The Dynamics of the Policies of Ethnic Cleansing in Silesia in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

Through studying German, Polish and Czech publications on Silesia, Mr. Kamusella found that most of them, instead of trying to objectively analyse the past, are devoted to proving some essential "Germanness", "Polishness" or "Czechness" of this region. He believes that the terminology and thought-patterns of nationalist ideology are so deeply entrenched in the minds of researchers that they do not consider themselves nationalist. However, he notes that, due to the spread of the results of the latest studies on ethnicity/nationalism (by Gellner, Hobsbawm, Smith, Erikson Buillig, amongst others), German publications on Silesia have become quite objective since the 1980s, and the same process (impeded by under funding) has been taking place in Poland and the Czech Republic since 1989. His own research totals some 500 pages, in English, presented on disc. So what are the traps into which historians have been inclined to fall? There is a tendency for them to treat Silesia as an entity which has existed forever, though Mr. Kamusella points out that it emerged as a region only at the beginning of the 11th century. These same historians speak of Poles, Czechs and Germans in Silesia, though Mr. Kamusella found that before the mid-19th century, identification was with an inhabitant's local area, religion or dynasty. In fact, a German national identity started to be forged in Prussian Silesia only during the Liberation War against Napoleon (1813-1815). It was concretised in 1861 in the form of the first Prussian census, when the language a citizen spoke was equated with his/her nationality. A similar census was carried out in Austrian Silesia only in 1881. The censuses forced the Silesians to choose their nationality despite their multiethnic multicultural identities. It was the active promotion of a German identity in Prussian Silesia, and Vienna's uneasy acceptance of the national identities in Austrian Silesia which stimulated the development of Polish national, Moravian ethnic and Upper Silesian ethnic regional identities in Upper Silesia, and Polish national, Czech national, Moravian ethnic and Silesian ethnic identities in Austrian Silesia. While traditional historians speak of the "nationalist struggle" as though it were a permanent characteristic of Silesia, Mr. Kamusella points out that such a struggle only developed in earnest after 1918. What is more, he shows how it has been conveniently forgotten that, besides the national players, there were also significant ethnic movements of Moravians, Upper Silesians, Silesians and the tutejsi (i.e. those who still chose to identify with their locality). At this point Mr. Kamusella moves into the area of linguistics. While traditionally historians have spoken of the conflicts between the three national languages (German, Polish and Czech), Mr Kamusella reminds us that the standardised forms of these languages, which we choose to dub "national", were developed only in the mid-18th century, after 1869 (when Polish became the official language in Galicia), and after the 1870s (when Czech became the official language in Bohemia). As for standard German, it was only widely promoted in Silesia from the mid 19th century onwards. In fact, the majority of the population of Prussian Upper Silesia and Austrian Silesia were bi- or even multilingual. What is more, the "Polish" and "Czech" Silesians spoke were not the standard languages we know today, but a continuum of West-Slavic dialects in the countryside and a continuum of West-Slavic/German creoles in the urbanised areas. Such was the linguistic confusion that, from time to time, some ethnic/regional and Church activists strove to create a distinctive Upper Silesian/Silesian language on the basis of these dialects/creoles, but their efforts were thwarted by the staunch promotion of standard German, and after 1918, of standard Polish and Czech. Still on the subject of language, Mr. Kamusella draws attention to a problem around the issue of place names and personal names. Polish historians use current Polish versions of the Silesian place names, Czechs use current Polish/Czech versions of the place names, and Germans use the German versions which were in use in Silesia up to 1945. Mr. Kamusella attempted to avoid this, as he sees it, nationalist tendency, by using an appropriate version of a place name for a given period and providing its modern counterpart in parentheses. In the case of modern place names he gives the German version in parentheses. As for the name of historical figures, he strove to use the name entered on the birth certificate of the person involved, and by doing so avoid such confusion as, for instance, surrounds the Austrian Silesian pastor L.J. Sherschnik, who in German became Scherschnick, in Polish, Szersznik, and in Czech, Sersnik. Indeed, the prospective Silesian scholar should, Mr. Kamusella suggests, as well as the three languages directly involved in the area itself, know English and French, since many documents and books on the subject have been published in these languages, and even Latin, when dealing in depth with the period before the mid-19th century. Mr. Kamusella divides the policies of ethnic cleansing into two categories. The first he classifies as soft, meaning that policy is confined to the educational system, army, civil service and the church, and the aim is that everyone learn the language of the dominant group. The second is the group of hard policies, which amount to what is popularly labelled as ethnic cleansing. This category of policy aims at the total assimilation and/or physical liquidation of the non-dominant groups non-congruent with the ideal of homogeneity of a given nation-state. Mr. Kamusella found that soft policies were consciously and systematically employed by Prussia/Germany in Prussian Silesia from the 1860s to 1918, whereas in Austrian Silesia, Vienna quite inconsistently dabbled in them from the 1880s to 1917. In the inter-war period, the emergence of the nation-states of Poland and Czechoslovakia led to full employment of the soft policies and partial employment of the hard ones (curbed by the League of Nations minorities protection system) in Czechoslovakian Silesia, German Upper Silesia and the Polish parts of Upper and Austrian Silesia. In 1939-1945, Berlin started consistently using all the "hard" methods to homogenise Polish and Czechoslovakian Silesia which fell, in their entirety, within the Reich's borders. After World War II Czechoslovakia regained its prewar part of Silesia while Poland was given its prewar section plus almost the whole of the prewar German province. Subsequently, with the active involvement and support of the Soviet Union, Warsaw and Prague expelled the majority of Germans from Silesia in 1945-1948 (there were also instances of the Poles expelling Upper Silesian Czechs/Moravians, and of the Czechs expelling Czech Silesian Poles/pro-Polish Silesians). During the period of communist rule, the same two countries carried out a thorough Polonisation and Czechisation of Silesia, submerging this region into a new, non-historically based administrative division. Democratisation in the wake of the fall of communism, and a gradual retreat from the nationalist ideal of the homogeneous nation-state with a view to possible membership of the European Union, caused the abolition of the "hard" policies and phasing out of the "soft" ones. Consequently, limited revivals of various ethnic/national minorities have been observed in Czech and Polish Silesia, whereas Silesian regionalism has become popular in the westernmost part of Silesia which remained part of Germany. Mr. Kamusella believes it is possible that, with the overcoming of the nation-state discourse in European politics, when the expression of multiethnicity and multilingualism has become the cause of the day in Silesia, regionalism will hold sway in this region, uniting its ethnically/nationally variegated population in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity championed by the European Union.

