Posted on 03/31/2011 11:58:29 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
Has France surrendered yet?
Don’t start again, these “autonomy” calls bring only trouble. They are al in EU, no???
Classic example of what happens when one group fails to assimilate into the main country, much like the illegals want to do to the USA. You can’t have two different cultures living in the same country and have harmony, it doesn’t work.
The Conrad Stargard novels by Leo Frankowski taught me a great deal about the proud Silesian people. There are some prurient moments in the novels, but overall excellent. Think a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s court, except in Lower Silesia. The 13th century Silesians think 20th century Conrad has a funny accent, but otherwise can understand him just fine.
The sad thing is that most of these “autonomy” movements would not even exist if their countries’ governments would stop being so centralized. A highly centralized government only works in countries where everyone thinks alike, acts alike, and wants the same things (ie: a homogeneous culture).
In countries where this isn’t the case, they really need a federal system with very independent states/provinces/cantons/whatever.
For that gets the different cultures their autonomy without haveing the stink.
To their credit the Poles are not like the communists before or the current French government who tried to stamp out all regional differences
The problem is that Poland since 1945 is completely unlike Poland has ever been in it's 1054 year history
During the heights of the Polish Rzeczpospolitej, the country was a mixture of Poles, Lithuanians, Ruthenians (present day Ukrainians and Belarussians), Jews, Germans, Hungarians and Romanians and Gypsies. It had 4 major religions living in peace
But the nationalistic sentiments after WWI expressed by Dmowski and exacerbated by the German leibensraum killed all of Piłsudski's good work
Though the EU does have a good side in this — it helps by giving regional autonomy, like what has been done in Alsace and Lorraine, in the Trentino region of Italy etc where minorities are able to co-exist and this has resulted in outbreaks of peace :)
Will have to check with some family members to find out how to translate “Tea Party” into Polish (and then into Silesian).
Silesia is a region that has been fought over by empires for a thousand years. There are sub-regions within the area that have historically been more in 1 empire’s orbit than the others. I’m talking about Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia & Poland. (Sorry Poland, but your holding the bag on this one!)
Isn’t this area considered the old East Prussia?
I don’t believe so. Silesia is down closer to Bohemia (Czech Republic) and other former Habsburg (Austrian) dominated lands.
Prussia (and later Germany) was one of the players in the game to dominate Silesia, however.
Silesians speak german, czech or polish...depending on which country they live in. Prussian was spoken in the regions of Masuria, Silesian I seem to remember was a part of Bohemia.
OK, Thanks to both Tallguy and you, Katya.
I think it was mainly German-speaking until 1945 but the Germans were forced out when the western border of Poland was set at the Oder-Neisse line.
“They had their own country and should have it again.”
Against will of at least 97% of people living there ? Fascinating.
If you don’t have anything clever to say, don’t say anything.
I see that you don’t take your own advice.
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