Open Regional Policy within the Frames of the Debate about Memory of the Western and Northern Parts of Poland

Abstract

Updating German heritage, especially on former Regained Lands, is related to the complex process of reminding (bringing back) multicultural past of Poland in transformation conditions—democratization and public spirited social life after 1989. This process refers to Poland as a whole, as well as regional and local one too. It concerns both practices revealing open regional policy accepting German heritage on western and northern parts of Poland and contrary ones typical for closed regional policy. In the first case due to open regional policy there appear in public sphere (are reminded) both German heritage—history and memory of Germans as former inhabitants of these territories, and those traditions, especially Polish thoughts related to the west, which used to serve the battle against the Germanization practices as well as promotion of Polish north and west as traditional Polish areas. However, advocates of closed regional policy, contradicting the updating of German heritage on these lands, express demand in politicians and social activist speeches as well as scientists, the re-Polonization of Wrocław, Gdańsk and Szczecin memories. In both cases the keyword is dispute associated with shaping open-closed regional policy concerning the former Regained Lands and arguments which are expressed in this dispute. Appealing to history and memory of Polish western and northern lands and to results of social inquires (carried out by us and other research groups) we present the process of forming the open regional policy in western and northern parts of Poland.