Cyfrowa Etnografia

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Part of Ethnic Studies in Polish Ethnology / LUD 1995 t.79

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Lud, vol. 79, 1995

IV. ETHNIC PROBLEMS IN ETHNOLOGICAL
AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL
RESEARCH
ALEKSANDER POSERN-ZIELIŃSKI
Institute of Ethn010gy and Cultural Anthropology
Adam Mickiewicz University
Poznań

ETHN1C STUDIES IN POLISH ETHNOLOGY.
THEIR CONDITIONS, CONTEXTS AND TRENDS
Until recently ethnic studies have been most popular among historians and
sociologists. The former group concentrated primarily on the stages of nation
formation process, on the reconstruction of interethnic relations, on migrations
and displacement, which resulted in altering ethnic and political borders, as
well as on the history of national minorities and their role in historical
processes. Sociologists, in turn, focused on theoretical questions related to the
status of ethnic units under research and the nature of their transformations.
They also paid close attention to the contemporary ethnic situation, devoting
much consideration to the problems of ethnic identity, prejudices, stereotypes
and conflicts, and also, to the process of integration and assimilation. Seen in
this context, the achievements of ethnology in theoretical discussion and in the
analysis of specific situations and circumstances seem to be relatively modest.
Fortunately, however, the significance of ethnic studies in ethnology has been
steadily growing for the last few years.
Ethnic studies in the interwar period
The beginnings of ethnic studies within the framework of ethnology go
back to the interwar period. Revived Poland proved to be a country inhabited
by many national and ethnic minorities - particularly along the Western and
Eastern borders - which constituted nearly one third of Poland's population.
Ethnologists could not ignore this fact, although one must admit that only
to a limited extent did they participate in studies of an applied nature, which
were more willingly undertaken by sociologists. On the other hand, it might be
worth noting that the descriptions of individual ethnic groups in the borderland had been one of the most popular subjects since the 19th century. This
tendency persisted after the year 19181.
l A. Pasem-Zieliński,
KszrallOwanie się polskiej etnografii jako samodzielnej dyscypliny
naukowej (do 1939 r.) [The Formation of Polish ethnography as an independent scholarly
discipline: until 1939], in: Historia etnografii polskiej [History of Polish ethnography],
ed.
M. Terlecka, Wrocław 1973, p. 90; L. Degh, The Study of Ethnicity in Modern European Ethnology,
in: Folklore, Nationalism and Politics, Columbus, Ohio 1978, p. 34.

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Research conducted at that time followed two basic trends 2. The first,
which was distinctly traditional, concentrated on the ethnographic description
of individual ethnic groups and on the cultural study of regions where people of
non-Polish origin lived. This particular area of interest included attempts at
determining ethnic boundaries based on the range of ethnographic artefacts as
well as investigation into the ethnogenesis of Poles and neighbouring Slavic
nations. K. Moszyński, A. Fischer and, partly, K. Dobrowolski 3 were among
the scholars who carried out research within this traditional framework. They
tended to equate specific ethnic units with cofigurations, patterns and the
ranges of cultural elements established during research to which they ascribed
the value of "objective" scientific truths. Thus, the school was characterized not
only by a static and descriptive approach, but also by an "etic - oriented",
pseudo-objectivized and acontextual attitude toward the regional, ethnic and
national units being researched.
The other tendency, favoured mainly by J. S. Bystroń and J. Obrębski 4,
sought to establish grounds for its own ethnic studies, severing links with many
"traditional" approaches. The most important of their innovations were the
following: first, the recognition that such studies should aim at finding the core
elements of group consciousness which have determine feelings of separateness
and ethnic identity, define the limits of strangeness and strengthen community;
second, that these inquiries should also take into account interethnic relations
(such as conflicts, antagonisms, stereotypes and mutual dependencies) because
they are the only source of information about the complex system of con2 W. Olszewski writes more on this issue: Etnologiczno-antropologiczne
podej.kie do problematyki etnicznej w dwudziestoleciu międzywojennym
[Ethnological
and anthropological
approach to ethnic problems in the interwar period], in: Etnologia polska między ludoznawstwem
a antropologią [Polish ethnology between ethnography and anthropology], ed. Posern-Zieliński,
Poznań 1995, p. 153-160.
3 A. Fischer,
Recherches ethnographiques en Pologne, in: Domum Natalicum J. Schrijnen.
Chartres 1929, pp. 838 - 845; A. Fischer, Etnografia słowiańska [Slavic ethnography], fasc. 1-3,
Lwów-Warszawa 1932 - 1934; A. Fischer, Rusini: Zarys etnografii Rusi [Ruthenians. An outline of
ethnography of Ruthenia], Lwów 1929; J. Falkowski, Północno-wschodnie pogranicze Huculszczyzny
[The North-Eastern frontier of Hutzul region], Lwów 1938; J. Falkowski, Zachodnie pogranicze
Huculszczyzny ... [The Western frontier of the Hutzul region ... ], Lwów 1937. For more on this issue
see: Z. Sokolewicz, Miejsce etnografii polskiej w nauce obcej (do 1939 r.) [The position of Polish
ethnograpgy in foreign research till 1939], in: Historia etnografii polskiej ... , op. cit., pp. 185-189.
4 J. S. Bystroń, Megalomania narodowa. Źródła teorie - skutki [National megalomania.
Sources, theories, effects], Warszawa 1924; J. S. Bystroń, Ugrupowania elłliczne ludu polskiego
[Ethnic groups of Polish people], Kraków 1925; J. Obrębski, Problem grup etnicznych wetllologii
i jego socjologiczne ujęcie [The problem of ethnic groups in ethnology and its sociological
interpretation],
"Przegląd Socjologiczny" vol. 4, 1936, pp. 177 - 195; J. Obrębski, Dzisiejsi
ludzie Polesia [Polesie region inhabitants of today], "Przegląd Socjologiczny" vol. 3 - 4, 1936,
pp. 414-446; J. Obrębski, Problem etniczny Polesia [Ethnic problem of Polesie region], "Sprawy
Narodowościowe"
vol. 10, 1936, No 1- 2.

