Poland's National Identity

As a country with a rich cultural background that is evident today, Poland has a strong identity. Where did it come from? Why have some elements of Poland’s history stayed prevalent through the twenty-first century?

Unification Within the Country

Poland’s citizens identify the same way across many variables of study. Nearly ninety-seven percent of the population declared Polish to be their premiere ethnicity in 2011 (Central Intelligence Agency). This displays the devotion and connection most of the population share with one another and their country. The overwhelming Polish population brings a sense of exclusivity in the country through its citizens’ commonality. Having experienced the same historic tragedies and struggles in their lineages causes a bond and understanding, which perpetuates a divisive attitude towards other countries and cultures, especially those which contributed to the hardships still relevant in the minds of the Polish (Bastain; Seppala).

Further, Polish is the official language, spoken in ninety-eight percent of homes (Central Intelligence Agency). A new and close communication quite literally takes place when people of the same ethnicity also have a language they share with one another that is not as commonly- or widely-spoken in the rest of the world. The strength of the Polish language speaks to the importance Poles place on history and identity. Being little-spoken elsewhere and in other ethnicities, the transition to, or addition of, a more world-reaching language would be a natural transition (Howard). Instead, the Polish language has remained intact and proven the pride its people have in speaking it.

Most notable in Poland’s current statistical analysis is the over eighty-seven percent of the population identifying as Catholic. Religion provides a bond between people centered in core beliefs, but also has extreme variation because of the multitude of different reasons someone is inclined to practice a religion, the difference in interpretation of the same message, and the intensity at which one believes in the ideas. It brings the nation together with common holidays and the communal gathering at Church. The religion is so common in part due to the influence Catholicism had on Poland’s history. In the nineteenth century, Michael Bernhard wrote that “the Church was often the only institution that had a Polish character. Thus, Polish national consciousness came to be strongly tied to a Catholic religious identity” (Porter 294). Understanding that Poland went through many struggles for independence and was under the influence of different countries and cultures helps to put the weight behind his words. In a place where community becomes something fought for, the culture behind the group gains importance. Catholicism played an important role in Poland’s history, so the strength it has in defining Polish people can be explained in part by the overwhelming desire to uphold the culture and traditions of the country’s history.

Historic roots of identity

Poland went through a few key periods that defines it a nation today.

The first was the democratic-styled government that came to be in the fifteenth century. There was a King, but it was an elected position and was not given absolute power over the country (Dybel). Most importantly, only nobles were given political rights. This meant the nobles of the country had a great deal of power and, making up ten to fifteen percent of the population, became the significantly largest portion of a country to be “politically conscious” in Europe (Dybel). This came to be the foundation for all future government dealings and structures, meaning democracy and political involvement have a history in Polish culture that its citizens can take pride in implementing so much earlier than other countries. These values are reflected in today’s Parliamentary Republic government.

Another piece of the historical puzzle is the formation, reformation, and struggle for independence that plagued Poland since its formation. In the eighteenth century, Poland was divided between Russia, Prussia, and Austria. Decades later, in 1918, Poland regained independence for a brief period until the second World War, during which Germany took over. Poland’s government was replaced by a Soviet model after the war until an independent trade union called “Solidarity” won control of the government through the free vote in 1989 and 1990 (Central Intelligence Agency). Poles exhibit a commonality and respect for tradition, but the background of difficulty in independence and freedom have sparked a more impactful solidarity. Solidarity from shared hardship forms bonds that hold strong through shallow differences (Bastain; Seppala). Further, World War II brought great tragedy to the nation where nearly six million Polish people were killed, a fifth of the country’s population. Of that, half were Jewish victims of the Holocaust (Piotrowski 305). Not only was the country suffering an attack on their identity and independence, but there was mass violence and suffering on the personal and familial level. Strength needed to come from bending together against these attacks, leading to a more powerful culture and community. Poles feel the effects of the war and hate crimes through ancestry and how the country has shifted in every aspect to accommodate the needs of every individual.

Othering

Relations between Poland and Lithuania were strained because of a need for separation. In the sixteenth century, the two countries were combined into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, but it came apart in the eighteenth century due to internal political conflict (Davies 657-660). Today, this plays out in the desire for difference in cultures and history to provide a unique identity for each nation. Little aggression is left between citizens of each country, but Lithuania shares some of its history with Poland and each culture makes certain to distinguish the differences between them to avoid being the single nation they have grown from.

There has also been the expected distancing from Germany in Polish culture. In the World Wars, “Germany was the principal agent and aggressor, and Poland was the single most affected victim” (Osiatyński 483). Poles unite over a defiance and freedom from Germany, meaning some citizens still make judgments and have a general dislike for German people. Whether they actively dislike Germans, many Polish people try to oppose the other nation by claiming their cultures to be different. Although they are neighboring countries, Germany and Poland need to be separate in the eyes of Poles to respect the tragedies and injustice caused to them in history (Osiatyński).

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Works Cited

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Davies, Norman. Europe: A History. New York: HarperPerennial, 1998. Print.

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Osiatyński, Jerzy. “Crucial Partners for Peace: Germany and Poland.” The Polish Review, vol. 37, no. 4, 1992, pp. 483–487.

Piotrowski, Tadeusz. Poland's Holocaust: Ethnic Strife, Collaboration with Occupying Forces and Genocide in the Second Republic. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Company, 1998. Print.

“Poland.” The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency, 12 Dec. 2016, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/pl.html. Accessed 12 Jan. 2017.

Porter, Brian. "The Catholic Nation: Religion, Identity, and the Narratives of Polish History." The Slavic and East European Journal, vol. 45, no. 2, 2001, pp. 289-99.
Seppala, Emma. "How the Stress of Disaster Brings People Together." Scientific American, 05 Nov. 2012, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-the-stress-of-disaster-brings-people-together/. Accessed 02 Feb. 2017.