Nation and loyalty in a German-Polish borderland : Upper Silesia, 1848-1960 / Brendan Karch.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Karch, Brendan Jeffrey, author.

Series:

Publications of the German Historical Institute.

Publications of the German Historical Institute

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nationalism--Silesia, Upper (Poland and Czech Republic)--History.

Nationalism.

Silesians--Ethnic identity.

Silesians.

Silesia, Upper (Poland and Czech Republic)--Politics and government--20th century.

Silesia, Upper (Poland and Czech Republic).

Silesia, Upper (Poland and Czech Republic)--Politics and government--19th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xv, 331 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2018.

Summary:

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.

Contents:

The battle before: Catholicism and the making of Upper Silesians, 1848-1890

Nationalism's debut: imagining a Polish community, 1890-1914

Breakdown: World War I and the Upper Silesian Plebiscite, 1914-1921

The Weimar gap: democracy and nationalism, 1922-1933

Reprieve: Jews between Germany, Poland, and the League of Nations

The instrumental Volksgemeinschaft: making 'loyal' Germans, 1933-1944

The postwar ultimatum: making 'loyal' Poles after 1945.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 24 Sep 2018).

ISBN:

1-108-61064-1

1-108-56095-4

1-108-60489-7