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nections which are grounded in historyand
decisively influence the current
course of events.
Bystroń's and Obrębski's ethnohistorical and ethnosociological achievements, which are so frequently cited today, show how ethnic matters can and
should be analyzed via ethnological methods 5. Their treatment of the sensitive
ethnic problem was radically different from the traditional description of the
borderland culture. They substituted etic-oriented interpretation
for an
emic-centered approach, and thus appealed to subjective elements of people's
consciousness. They also tried to grasp the contextuality and dynamics of
ethnic changes. Unfortunately,
the war disrupted their successful and
thought-provoking (even for contemporary analysis) research. After the war
political and ideological circumstances prevented the spread of these valuable
ideas.
Ethnic studies in the years 1945 - 1968
After World War II Polish ethnology, soon renamed ethnography, had to
adjust to a completely new geopolitical and ideological system. In these altered
circumstances ethnic studies, which were initiated by the innovative ideas of
pre-war ethnologists and sociologists (F. Znaniecki, L. Wasilewski, J. Chałasiński)6, had to be abandoned.
Polish territory was arbitrarily moved to the West. A large migration
followed, and within the new boundaries of the State a very homogeneous
national community was formed, isolated from its eastern diaspora and
western emigrant circles. National minorities - once numerous - were
affected by the atrocities of the war (the Holocaust of Jews and Gypsies), and
by the changes in state boundaries and subsequent massive displacement in
forms of repatriation, reemigration and ruthless expulsion of people from their
homes (operation "W" aimed at the forced resettlement of Ukrainians and
Lemkos from Bieszczady region; Germans expelled from the western and
northern territories annexed to Poland). The minorities were not only
marginalized in number and civil rights but also territorially dispersed. A new
ethnic situation was created, which should have been monitored and analyzed
at that time.
5 A. Kutrzeba-Pojnarowa,
Wklad Józefa Obrębskiego w badania procesów etnicznych [Józef
Obrębski's contribution to the study of ethnic processes], "Etnografia Polska" vol. 23, fasc. 2,
pp. 71- SI.
6 J. Chalasillski,
Antagonizm polsko-niemiecki w osadzie fabrycznej "Kopalnia" na Górnym
Śląsku. Studium socj%yiczne [Polish-German antagonism in a company town "Mine" in Upper
Silesia. Sociological study], Warszawa 1935; L. Wasilewski, Sprawy narodowościowe w teorii i życiu
[National affaires in theory and in reality], Warszawa 1929; F. Znaniecki, SllIdia nad antagonizmem do obcych [Studies of antagonism towards aliens], "Przegląd Socjologiczny" vol. 1, 1931.

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However, the Stalinist regime, which supported the creation of fictitious
images of a society centered around the communistic party and fighting against
the political and class enemy, was not interested in exposing these processes,
since the results obtained would have contradicted the official explanation of
changes. Thus, the problem of minorities was practically removed from the list
of issues discussed by journalists, writers and scholars. The Party's guiding
principles, self-censorship and strict censor's instructions efficiently prevented
anyone from entering the forbidden - and thus ideologically dangerous field of study.
At the same time there were considerable changes within the Polish social
sciences, which the authorities tried to make uniform and force into one
orthodox Marxist paradigm. Sociology - a pioneer in the field of ethnic
research - was dissolved on the grounds of its immanent "bourgeois"
character, while ethnology was given a new task: recording Polish folk culture,
which was gradually disappearing. The pre-war Eastern "borderland" issue had
to be abondoned, since the area was then under Soviet jurisdiction, even
ethnohistorical
studies dealing with that region were prohibited because
censors were trying to erase the former cultural and political shape of the
second Polish Republic from the memory of the average citizen. Therefore
scholars confronted many obstacles when they try to continue their work based
on archival, pre-war data. Until the end of the 1950s it was also beyond the
reach of ethnographers to investigate current migrations, to study the clashing
of different cultural and ethnic entities and to analyze the process of their
gradual integration.
After the fall of Stalinism in the beginning of the t 960s the political
situation in the country and within the social sciences and humanities changed
considerably and it was then possible for scholars, including ethnographers, to
end the isolation and to a certain, however limited, extent control and influence
the range of problems under investigation.
New socio-political circumstances resulted in innovative research programs, which could be called "ethnic". They were conducted within the
framework of three, quite separate trends. The first examined the changes and
cultural integration in the Western Territories (previously called The Recovered Territories); the second concentrated on national minorities in the Polish
People's Republic; the third analyzed ethnic situations and processes outside
Poland and Europe. Owing to the politically sensitive nature of this research, it
had to be carried out in such a way as to avoid issues which were still
controversial or banned by the censors. The most significant of these were the
studies devoted to the process of integration in the communities of the Western
Territories. They were conducted in collaboration
with sociologists, who
regained their position and had more adequate means of analyzing the process
of changes than ethnographers. No wonder, then, that works written at that

203
time by ethnographers reflectes considerable influence of the sociological
approach. Research on "integration and adaptation" was fully developed in the
1960s specially in Poznań, guided by J. Burszta 7 and supported by ethnographic teams from Koszalin, Olsztyn and Wrocław. Although officially those
studies were not of ethnic character, they contained many interpretations and
facts which add to our knowledge of the subject. They include numerous
remarks on the consequences of cultural clash, the effects of migration, the
adaptation of newcomers from the East to the ethnogeographic environment,
on creating new local and regional communities based on different cultural
groups, and also on the process of settlement and adaptation of the Poles who
came back to Poland from the Balkans and Western Europe after the war.
Central and regional authorities of that time supported the studies, but
insisted that the reconstructed image of the new society in the Western
Territories should remain consistent with the official political interpretation.
Monographs and reports were supposed to create a positive image of
communities living in harmony in western parts of Poland, well adapted to
their "recovered" homeland and well integrated into the life of the region as
well as into the main stream of the "socialist" society. It would be unjust,
however, to say that this was the only result of studies carried out at that
time. They did reveal many real dramatic processes and conflicts, but such
phenomena were disregarded and belittled because the positive integrational
view of the situation was deemed more important.
Despite quite intensified research penetration of the Western Territories,
many essential ethnic problems were ignored and remained "unnoticed"
because the climate of the "Gomółka period" was not favourable for such
inquiries. The role of the German element in shaping the culture of the area
annexed by Poland was completely ignored and so was the bicultural
specificity of the native inhabitants, who were "officially" treated as the heirs of
the ancient Polish tradition but - "unofficially" - as the foreign, semi-German element in the country. Also, no one analyzed the consequences in both culture and consciousness - of treating the native people as "not
quite" Polish, unworthy of trust, who finally were pushed aside as "second
class" citizens. Conflicts among ethnic groups, which slowed down the process
of integration, were studied only in a sketchy way, while research on the
Ukrainian and Lemko peoples not only in the Western Territories, but also in

