Varken tysk eller polack : en studie i schlesisk identitet

Författare

Susanne Persson

Summary, in English

This thesis deals with the problems connected to national identification in Silesia, a region situated in the south-western parts of Poland by the German border, characterized by a number of border redrawals throughout the history. Through analysis applied to earlier investigations and through examinations of official documents and material produced by movements for autonomy and Silesian nationality, attributes of Silesian identity have been sought after. These have later been run against a scheme of analysis based on the criteria of nation building and ethnic communities set up by the theorist Anthony D. Smith.
The essay argues, that there in fact does not exist any basis on which to classify Silesia as a nation, as the foundation for one is still too weak. The Silesians although do constitute an ethnic group according to the applied scheme of analysis. This conclusion, however, does not correspond to the Polish law, in which Silesians still do not constitute an ethnic minority, even though they fulfill the criteria.

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