Polonia Inter Gentes

Benedetto Croce jako źródło inspiracji literackiej dla Gustawa Herlinga-Grudzińskiego

Alessandro Ajres — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

Benedetto Croce non rappresenta per Gustaw Herling-Grudziński un modello „soltanto” in virtù del suo pensiero filosofico, storico e sociale (è ben nota la conoscenza che lo scrittore polacco aveva della Storia d’Europa nel secolo decimonono ancora prima dello scoppio della Seconda guerra mondiale), ma assurge anche a fonte di ispirazione letteraria: Croce, infatti, è il protagonista di alcuni racconti di Herling (su tutti, Il principe costante), mentre in altri casi suscita e stimola l’interesse di Herling con tematiche che riguardano – principalmente – la città di Napoli e le leggende che la circondano. L’intervento che propongo, dunque, seppure non prescindendo dall’influenza che il pensiero di Croce esercita in generale su Herling, mira a concentrarsi sulla trasfigurazione letteraria di Croce come personaggio/protagonista delle storie dell’autore polacco e su come le passioni da lettore dell’uno si siano tramandate anche all’altro.

Liberty, Law and Totalitarianism. Gustaw Herling-Grudziński as an Interpreter of Benedetto Croce

Fiammetta Cioè — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

This article aims to highlight the intellectual synergy between Benedetto Croce and Gustaw Herling-Grudziński, particularly in the field of the philosophy of law. Croce’s influence on Herling-Grudziński’s journalistic, literary, and philosophical work is reflected in the profound conviction that the religion of liberty will survive catastrophes and disasters, despite humanity’s incessant attempts to suppress it. Throughout their lives, both Croce and Herling-Grudziński committed themselves to denouncing any order that, even if legally constituted, employed coercive means harmful to human dignity. As a signatory of the Manifesto of Anti-Fascist Intellectuals, Croce vehemently condemned all forms of totalitarian power whose legislative activity degenerated into ‘unbridled egoism or severity of command,’ thereby assaulting the very idea of liberty as the insurmountable mode of individual existence. Following Croce’s example, Herling-Grudziński proceeded to demonstrate the ‘twinship’ between the Nazi concentration camps (lager) and the Soviet forced labor camps (gulag). In the gulag, the horror was intolerably legalized, and the individual, deprived of his conatus essendi and every shred of dignity, became simply an “anonymous unit of energy”. In that ‘world apart,’ where humanity is detached from history, civilization meets its end, marked by the advent of the Antichrist theorized by Croce: a vital and obscure dimension of action that is never ethicalized. Consequently, this article will delve into Croce’s critique of nihilist philosophy, described as a tendentious philosophy, since it reaches its climax in the complete approval of “evil with the interfering consciousness that it is evil”. In a similar interpretive synthesis, Herling-Grudziński identified the common nihilistic matrix underlying the totalitarianisms that ravaged the 20th century.

The Polish language in Canada: selected factors shaping its ethnolinguistic vitality

Joanna Lustański — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

This paper offers a preliminary examination of the ethnolinguistic vitality of the Polish language in Canada, applying the framework developed by Giles, Bourhis and Taylor to assess the interplay of status, demographic and institutional factors shaping language maintenance and shift. Drawing on historical migration data, census statistics and community observations, it traces the evolution of Polish settlement from the late 19th century to the present, highlighting the erosion of intergenerational transmission, high rates of exogamy and declining recent immigration as major challenges. While Polish retains symbolic prestige within its ethnic community, its functional utility in Canadian public life remains limited, reducing incentives for active use. The analysis underscores the critical role of institutional support – particularly heritage schools, Catholic parishes and Polish-language media – in sustaining linguistic continuity, even as these institutions face declining enrolment, resource constraints and generational disengagement. Additional factors such as parental education levels, ethnic pride and technological advances in communication are examined for their mitigating or intensifying effects on language shift. The paper concludes that maintaining Polish in Canada requires deliberate and coordinated strategies to strengthen both the objective and subjective dimensions of vitality, integrate local initiatives into broader networks and enhance community awareness of the heritage language’s cultural and identity value.

Where Have all the Germans Gone? Poland’s Diminishing German Minority

Karl Cordell — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

Nach dem Ende des Zweiten Weltkriegs lebten in Polen weit mehr ehemalige Deutsche, als gemeinhin angenommen wird. Trotz der kontinuierlichen freiwilligen Auswanderung nach Deutschland seit dem Abschluss der nachkriegszeitlichen Zwangsumsiedlungen im Jahr 1949 besteht in Polen weiterhin eine autochthone deutsche Minderheit. Die genaue Zahl der heute in Polen lebenden, sich selbst als Deutsche deklarierenden Personen lässt sich jedoch nur schwer bestimmen. Sicher erscheint lediglich, dass ihre Zahl rückläufig ist. Der vorliegende Beitrag geht der Frage nach, welche Ursachen diesem Befund zugrunde liegen, und argumentiert, dass diese im Charakter der gegenwärtigen polnischen Gesellschaft sowie im postkommunistischen Wertesystem zu verorten sind. Darüber hinaus wird die Rolle sich wandelnder nationaler Identitäten für die Selbstzuschreibung von Minderheiten in den Blick genommen.