7 See: Stare i /lowe w kulturze
wsi koszalińskiej
[Old and new elements in the rural culture of
Koszalin region], ed. J. Burszta, Poznań 1964; J. Burszta, Zagadnienie integracji kulturowej wsi na
ziemiach zachodnich
[A question of cultural integration in villages of the Western Territories],
"Roczniki Socjologii Wsi" vol. 10, 1966, pp. 179-188; M. Frankowska, Etnografia polska po
II wojnie .\:wiatowe; (/945 -1970) [Polish Ethnography
after World War II: 1945 -1970], in:

Historia

et/lografii

polskiej ... , op. cit., p. 235.

204
their native eastern borderland area, was avoided altogether. All these issues
were politically dangerous, so it was not advisable to analyze them.
In the 1960s, however, initial studies of minorityand ethnoregional groups
in Poland were undertaken. Thus, scholars focused on Gypsies (Roma),
Byelorussians of Podlasie region, Lemkos of the eastern Carpathian Mountains, Kashubs, Sloviniets, Bambers of the Poznań area, Masurians, Warmians
and Mountaineers of the Tatra Highlands. It would be difficult, though, to find
serious work written in the 1960s or 1970s which was devoted to German,
Ukrainian or Jewish minority groups 8.
In most cases studies dealing with the problem of minorities were organized
in consistency with the "ethnographic"
tendency, which means that the
description of specific "sections" of folk culture was treated as more important
than the discussion of identity, of ethnopolitical and ethnohistorical conditioning, of interethnic contexts, or of the analysis of the aspirations of the the
aforementioned communities willing to have more freedom of own cultural
expression. This tendency was partly due to the atmosphere of political distrust
toward any sign of social independence, including regional movements of
Kashubs or Mountaineers, for instance. On the other hand, one can speak of
traditional approaches in scholarly work, too tightly bound to the methods
and schemes already in use. Fortunately, new approaches developed, which
aimed at the analysis of national and ethnic consciousness in regional groups
and treated stereotypes as a source of valuable data for the reconstruction of
interethnic relations.
The ethnic issue was also visible in the studies of extra-European cultures.
This scholarly interest covered such problems as the shaping of ethnic
consciousness, the role of tradition in national consolidation (e.g. Z. Jasiewicz's
research on the Uzbeks and W. Dynowski's team working on Mongolian
society), the relationship between religion and ethnic identity (ethnohistorical
studies of American Indians conducted by Mirosława and Aleksander Posern-Zieliński) and, finally, studies devoted to the acculturation process (carried out
by M. Frankowska, K. Małkowska and G. Kloska)9.

8 See: M. Niewiadomska,
Bibliografia etnografii polskiej za lata 1961 -1969 [Bibliography of
Polish ethnography: 1961 -1969J, part 2, Wrocław 1983.
9 See: T. Kulesza-Zakrzewska,
Bibliografia etnograficznych
prac magisterskich, doktorskich
i habilitacyjnych na uniwersytetach polskich w latach 1945 -1975 [A Bibliography of M.A., Ph.D.
and habilitation theses at the Polish universities in the years 1945 - 1975J, Warszawa - Łódź 1979:
M. Frankowska, Etnografia powszechna i jej miejsce w nauce polskiej po [[ wojnie .~wiatowej
[Ethnography of extra-European countries and its position in Polish social science after World
War IIJ, "Lud" vol. 53, 1969, pp. 103 -136; M. Frankowska, Etnografia polska po II wojnie
światowej [Polish ethnography after World War lIJ, in: Historia et.nografii polskiej ... , op. cit...
pp. 258 - 268.

205
Ethnic studies in the 1970s and 1980s
In the 1970s, when "real socialism" was liberalized and new, more open
contacts with Western countries were established, positive changes became
apparent in the social sciences, including ethnography. Intellectual isolation
was broken and more scholars participated in international research mainly in
collaboration with other "socialist" countries. Research expeditions to other
continents were organized; scholars were granted scholarships and could
attend conferences abroad; also, to a greater extent foreign Western anthropological publications were used in scholarly work. At the same time
significant reevaluation was taking place within ethnography itself, based
mainlyon the conspicuous withdrawal from issues concerning traditional folk
culture and focusing instead on the problem of contemporary transformations.
It was because of this change that ethnographers started to concentrate on
ethnic research which coincides with the growing tendency to study ethnic
questions not only in the Soviet Union, but also in the West.
One of the characteristic features of this new tendency was a gradualloss of
interest in the problem of the Western Territories. The official interpretation of
this phenomenon adduced the political thesis of the completed process of the
integration of the "Recovered Territories" with the mother country. At the
same time, however, emigration of autochtonous population to the Federal
Republic of Germany was taking place on an unprecedented scale in that area.
The emigration was based on a Polish-German agreement and on German
legislation which favoured these emigrational tendencies. It is also true that the
decision to leave the Western Territories was attractive economically and many
of the native inhabitants of the area were "encouraged" by local authorities to
leave their homeland. It was a complex political, economic, ethnic and
psychological situation which forced many Silesians, Masurians and Warmians
out of their native land. Owing to the sensitive nature of this process it was
impossible for scholars to analyze its course and its social and cultural
consequences, including the changes in the identity of native inhabitants. To
a certain extent these circumstances account for the fact that it is difficult to
find any information on German minorities in publications written during the
period of the Polish People's Republic. Thus, this minority group emerged out
of statistical non-existence in the 1990s and very soon, being properly
organized, assumed a significant position in the region and country social and
political life.
In the 1970s and 1980s research on the culture of minorities continued and
focused mainlyon
marginal and more "exotic" groups, such as Tartars,
Gypsies, Lemkos, Greek immigrants and Russian Oldbelievers, while the most
numerous minority groups living outside their own countries and republics
(Ukrainians, Byelorussians, Lithuanians and Slovaks) were not in the center
of scholars' attention. This resulted from adjusting the practice of the social