Annexations in Europe and the Persecution of Jews, 1939-1944

This contribution tries to explain why Jews were persecuted earlier or more fiercely in territories annexed by a state during World War II than in the mainland of that state. The case-studies covered are Nazi Germany, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, and the USSR. It is argued that internationally, similar policies of incorporation, especially the replacement of existing elites and the process of bringing in new settlers, worked against the Jews. Aside from focusing on governmental policies, the contribution also sketches the manner in which individual actions by state functionaries (who did not merely implement state policies) and by non-state actors had adverse effects on the Jewish population, impacting their survival chances. Finally, the article places the persecution of Jews in annexed areas in the context of the concerted violence conducted, at the same time, against other ethnically defined, religious, and social groups.

Internationale Kontrolle lokaler Verwaltung in einer Konfliktregion. Das Experiment „Freie Stadt Danzig“ (1920-1939)

The Free City of Danzig was founded by the Allies after World War One to settle the conflict between Poles and Germans as to which territory the town belonged. The League of Nations was designated to be the guarantor of its status. British and American experts and policy advisors saw it as an experiment on the way to new forms of statehood, by means of which nationalism as the founding principle of territorial entities could be overcome. However, the „Free City“ status was rejected by both the city’s inhabitants and German and Polish government agencies, with the result that the League and its local representative, the High Commissioner, were constantly confronted with difficulties in the interpretation of the international treaties and conventions relating to Danzig. In addition, hardly anyone in Danzig, Germany or Poland was interested in the economic and financial situation of the Free City, but were more interested in winning political battles than in the well-being of the city and its inhabitants. As a result, the situation in Danzig became more and more hopeless. The city became increasingly dependent on (illegal) German subsidies, while the High Commissioners generally cared more about their own prestige and that of their home countries than about the interests of the League of Nations. But as no political means of modifying the city’s status had been provided for, nothing changed formally in Danzig until Germany started the Second World War and annexed the city in September 1939. In retrospect, the international control of local government could not contribute to a long-term solution for Danzig. It merely postponed its violent solution for twenty years.

Nacionalismo en Chile 1945-1988 : ¿Una propuesta política?

