one affected by a repressive political system, internal conflicts and human tragedy. In distancing oneself from the until-recently dominant narratives concerning expellees in Germany or pioneers of the 'Recovered Territories' in Poland, Beata Halicka tells the story of the disintegration of a previous cultural landscape and the establishment of one which was new, in a colourful and vivid manner and encompassing different points of view.
About the Author
Beata Halicka is Professor of history of Central and Eastern Europe at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland. Her book, Poland's Wild West, was published in Polish and German and received the Identities Prize 2016 for the best historical book in Poland. For more on this, please visit: http://beatahalicka.pl/
Reviews
"It is marvelous that Halicka's rich source base is finally accessible to English-language specialists and classrooms, for it conveys many complexities of the grass roots human experience of forced migration." - Andrew Demshuk, American University
Book Information
ISBN 9780367457143
Author Beata Halicka
Format Hardback
Page Count 400
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 453g