206
sciences to the political situation of that time, which was unfavourable for
research which could spoil "brotherly" relations among socialist countries. It
was also for the same reason that the character of studies carried out at that
time was very academic. The evaluation of the circumstances, real needs and
aims of these groups, their interethnic relations and the State policy towards
these minorities were among the topics cautiously avoided by many scholars,
while the problem of ethnocultural character of minority communities and the
role of diminishing ethnic traditions (including religion) in sustaining the sense
of distinctiveness and ethnic history became the most dominant topics.
Some new ideas also emerged connected mostly with the "discovery" of
J. Obrębski's pre-war valuable works. They contained innovative thoughts
which after years of oblivion began to be reintroduced into scholarly
discussion. Two suggestions, based on the careful analysis of Obrębski's
studies, turned out to be particularly important. The first advised scholars to
look at the question of belonging to a particular ethnic group in the light of
research on the identity of its members, as they themselves define it; the second
proposed to learn about ethnic reality via the analysis of interethnic contact
(e.g. antagonisms, stereotypes, prejudice). These two suggestions formed the
basis of a series of valuable theoretical and cognitive studies devoted to the
opposing concepts of "familiarity" and "strangeness" as well as to feelings of
ethnic separateness, cultural distance and ethnic stereotypes 10.
Ethnic issues concerning extra-European countries were not very popular,
with the exception of American studies, where such topics as: indigenism,
nativism, Pan-Indianism,
native policy, assimilation, acculturation, ethnic
conflicts and the relationship between religion and maintained identity were
discussed and analysed.
Not only ethnographers focused on ethnic issues in those years. Historians,
who studied the processes of nation-forming 11 also contributed to progress in
this field. Sociologists were very active as well. They exerted considerable
influence on theoretical discussion of the concept of the nation, of national
consciousness, assimilation, and the definition and typology of minorities 12.
10 J. Burszta,
B. Kopczyńska-Jaworska,
Polish Ethnography after World War li, "Ethnos"
vol. 47, 1982, No 1-2, pp. 50-63.
11 J. Chlebowczyk's
works on Central-Eastern Europe played a significant role in this field,
see: J. Chlebowczyk, Procesy narodotwórcze we wschodniej Europie Środkowej w dobie kapitalizmu
(od schyłku XV III do początku X X w.) [Nation-forming process in eastern Central Europe in the
capitalistic period: end ofthe 19th and beginning ofthe 20th Century], Warszawa-Kraków
1975,
and T. Lepkowski's works concerned with the processes of forming a nation in Latin America and
in the territory of Poland.
12
Założenia teorii asymilacji [Principles of the theory of assimilation], ed. H. Kubiak and
A. Paluch, Wrocław 1980; K. Kwaśniewski, M niejszo.5ci narodowe a ,5wiadomo,5ć narodowa
[National minorities and national consciousness], "Studia Socjologiczne" 1976, No 2; J. J. Wiatr,
Naród i pwistwo. Socjologiczne problemy kwestii narodowej [The Nation and the State. Sociological
approach to the national question], Warszawa 1969.

207
A specific field of empirical investigation, however, was a study of Polish
emigrant communities which in reality formed a Polish version of ethnic
research. At the time when E. Gierek was the leader of the State and
communist party, these studies were supported by authorities, because
they constituted an important factor in official propaganda and politics.
It was vital for the Polish government to break its isolation and establish
new and more friendly contacts with emigrant circles. Although historians
and sociologists excelled in these studies, ethnologists made their contribution
as well.
The topic of emigrant communities was already occasionally discussed in
some of the professional ethnographic journals in the 1960s, but a major
reevaluation took place in the following decade, when the atmosphere
became more favourable for such research. At that time many studies of
ethnohistorical and ethnographic character were published, concentrating on
the Polish emigrants in Western Europe, Canada, the United States and South
America. Most of them focused on emigrant communities in cities and
industrial centers, which was a kind of novelty in ethnological experience
previously rooted in studies of traditional culture of villagers and small town
inhabitants.
Only a few scholars working on Polish emigrant culture did research on
emigrants and their descendents living in rural areas 13. The list of subjects that
needed investigation was much longer, however. There were issues, for
instance, connected with Polish communities which in the new geopolitical
structure had to remain outside the Polish eastern border, i.e., in the Soviet
Union. The political system of that time provided no room for that kind of
research (though were few exceptions), because it would have broken the
conspiracy of silence about the fate of Poles in the East.
There were two fundamentally different tendencies in the interpretation of
research on Polish emigrant communities: the first - traditional and ethnographic - preferred a descriptive approach and used patterns of discourse
derived from the inquiries of researchers concentrating on folk culture; the
second - anthropological - focused on the analysis of ethnic processes and
13 E. Pietraszak,
Polonezkoy - polska społeczność wiejska w Turcji [Polonezkoy - Polish
rural community in Turkey], "Etnografia Polska" vol. 18, 1974, fasc. l; J. S. Łątka, Polska wieś nad
Bosforem [Polish village on the Bosphorus], Kraków 1981; R. Kantor, E. Krasińska, Potomkowie
osadników z Polski we wsiach Derenk i Istvanmajor na Węgrzech. Monografia etnograficzna
[Descendants of Polish settlers in two Hungarian villages: Derenk and Istvanmajor. An
ethnographic monography], part 1-2, "Zeszyty Naukowe Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego. Prace
Etnograficzne" rase. 15, 1981; fasc. 17, 1981. For a more detailed discussion of scholarly
achievements in this field see: R. Kantor, Etnograficzne badania polonijne. Rzeczywistość i propozycje [Ethnographic studies or Polish communities abroad. Reality and proposals], "Lud" vol. 68,
1984, and also an article by R. Kantor in this volume: The Achievement of Polish Ethnology in the
Study or Polish Communities Abroad, pp. 265 - 276.