El presente artículo corresponde a una revisión de los principales postulados del nacionalismo político chileno post Segunda Guerra Mundial hasta la implantación del régimen militar en Chile. Se pretende constatar la inexistencia de un proyecto político definido que permitiera convertirlo en una opción válida para el gobierno militar frente a la propuesta neoliberal.

Entre Francia y la Argentina : las redes humanitarias de la expatriación catalana republicana en la segunda posguerra

Este artículo se propone analizar el universo de prácticas humanitarias en la expatriación catalana republicana en la segunda posguerra mundial haciendo foco en el papel jugado por el intercambio epistolar que se desarrolló entre Francia y la Argentina; y en el modo en que esa correspondencia entre víctimas, familiares, testigos y benefactores localizados a ambos lados del Atlántico permite dar cuenta del funcionamiento de redes de circulación transnacional de ayuda solidaria no exentas de tensiones políticas. El trabajo pretende complejizar el tradicional enfoque estado-nación céntrico de los estudios sobre el exilio republicano español desde el interés por la reconstrucción de los vínculos e interconexiones epistolares entre comunidades de la expatriación (refugiados, evacuados, emigrados, exiliados) en orden a la cimentación de aquellas estrategias y proyectos de ayuda que tuvieron como protagonista al Comité Pro Catalans Refugiats a França del Casal de Catalunya de Buenos Aires. Partimos del supuesto de que la correspondencia constituyó en el mundo disperso de la emigración y el exilio entre la guerra civil española y la segunda posguerra mundial, uno de los instrumentos fundamentales de construcción de puentes, de cimentación de vínculos y de materialización de proyectos colectivos.

Debates hacia adentro : Las ideas económicas del frente antifascista liberal en Argentina (1939-1943)

El artículo analiza las ideas económicas de un arco de instituciones y publicaciones políticas y culturales que convergieron en la consolidación del movimiento antifascista liberal en Argentina en 1939-1943, definido por el apoyo a los Aliados en la guerra mundial y la oposición a grupos nacionalistas y antiliberales y a la administración de Ramón S. Castillo (1940-1943). En diálogo con la nueva historiografía que ha revisado el período de entreguerras en Argentina, el artículo sostiene que la defensa de las libertades políticas y culturales, centro del discurso unificador del frente antifascista, coexistía con distintas posiciones sobre el liberalismo económico y el proceso de intervención del estado en la economía desarrollado por los grupos conservadores gobernantes desde 1930. El texto pone de relieve así la existencia de coincidencias inter-partidarias y diferencias intra-partidarias sobre dichos procesos que frecuentemente eran oscurecidos por el conflicto político de esos año

Debates hacia adentro : Las ideas económicas del frente antifascista liberal en Argentina (1939-1943)

El artículo analiza las ideas económicas de un arco de instituciones y publicaciones políticas y culturales que convergieron en la consolidación del movimiento antifascista liberal en Argentina en 1939-1943, definido por el apoyo a los Aliados en la guerra mundial y la oposición a grupos nacionalistas y antiliberales y a la administración de Ramón S. Castillo (1940-1943). En diálogo con la nueva historiografía que ha revisado el período de entreguerras en Argentina, el artículo sostiene que la defensa de las libertades políticas y culturales, centro del discurso unificador del frente antifascista, coexistía con distintas posiciones sobre el liberalismo económico y el proceso de intervención del estado en la economía desarrollado por los grupos conservadores gobernantes desde 1930. El texto pone de relieve así la existencia de coincidencias inter-partidarias y diferencias intra-partidarias sobre dichos procesos que frecuentemente eran oscurecidos por el conflicto político de esos año

Debates hacia adentro : Las ideas económicas del frente antifascista liberal en Argentina (1939-1943)

El artículo analiza las ideas económicas de un arco de instituciones y publicaciones políticas y culturales que convergieron en la consolidación del movimiento antifascista liberal en Argentina en 1939-1943, definido por el apoyo a los Aliados en la guerra mundial y la oposición a grupos nacionalistas y antiliberales y a la administración de Ramón S. Castillo (1940-1943). En diálogo con la nueva historiografía que ha revisado el período de entreguerras en Argentina, el artículo sostiene que la defensa de las libertades políticas y culturales, centro del discurso unificador del frente antifascista, coexistía con distintas posiciones sobre el liberalismo económico y el proceso de intervención del estado en la economía desarrollado por los grupos conservadores gobernantes desde 1930. El texto pone de relieve así la existencia de coincidencias inter-partidarias y diferencias intra-partidarias sobre dichos procesos que frecuentemente eran oscurecidos por el conflicto político de esos año

