An article appeared recently in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung (15 March 2007) on the occasion of German Chancellor Andrea Merkel’s planned visit to Poland and in light of the increasing tension between the two countries regarding historical issues. The author of this article, a professor of Polish and Ukrainian studies at the European University Viadrina, wrote: “For many years, misunderstandings and accusations have plagued the relationship between Germany and Poland…” The effects of these misunderstandings and accusations function on a number of levels, from high politics to handball matches (as was the example in the article). While it is of course important to combat problems on all levels (including dispelling simple myths and stereotypes about Polish car thieves) in order to help normalize relations between Germans and Poles, there are very serious historical issues which need to be confronted if the long and arduous process of reconciliation begun in the nineties between the two countries is to continue.
The author of the article feels that at this point the escalating situation threatens not only the political relationship between Germany and Poland, but also the future of EU integration and the creation of a European Constitution as well. The fact that many of the new member states in the European Union are not only seen but are also treated as “second class citizens” just adds fuel to the still-smoldering embers that remain in the ashes of World War II – causing “old” problems to flare in the face of new ones. But this is not surprising as many scholars have long argued that the debates over history and memory between the old member states of the EU and the acceding ones needed to be thoroughly played out before the new members joined the Union where the “fraternal atmosphere” of the bodies of the EU would make it more difficult to negotiate these histories. The illusion that these problems would somehow dissipate with increasing European integration has proven false. Quite to the contrary, the “old” issues seem not to be fading with the passing of time, but to be taking on new forms and growing in importance.
In both Germany and Poland, (as well as elsewhere in Europe) historical themes are being used as ammunition in political campaigns, bringing battles of history and memory into the arena of politics where contentious issues have an even greater chance of being distorted and manipulated to serve political purposes. A politician’s flippant use of past instances of injustice or violence as accusatory and pejorative cannon fodder leads only to the proliferation of many of the same myths historians and other academics have long been trying to dispel. Not only are these myths being perpetuated by the politicians, but political rallying cries for confessions of guilt for past crimes obscure the fact that so many of these past crimes have been and are currently being dealt with by academics in the respective country. The author of the article points out for example that many German politicians are currently calling on Poland to admit the unjust way the ethnic Germans were expelled from Poland even though Polish historians have long been working under this premise. This particular issue is much too complex to discuss here, but its presence in political discourse and the discussion about Polish-German relations in general shows the ever-increasing gap between the academic and political realms when it comes to the “shared histories” of countries in Europe today.
The author of the article feels that at this point the escalating situation threatens not only the political relationship between Germany and Poland, but also the future of EU integration and the creation of a European Constitution as well. The fact that many of the new member states in the European Union are not only seen but are also treated as “second class citizens” just adds fuel to the still-smoldering embers that remain in the ashes of World War II – causing “old” problems to flare in the face of new ones. But this is not surprising as many scholars have long argued that the debates over history and memory between the old member states of the EU and the acceding ones needed to be thoroughly played out before the new members joined the Union where the “fraternal atmosphere” of the bodies of the EU would make it more difficult to negotiate these histories. The illusion that these problems would somehow dissipate with increasing European integration has proven false. Quite to the contrary, the “old” issues seem not to be fading with the passing of time, but to be taking on new forms and growing in importance.
In both Germany and Poland, (as well as elsewhere in Europe) historical themes are being used as ammunition in political campaigns, bringing battles of history and memory into the arena of politics where contentious issues have an even greater chance of being distorted and manipulated to serve political purposes. A politician’s flippant use of past instances of injustice or violence as accusatory and pejorative cannon fodder leads only to the proliferation of many of the same myths historians and other academics have long been trying to dispel. Not only are these myths being perpetuated by the politicians, but political rallying cries for confessions of guilt for past crimes obscure the fact that so many of these past crimes have been and are currently being dealt with by academics in the respective country. The author of the article points out for example that many German politicians are currently calling on Poland to admit the unjust way the ethnic Germans were expelled from Poland even though Polish historians have long been working under this premise. This particular issue is much too complex to discuss here, but its presence in political discourse and the discussion about Polish-German relations in general shows the ever-increasing gap between the academic and political realms when it comes to the “shared histories” of countries in Europe today.
(originally posted on 13/5/07 @ 3:14am)