208
cultural changes, and was inspired by ethnosociology as well as new trends in
the anthropology of ethnicity 14.
Thus, there was a basic difference between the two main approaches in studies
of emigrant communities which reflected a marked contradiction between
traditional ethnographic tendency and modern anthropological studies. The
former was directed at the reconstruction of staticly treated cultural heritage and
centered on maintained relics of national (folk) culture as well as on Polish
contributions to the civilization in the country of residence, while the latter was
trying to observe the dynamics of emigrant community transformations and
interpret them in view of new emerged forms of ethnic identity (ethnicity) and of
ethnic culture. Scholars working within the first framework stressed the concept
of "home culture" of emigrants, studied the ways they mantained it in the new
environment and interpreted their contribution to foreign culture with great
reverence for native elements. Thus, they treated Polish emigrants' communities
as integral components of a national diaspora 15. The other approach concentrated on the process of absorption of emigrants into the receiving society, on
developing new syncretic cultural patterns, on the role of ethnic symbols in
shaping new forms of ethnicity, and on the processes of creating new ethnic
tradition. In short, this approach aimed at observing the dynamics of the
integration process in new social conditions in the context of the most significant
phenomena accompanying it, i.e., ethnicity maintenance and deethnization,
ethnic coexistence and conflict, isolation and contact with the country of origin,
intragroup changes and the influence of the ethnically foreign environment 16.
Some foreign works had an immense influence on the formation of this tendency speeialy:
cd. F. Barth, Oslo-London 1969; H. Gans, Symbolic Ethniciry. The
Future of Ethnic Groups and Cultures
in America, "Ethnic and Racial Studies" vol. 2, 1979,
No 1; Ethnicity:
Theory
and Experience,
ed. N. Glazer and D. Moynihan, Cambridge.
Mass. 1975; M. Gordon, Assimilation in American Lij'e. The Role oj' Race, Religion and National
Origin, New York 1964; M. Nowak, Problemy etnicznej Ameryki (Polish transl. of The Rice ąj'rhe
Unmelrable
Ethnics), Warszawa 1985; P. van den Berghe, The Ethnic Phenomenon,
New YorkOxford 1981; R. J. Vecoli, Ethnicity. A Neylected Dimension of American History, in: The Sture of
American
History, ed. H. J. Bass, Chicago 1970.
15 W. Sobisiak, W sprawie badali nad kulturą
rodzimą emigralJCów [Same remarks concerning
studies of native cu1turc of emigrants], "Kultura i Społeczeństwo" vol. 18, 1974, No I; W. Sobisiak.
Emigracja
jako przedmiot
badań etnograficznych
[Emigration as a subject of ethnographical
studies] "Przegląd Polonijny" vol. I, 1975, fasc. I; W. Sobisiak, Ku/tura rodzima Polonii
zachodnioeuropejskiej
[Native culture of Polish communities in Western Europe], Poznań 1983;
M. Paradowska, Polacy w Ameryce Poludniowej
[Poles in South America], Wrocław 1977;
M. Paradowska, Podróżnicy
i emigranci.
Szkice z dzil~iów wychodżstwa
polskiego
w Ameryce
Poludniowej
[Travellers and emigrants. Sketches on the history of Polish emigration to South
America], Warszawa 1984; M. Paradowska, Wklad Polaków w rozwój cywilizacyjno-kulrurowy
Ameryki Łacińskiej [The Contribution of Poles to the development of culture and civilization of
Latin America], Warszawa 1992.
16 See: A. Posern-Zieliński,
Tradycja a etnicznoH.
Przemiany
kulrury Polonii amerykll/lskiej
[Tradition and ethnicity. Cultural Changes of American Polonia], Wrocław 1983; A. PosernZieliński. Koncepcje etnicZl10ści w amerykańskich
studiach etnicznych
[Concepts of ethnicity in
14

Ethnic

Groups and Boundaries,

209
Ethnic studies without censorship
The fall of communism in Poland at the end of the 1980s freed the social
sciences from ideological constrictions, so that for the first time in the history of
post-war Poland some issues could be discussed without restraints, in
accordance with social demands and the interests of specialists as long as the
costs of research did not exceed the modest financial means allocated to
research teams and centers. New circumstances turned out to be favourable for
a genuine explosion of ethnic studies. This phenomenon was partly connected
with the growing worldwide interest in nationality and ethnicity issues, but it
also resulted from democratic transformations
in Poland, which triggered
increased socio-political and cultural activity among minority groups. There
was also a third significant factor, propitious for this kind of research: the need
to eliminate blank spots, especially concerning studies on Poles who live in the
territory of the former Soviet Union. It was necessary to assess the condition
and demands of these communities, isolated from their home country for
decades, and work out schemes for social and government assistance for them.
Sociologists - in particular those applying the anthropological
approach
(Warsaw, Cracow) - take the lead in this field. A new periodical, "Sprawy
Narodowościowe" ["Nationality AtTaires"] has been published, continuing the
tradition of the inter-war journal with the same title. It has become an
interdisciplinary forum for the interchange of information and scholarly
experience in the field of ethnic studies carried out within theoretical and
empirical, Polish, European and worldwide frameworks. Many other specialist
journals (e.g. "Przegląd Wschodni" ["Eastern Review"] and "Przegląd Polonijny" ["Polonia Review"]) deal quite extensively with ethnic problems.
Numerous surveys conducted by public opinion research centers, monitor
social awareness regarding the power of stereotype, prejudice and of ethnic
sympathy. The number of M.A., Ph.D., and habilitation theses devoted to these
important topics has also increased recently.
Considering all these aspects, as well as modest resources and limited
number of researches, the situation and achievements of ethnology are quite
remarkable. Ethnological departments at universities run series of courses
devoted solely to ethnic topics; more and more M.A. theses concentrate
on this problem; specialist conferences are organized; ethnologists prepare
expertises and reports for institutions dealing with the practical aspects of
American ethnic studies] "Lud" vol. 63, 1979; R. Kantor, Między Zaborowem a Chicago. Kulturowe
konsekwencje istnienia zbiorowości imigrantów z parafii zaborowskiej w Chicago i jej kontaktów
z rodzinnymi wsiami [Between Zaborów and Chicago. Cultural consequences of the presence of
the Zaborów parish in Chicago and its contacts with home villages], Wrocław 1990; J. Rokicki,
Więź społeczna a zmiany kultury. Studium dynamiki polskiej zbiorowości etnicznej w USA [Social
bonds and cultural change. The study of dynamics of Polish ethnic community in the U.S.A.],
Wrocław 1992.
14 -

