A lecture entitled “From ‘polnische Wirtschaft’ to ‘polnische Wirtschaft’: On the Power of Stereotypes”

He came to Collegium Polonicum at the invitation of dr Dominic Pick, Head of the Polish Studies programm. The lecture was open to the public: in addition to students of Polish Studies, it was attended by pupils from the University General Secondary School as well as residents of Słubice.

The lecture focused on an analysis of one of the most deeply rooted stereotypes concerning Poland and Poles in German cultural discourse, from the Middle Ages to the present day. Not only the origins of the term “polnische Wirtschaft” proved interesting, but also other stereotypes associated with it. Equally compelling was the discussion of the influence exerted by Prussian, Russian and Austrian propaganda during the period of the partitions, as well as other major events in Polish history, such as the November Uprising and the Great Emigration. Particularly striking was the pace of change in German perceptions of Poles after the year 2000, illustrated by a comparison of opinions on selected issues from 2000 and 2005. Listeners interested in further deepening their knowledge were provided with numerous references and a solid bibliography.

After the lecture, Prof. Kąkolewski met with students of Polish Studies and the SoP Student Research Club. The discussion focused on transnational education, using the Polish–German textbook “Europa. Nasza historia / Europa. Unsere Geschichte” as an example. Prof. Kąkolewski is one of the authors of this textbook, whose preparation took twelve years. A similar textbook, currently being developed by Polish and Ukrainian historians, is now in progress.

Thank you for an engaging and valuable lecture!