Beautiful victims : childhood and the holocaust in the work of Gottfried Helnwein

"For the past three decades, contemporary artist Gottfried Helnwein has shocked viewers with his Holocaust-related paintings, drawings and installations. Born in Austria in 1948, Helnwein witnessed the immediate aftermath of World War II in Europe from a child’s perspective. Consequently, the horrifying images summoned from Helnwein’s imagination are inspired by the memories and repercussions of this tragedy. His work addresses his parents’ unwillingness to speak of the atrocities as well as the exploitation of the Holocaust in contemporary popular media. His work questions not only how such a tragedy could have taken place, but also how contemporary perception of this event has been affected by total media saturation and the passage of time. To shock viewers, Helnwein portrays strikingly realistic images of distressed, wounded and morally ambiguous children in works that have been regarded as controversial and outspoken"

The "other" cities: urban planning and architecture for tourism: the case of the Spanish Mediterranean (1945-1975)

There we analyce the first touristic nucleus arouse in the Spanish Mediterranean coast between World War II and the Petroleum Crisis (1945-75). Special attention is payed to the characteristics of these new villages: the relation of their urban frame with nature -original or artificial- and the lack of industry. We make a distintion of three types: cluster nucleus (La Manga and El Saler), tridimentional urbanism (Playa de San Juan y Urbanova) and extreme typologies (Campoamor and Benidorm). With them the cities for vacations are discovered, mainly for second home purpouse (vacation home/holiday home). The panorama after the current crisis is a lineal chain of small urban settlements on the coast. Finally, Finally, we can see how these "secondary cities" without industry and specialized in leisure, are developing to our days until become new cities of services, doubling the existing ones; now they are "the other cities".

Muro Mediterráneo: búnkeres y baterías para la defensa del litoral (1936-1939)

The Mediterranean wall, which is a collection of defensive constructions along the coast, was built during the Spanish War (1936-39) to prevent enemy attacks. It´s called this way like the Atlantic Wall, which was built after the Second World War. These group of buildings consist of batteries, bunkers and barracks placed along the coastline, sometimes next to another kind of infrastructure. Its location (typical of a military strategy) and its peculiar morphology are like another ones: the historical watchtowers ones. They were built by the Kingdom of Spain in the same geography four centuries earlier although, in our case, the buildings are updated to the conditions of contemporary wars: camouflage against air raids. A collection of anti-aircraft devices, placed along the coast since the late 1937, were risen following the instructions of the Valencian State to defend both citizens and cities from the aviation´s bombings. The following military settlements, organized from North to South, are part of the most relevant ones of the coast of Alicante: the Denia and Javea ones, the North of Alicante and Southwest of Alicante ones, the Portichol one, the Galvany´s Clot one and, finally, the Cape and Bay of Santa Pola ones. Remains of more than 60 architectural elements, that document the first concrete´s ruins, are still there. This paper tries to document all of them (providing their location, their morphological genealogy and including some drawings of the current state) to contribute to their revaluation and to help to their necessary protection. They are a legacy of architectural heritage which consolidates and increases the memory of our culture.

Levantando las arquitecturas de las guerras en la costa del Mediterráneo (1936-1939)

During the civil war (1936-39) was built a network of defensive settlements on the coast in anticipation of attacks enemies, forming the so-called 'wall Mediterranean', because of its similarity with the Wall Atlantic of the World War II. These enclaves were composed of groups of batteries, bunkers and buildings. This communication comes to inventory and draw the remains of more than 50 architectures that are located in the Valencian South Coast (from Denia to Torrevieja), documenting the first ruins of hormigion armed with our history. It's a set of military settlements anti-aircraft, mostly scattered coastal rural, which are a great heritage and landscape value, and from which planes haven't been preserved. It is to lift current state record of them all, proceeding to its typological classification, in order to contribute to its assessment and protection on the grounds that they constitute a legacy of architectural heritage that increases our cultural memory.history.

The German war lord and the British lion /

Mode of access: Internet.

The problems of national reconstruction;

"Bibliography of literature referred to": p. 68-71.