Lud l. LXXIX

210

emigrant or minority problems 17; periodicals write about ethnic studies more
often and publish essays on ethnocultural characteristics of minority groups
and on the cultural specificity of borderland area (journal "Polska Sztuka
Ludowa. Konteksty" ["Polish Folk Art. Contexts"] takes the lead here).
Finally - and most importantly - the number of people engaging such
studies has grown considerably. They are working in all centers of ethnological
research, but ethnic topics are mostly taken up in Warsaw and Poznań.
Having presented a general view of ethnic studies in contemporary times,
one should briefly, and thus not sufficiently, review the main fields of interest.
There are now three main trends: investigation into minority groups living in
Poland, study of Polish emigrant communities abroad, and of research on
ethnic problems carried out in other areas, mainly in non-European countries.
Research on minorities is continuation of studies undertaken earlier, but at
least two new elements have emerged. Firstly, groups which had been
"neglected" arouse more interest now; secondly, the approach of researchers
has changed. The purely "ethnographic" approach (systematic description of
minority culture) yielded to "ethnic" interpretation, which focuses on identity
problems and on the contexts of interethnic relations.
Studies of "exotic" groups - i.e. of Gypsies, Karaites, Armenians, Tartars
and other Muslims living in Poland 18 - have continued. It has also become
possible to expand studies of borderland minorities, i.e. Lithuanians, Lemkos,
Byelorussians and those groups which instead of ethnic affiliation prefer to
identify themselves as "Orthodox" 19. In respect of these facts, interest in the
Ukrainian minority seems very limited. After years of neglect the German
17 One should mention here M. Gawęcki's
report prepared for "Wspólnota Polska" - an
organization dealing with Polish communities abroad - Polacy w Kazachslanie.
Kultura
i .~wiadomo.~ć etniczna [Poles in Kazakhstan. Culture and ethnic consciousness], Poznań 1993
(mimeo), and M. Kairski's report on the situation of the forest Indians in Ecuador, prepared for
CEDIME - Ecuadorian center ofsocial studies, Situación de la cultura Waorani que estanfuera de
la influencia deI ILV y las indicaciones
para la actuacion
en el futuro, CEDłME, Quito 1992
(co-author: I. Stoińska).
18 L. Mróz, Geneza
Cyganów i ich kultury [The cthnogenesis of Gypsies and their culture],
Warszawa 1994; A. Mirga, L. Mróz, Cyganie. Odmienno.~(: i tolerancja [Gypsies. Dissimilarity and
Tolerance], Warszawa 1994; A. Bartosz, Nie bój się Cygana [Do not be afraid of a Gypsy], Sejny
1994; G. Pełczyński, Karaimi polscy [Polish Karaites], "Sprawy Narodowościowe - Seria Nowa"
vol. 2, 1993, fasc. 1/2; id., Ormianie polscy w wieku XX. Prohlem odręhno.l'ci etnicznej [Polish
Armenians in the 20th century. A Problem of ethnic distinctiveness], (Ph.D. thesis. Adam
Mickiewicz University, Poznań 1994).
19 Kultura
muzyczna mnieiszo.~ci narodowych w Polsce [Music culture of national minorities in
Poland], cd. S. Żerańska-Kominek,
Warszawa 1990; K. Pudło, Łemkowie.
Proces wraslania
w .~rodowisko Dolnego Śląska 1947 - 1985 [Lemkos. Process of their integration with Lower Silesia
society, 1947-1985], Wrocław 1987; and a very good supplement to this work by A. Kwilecki.
Łemkowie
- zagadnienia
migracji i asymilacji
[Lemkos - their migration and assimilation].
Warszawa 1974.

211
minority has been "discovered", mainly in the Lower Silesia (Opole region) 20.
Also, scholars have begun to investigate problems of the Jewish communities
(nowalmost
extinct in Poland), their regional historyand
contribution to
Polish culture, and have been trying to reconstruct their image among
Poles 21. Studies of comparative character, ethnic distance and the influence
of opinions and stereotypes on the relationship between any minority group
and the Polish majority are the main field of interest for the Warsaw team
of anthropologists, guided by E. Nowicka 22. The above mentioned topics,
as well as those which have escaped my notice, make a substantial contribution
of ethnologists to the study of Polish minorities. It is a group of sociologists
and historians, however, that still takes the lead in this field. These three
disciplines (including ethnology) approach the subject of their research in
similar ways, but in ethnological writings ethnohistorical
interpretations
intervene most successfully with the examination of current processes and
phenomena.
A considerable number of ethnologists are engaged in research on Poles
living abroad, where interesting changes can be observed. The most clear
manifestation of these transformations is the pioneering fieldwork carried out
in Polish communities living in the former Soviet Union, which before the fall
of the totalitarian system were out of researchers' reach. This type of research
concentrated mainlyon rural areas, which are easier to penetrate, while big
cities (Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kiev, Lvov and others) were (temporarily?)
left aside. Another valuable characteristic of this research is its potential
feasibility (in the social and political sense), since anthropological
reports
provide useful evaluation which makes it easier for state authorities, the
Church and charity organisations to prepare adequate help schemes for Poles
in the East.
One of the main achievements was no doubt the initiation of studies on
Poles in Kazakhstan (the teams of M. Gawęcki and S. Szynkiewicz). They dealt
with ethnodemographic,
ethnohistorical
and ethnosociological
issues and
enabled scholars to assess the state of language maintenance, tradition and
religion preserved in Polish communities. They also examined their economic
and professional status, analyzed interethnic relations and provided information on the ethnic consciousness of people who, until then, had been almost
20 M. G. Gerlach,
Współczesne podziały górnośląskiej zbiorowości regionalnej jako problem
elllograflczny [Contemporary pluralism of the Upper Silesia regional community as an ethnographic problem] "Etnografia Polska" 1992, No 1; Swoi i obcy na Górnym Śląsku [Familiars and
strangers in Upper Silesia], ed. K. Wódz, Katowice 1993.
21 A. Cala, Wizerunek Żyda w polskiej kulturze ludowej [The image of a Jew in Polish folk
culture], Warszawa 1987.
22 Swoi i obcy [Familiars
and strangers], ed. E. Nowicka, Warszawa 1990.