Between Minority and Diaspora: The Polish Community in Türkiye

Gizem Karaköse — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

Türkiye’deki Polonya diasporası, toplumsal, kültürel ve dilsel açıdan farklılık gösteren iki tarihsel dalga çerçevesinde ele alınabilir. İlk dalga, “eski diaspora” olarak adlandırılmakta olup, 19. yüzyılda özellikle 1830–1831 Kasım ve 1863 Ocak ayaklanmalarının ardından Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’na sığınan Polonyalı sürgünler ve siyasi mültecilerden oluşmuştur. İstanbul yakınlarındaki Polonezköy (eski adıyla Adampol), bu siyasal saiklerle gerçekleşen göçün tarihsel bir simgesi olarak varlığını sürdürmektedir. Buna karşılık, “yeni diaspora” 1990’lardan sonra ortaya çıkmış; Soğuk Savaş’ın sona ermesiyle birlikte Polonyalıların Türkiye’ye mesleki, akademik ya da kişisel nedenlerle yöneldikleri bir göç biçimi olarak şekillenmiştir. Öncekilerden farklı olarak bu grup, siyasal baskılardan ziyade gönüllü motivasyonlarla hareket eden ve daha küresel ölçekte hareket kabiliyeti bulunan bireylerden oluşmaktadır. Bu çalışma, söz konusu iki grubun farklı uyum süreçlerini karşılaştırarak tarihsel bağlam, motivasyon ve entegrasyon kalıplarının Polonya diasporasının Türkiye toplumundaki kimlik ve rollerini nasıl biçimlendirdiğini irdelemektedir

From Historical Identity to Modern Representation: The Evolving Political Role of the Polish Minority in Lithuania – An Overview

Aistė Žemaitytė — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

Šiame tyrime nagrinėjama Lenkijos tautinės mažumos politinė įtaka Lietuvoje, analizuojami jos istoriniai pagrindai, šiuolaikiniai atstovavimo mechanizmai ir ateities integracijos perspektyvos. Nors Lenkijos tautinė mažuma sudaro tik 6,5 % Lietuvos gyventojų, ji išlaiko politinę įtaką, ypač pietryčių regionuose, pavyzdžiui, Vilniaus ir Šalčininkų rajonuose. Tyrime taikoma kokybinė oficialių dokumentų ir institucinio formavimo 2021–2025 m. turinio analizė, sutelkiant dėmesį į tris pagrindinius aspektus: istorinės tapatybės formavimąsi, politinį atstovavimą ir institucinį dalyvavimą bei ateities integracijos vizijas. Analizė rodo, kad nuo 1994 m. Lietuvos lenkų rinkimų akcijos – Krikščioniškų šeimų sąjungos partija (LLRA-KŠS) buvo pagrindinė lenkų politinės mobilizacijos priemonė, pasiekusi nuoseklų sėkmę savivaldybių rinkimuose (užsitikrinusi 56–67 mandatus) ir išlaikiusi atstovavimą nacionaliniame parlamente ir Europos Parlamente. Tačiau naujausi pokyčiai rodo besikeičiančią politinės integracijos tendenciją, kai lenkų kilmės politikai vis dažniau dalyvauja pagrindinėse partijose, neapsiribodami etninėmis platformomis, pavyzdžiui, Robertas Duchnevičius buvo paskirtas meru, o Ewelina Dobrowolska – buvusia teisingumo ministre. 2024 m. lapkričio mėn. priimtas Nacionalinių mažumų įstatymas užpildo 14 metų trukusią teisėkūros spragą, suteikdamas oficialų pripažinimą ir stipresnę mažumų teisių apsaugą. Tyrime daroma išvada, kad lenkų mažuma yra palyginti sėkmingas mažumų politinės integracijos Baltijos regione pavyzdys, nors ateityje išlieka iššūkiai, susiję su kalbos politika, kultūros išsaugojimu ir etninės tapatybės bei platesnio pilietinio dalyvavimo pusiausvyros išlaikymu. Studija rodo, kad politinė mobilizacija nacionalizuojančiose valstybėse vis labiau remiasi simboliniu atstovavimu, o ne esminių politikos priemonių įgyvendinimu, o sėkminga integracija priklauso nuo kultūrinio gyvybingumo išlaikymo ir aktyvaus dalyvavimo Lietuvos pliuralistiniuose demokratiniuose procesuose.

Memories of Julian Chruszczewski (1924–2010)

Karl Cordell — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0100

The Case of the Second Polish Army Corps and Its Veterans Who Made Calgary, Alberta, Canada Their Home after They Finished Farm Work Contracts in the Late 1940s – Part I

Aldona Jaworska — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0100

This article examines aspects of World War II and postwar political and economic factors, as well as immigration policies, that influenced the situ- ation of the Polish 2nd Army Corps and its Lieutenant-General Władysław Anders. It examines diplomatic documents and relations between the Soviet Union, the United States of America, Great Britain, Poland, and Canada. It also draws on press, biographical sources, and firsthand accounts from interviews with Polish war veterans in Calgary, conducted for my Master’s degrees in Communication and Culture and Drama, and for my 2019 book, “Polish War Veterans in Alberta: Four Recent Stories”. At the core of this article are three issues: Rewriting History in Poland after World War II to Conform to the Pro-Soviet Narrative and its Impact on the Second Polish Army Corps. Part two, Post-War Geopolitical Make-Up of Europe, and the Anders Army and part three, After the War: Starting a New Life in Canada, which will be published in a future issue of this journal.