Information AboutPolonization |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT POLONIZATION | |
| polish culture | |
| history of lithuania | |
| history of lithuanian language | |
| history of ukraine | |
| history of belarus | |
| east slavic history | |
| cultural assimilation | |
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Polonization was especially noted in the history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth or Republic , when Polish drew to itself the Upper Class es of the Lithuania n, Belarus ian and Ukrainian communities, leading to those Class es' lesser or greater Alienation from their Ethnic Root s. One of the features of Polonization was the promotion of the Roman Catholic Church at the expense of the Orthodox Churches . As a consequence of the process of Polonization, disputes occur as to the ethnicity of some notable persons such as Tadeusz Kościuszko , Adam Mickiewicz and Ignacy Domeyko , who are claimed as national celebrities by Poles , Belarusians and Lithuanians alike. SECOND POLISH REPUBLIC "Wherever we can multiply our forces and our civilizational efforts, absorbing other elements, no law can prohibit us from doing so, as such actions are our duty." -- Roman Dmowski , (cited from Tomaszewski J. Kresy Wschodnie w polskiej mysli politycznej XIX i XX w.//Miedzy Polska etniczna a historyczna. Polska mysl polityczna XIX i XX wieku.—T.6.—Warszawa, 1988.—S.101.). During the times of )"''. A law issued in 1924 banned usage of any language but Polish in governmental and municipal paperwork. It the area of public education it was postulated that state schools could be only Polish language schools. Local populations could have private local language schools, but only in territories "loyal to the Polish state". Specifically with respect to the Eastern territories (known as '' Kresy Wschodnie '', or ""Eastern Borderlands") it was recognized that ''"schools can become an instrument of the cultural development in Eastern lands only if Polish teachers will work there"''. However in reality it turned out to be infeasible for implementation and, in particular, bilingual schools () were proposed. After the 1930 elections in Poland, Belarusian representation in the Polish Parliament was reduced and since the early 1930's the Polish government started to introduce policies intended to Polonize the minorities. In 1938 about 100 Orthodox churches were destroyed or converted to Roman Catholic in the eastern parts of Poland. The use of Belarusian Language was discouraged. Not a single Belarusian school survived until spring of 1939 , and only 44 schools teaching Belarusian language existed in Poland at the beginning of World War II . POST WORLD WAR II Ethnic Germans still living in the western territories gained by Poland in the aftermath of World War II (e.g. Silesia) were denied the use of their language in public by the Communist regime and they had to adopt the Polish language and citizenship to evade discrimination, expropriation and insult. {Link without Title} Their situation improved in 1950 with the Treaty Of Zgorzelec between Poland and the GDR . Until 1953 there were 55 German basic schools and 2 higher German schools in Poland. In modern Poland the Germans have a formally recognized status of an ethnic minority. NOTES |
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