212

completely isolated from their ideological homeland 23. These studies became
particularly important because of the national discussion over possible
repatriation of Poles from Kazakhstan and because of the first decisions made
with respect to that goal. They are of a very delicate nature as future events and
decisions could be influenced by them. Therefore, despite the fact that the first
stage of the few-years' study has been closed, there is still a need to observe the
changes taking place in the consciousness of those people and in their lives, and
also to analyze the difficulties people coming to Poland from the Kazakhstan
steppes have in adjusting to new circumstances.
Studies of Polish communities are conducted not only in remote Kazakhstan, but also across Poland's eastern border, mainly in Lithuania and
Byelorussia (L. Mróz and I. Kabzińska). They concentrate on Polish inhabitants of villages in that area and on local interethnic relations. Research
on Poles in Siberia (A. Kuczyński, W. Bielecki) as well as in the Caucasus
(A. Woźniak) should also be mentioned here. It seems strange, however, that
Poles living in the Ukraine have not attracted much attention.
Studies of Polish communities in North America have been continued, but
they have lost their former significance. To a limited extent ethnologists
supplement research conducted by sociologists and historians as they more and
more willingly take interest in recent waves of emigrants and in current
transformations within Polish communities 24.
Oddly enough, scholars do not seem very interested in those members of
society who left Poland in order to migrate to Germany (i.e. Poles, Polish
Germans, Silesians, Warmians, Kashubs). Although this might be a very
difficult kind of research to carry out, it is, however, very important for
cognitive reasons. It also has a significant practical value because of quite
frequent contacts between Poles and Germans (personal and business visits).
23 M. Gawęcki, Charakter zmian zbiorowości polskiej w strukturze etnicznej Kazachstanu [The
character of changes of a Polish collectivity in the ethnic structure of Kazakhstan], "Przegląd
Wschodni" vol. 3, 1994, fasc. 2 (10); Z. Jasiewicz, Polacy z Ukrainy w Kazachstanie. Etniczno.~ć
a historia [Poles from the Ukraine in Kazakhstan. Ethnicity and history], "Lud" vol. 75, 1992;
A. Posem-Zieliński, "Czerwony Październik" na stepie. Polska spolecznoH: wiejska w poludniowym
Kazachstanie ["Red October" in the steppes. A Polish rural community in Southern Kazakhstan].
in: Polacy w Kazachstanie [Poles in Kazakhstan], ed. A. Kuczyński, Wrocław (in press).
24 A. Posern-Zieliński,
Adaptacja na odleglość: polscy emigranci w USA wohec zmian w kraju
[Adaptation at the distance: Polish emigrants to the USA and their attitude to transformations
in the home country], in: Etnologia a współczesne transformacje spoleczno-kulturowe [Ethnology
and current social and cultural transformations],
ed. M. Buchowski, Poznań (in press);
J. Kucharska, Poszukiwanie tożsamości kulturowej ludnoki kaszubskiej w Pol.~ce i Kanadzie
[Searching for the cultural identity of the Kashubs in Poland and Canada], Łódź 1993; J. Rokicki,
Msza w rytmie polki. Etniczne elementy ludowe w liturgii kościelnej w Stanach Zjednoczonych
Ameryki [Polka Mass. Ethnic folk elements in Church liturgy in the USA], in: KullUra skupisk
polonijnych [Culture of Polish communities abroad], Warszawa 1994.

213
Unfortunately, studies of Polish emigrant commumttes III Germany are not
particularly favoured by ethnologists and other social scientists.
Investigations into national problems of other countries form the third
branch of contemporary ethnic studies, the most distinct being research on the
ethnic situation in both Americas, which generates interest among many
scholars and covers a wide spectrum of topics. It results from a strong tradition
of American studies in Poland, from good conditions for international
collaboration and from interdisciplinary co-operation among the research
centers in Poland. The significance of this last factor has been intensified by the
preparations for the "SOOth anniversary of the encounter of two worlds" and
also by forming a team for conducting research on the cultures of South
America 25 at the Institute of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, Adam
Mickiewicz University, Poznań.
Studies of North American cultural pluralism and its role in shaping the
character of the American nation are carried out within this framework.
Scholars are also investigating the relationship between ethnicity and religion
with regard to multicultural society (A. Posern-Zieliński and others). Due to an
agreement with research centers in Venezuela and Ecuador, scholars from
Poland have been also able to conduct studies of the isolated groups of forest
Indians in the Amazon Basin. One of their goals is to work out adequate
programs of protection and support for these minorities (M. Kairski and his
team).
The year 1994 marks the beginning of team work on the formation of new
identity among the Indian inhabitants of Ecuador. This process results from
their economic and social advancement, and their organizational activity on
the regional and national levels. It enables the native people of the country to
take an active role in the modern society (A. Posern-Zieliński and his team).
The pioneering ethnocartographic
studies, which are well advanced now,
formed the basis for an atlas of South American native inhabitants and for the
analysis of their advancement in acculturation process. The atlas shows the
territory presently occupied by individual native tribes and their current
demographic situation 26. One should also mention here the project aimed at
elaboration of a dictionary of peoples, nations, minorities and ethnoregional
groups of both Americas (A. Posern-Zieliński, R. Tomicki and the team).
25 See: "Etnografia
Polska" vol. 36, 1992, fasc. 2; Ameryka Indiańska. Spotkanie dwóch
światów [Native America. The encounter of two worlds], Poznań 1992; A. Posem-Zieliński,
Etnologiczne studia latynoamerykanistyczne [Ethnological Latin American studies], in: Kierunki
badań nad problemami kultury Ameryki Łacińskiej [Research tendencies in studies of Latin
American culture], Warszawa 1989.
26 M. Kairski, Situación actual etno-cultural de los grupos etnolingiiisticos nativos del America
del Sur, (vol. 2 Atlas), Abya Yala, Quito, Ecuador (in print).

