Nation and Loyalty in a German-Polish Borderland

Upper Silesia, 1848–1960

Bibliographic Data

ID19896500
AuthorsBrendan Karch (Louisiana State University, corresponding author)
Year2018
Publication date2018-09-30
Open AccessYes
TypeBOOK
VenueNation and Loyalty in a German-Polish Borderland (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherCambridge University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1017/9781108560955
OpenAlexW4211133252
Open LibraryOL34716150M
ISBN9781108560955
LanguageEN
Citations received14
References cited81

In the bloody twentieth-century battles over Central Europe's borderlands, Upper Silesians stand out for resisting pressure to become loyal Germans or Poles. This work traces nationalist activists' efforts to divide Upper Silesian communities, which were bound by their Catholic faith and bilingualism, into two 'imagined' nations. These efforts, which ranged from the 1848 Revolution to the aftermath of the Second World War, are charted by Brendan Karch through the local newspapers, youth and leisure groups, neighborhood parades, priestly sermons, and electoral outcomes. As locals weathered increasing political turmoil and violence in the German-Polish contest over their homeland, many crafted a national ambiguity that allowed them to pass as members of either nation. In prioritizing family, homeland, village, class, or other social ties above national belonging, a majority of Upper Silesians adopted an instrumental stance towards nationalism. The result was a feedback loop between national radicalism and national skepticism

Economic history · German · Homeland · Media studies · Nationalism · Political economy · Political radicalism · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Central European national history · Gender Studies · Historical Geopolitical and Social Dynamics · History · Law · Polish Historical and Cultural Studies · Czech republic · Eastern · Ethnic identity · Europe · Poland · politics and government · Silesians

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