214
As far as other territories are concerned, the interest they evoke only
occasionally results in ethnic research. The multicultural territory of Russia
attracts some attention (S. Szynkiewicz's comparative study, E. Nowicka's
research on the identity of the Buryats) as well as some other regions of Asia
(e.g. L. Dzięgiel's studies of Kurds) and Africa 27. The lack of interest in
European studies is, however, very distressing. Apart from research projects
I am aware of which focus on Muslim emigrants from North Africa living now
in France (R. Vorbrich) and on the identity of Alsatians (A. Chwieduk), there
are not many more that could be mentioned here. This fact is at variance with
the growing significance of ethnic issues on our continent; it is unfortunate that
interest in this field has thus far been limited, however, it is a clear
manifestation of the weaknesses of Polish studies on the ethnology of Europe.
Final remarks
There is no doubt that ethnic studies can develop in a satisfactory way only
on the following conditions: a) they must be undertaken by well organized and
competent teams; b) there must be a friendly atmosphere and social demand
which encourages this type of research and c) they must receive adequate
financial support.
Ethnic studies have always been entangled in the "micro" (i.e. state) and
"macro" (i.e. international) politics and therefore have been subject to many
pressures and limitations. With respect to Polish ethnological work this
influence is more clearly manifested in the topics which have been omitted and
disregarded, rather than in the way publications have been written, or the facts
interpreted. The end of censorship made ethnic studies free of direct official
interference and stimulated their further, unrestricted development. Achievements from the past, however, prove that despite many limitations it was
possible to contribute to this field of study, which means we are not starting
from scratch.
Although the spectrum of topics examined in the past was wide, there was
always some dominant feature of studies in every period. Between the wars, for
instance, scholars concentrated on "borderland" ethnic groups; after World
War II and in the t 960s issues connected with the Western Territories were
most significant; in the 1970s and 1980s the focus of study was shifted to the
culture and life of Poles living abroad, mainly in the West; contemporary times,
in turn, witness the development of research on minority groups and on Poles
27 S. Szynkiewicz,
Struktura
etniczna
i tendencje jej przemian
u schylku ZSRR
[Ethnic
structure and its transformation tendencies on the decline of the USSR], "Sprawy Narodowościowe - Seria Nowa" vol. 2, 1993, fasc. 2; L. Dzięgiel, Węzel kurdyjski:
kU/lUra, dzieje, walka
o przetrwanie
[The Kurdish knot: culture, historyand
struggle for survival], Kraków 1992;
Z. Komorowski, Ku/tury Czarnej Afryki [Cultures of Black Africa], Wrocław 1995.

215
living across the eastern border. If we compare ethnic studies in Poland with
the same type of research in other countries, we conclude that focusing on the
problems of reemigration, on Poles living abroad and on Polish diaspora is
and has been a typically Polish feature. In the countries of Western Europe
scholars have been mainly interested in minorities and immigrants; in North
America they have focused on the emergence of multicultural society; in the
former Soviet Union, on the processes of integration and interethnic relations.
This "national" character of Polish ethnic studies (slightly mitigated by
research related to minorities and ethnic situations in other continents)
accounts for the fact that some fields of interest are not adequately developed,
considering their significance and social demand. Undoubtedly, investigation
into problems of minorities is not yet fully satisfactory. There is a lack of work
on immigrant groups in Poland, on the growing number of "gastarbeiter"
("guest-workers") and on the ethnic problems of contemporary
Europe
(Central-Eastern in particular). This is a very live issue and it demands a good
knowledge of the regional specificity of this part of Europe. I think Polish
specialists would certainly be successful in this branch of study.
The majority of ethnic studies can be placed within the framework of
present-day ethnology, although they also make use of the ethnohistorical
approach, which enables scholars to evaluate current phenomena in the proper
perspective, to understand the nature of ethnic stereotypes, the mechanisms
behind the creation of the image of an "alien", relations of ethnicity with
culture and religion, or varying relations between minorityand
majority
groups. Another sign of positive change is the fact that more and more often
researchers not only conduct studies, but also prepare expertises and reports,
which, in turn, form the basis of reports used in establishing ethnic policy
(research on Poles in the Kazakhstan and the United States, on Gypsies, or the
native people of Ecuador). The applied character of ethnic studies produces
new demands and offers challenges; but what is most important, it should
make scholars aware of their tremendous responsibility, since there is no doubt
that everything they say or write can influence the ethnic situation they
interpret and vice versa.
There is not much co-operation within contemporary ethnic studies, despite
their interdisciplinary character. This is also true of ethnol02Y. because its
representatives often conduct parallel but independent research. It should be
observed, however, that the ethnological (anthropological) approach is not
clearly visible in this type of study since it is limited either by traditional
ethnographic description or by excessive use of sociological interpretation.
I think this results from insufficient theoretical discussion on research methods
and the interpretation of ethnic phenomena, which are still dominated by the
descriptive tendency and analysis of particular situations, groups and processes. This tendency could be counterbalanced
by focusing on studies more

216
related to real problems considered within skillfully conceptualised and
comparative framework.
Tools of interpretation, which are suitable for the current situation, as well
as original approaches and experiences deriving from previous research thus
far will enable us to tackle the tasks in the coming centuryand to embark on
ethnic studies in the new Europe, which is opening its frontiers. Thus, ethnic
studies will contribute to the formation of a world where people protect their
own identity, but at the same time remain tolerant and ready to coexist with
"aliens" .
Translated by Urszula Zielińska