Polish-German or European ‘Memory Crisis’? German Exiles During Their Official Speeches Against the Background of the European Integration Process

Abstract

The aim of the article is to present the influence of the official speeches
made by the representatives of German exiles and other politicians on the
contemporary relations with the eastern neighbors of Germany, especially
Poland, in the context of contemporary processes taking place in Europe.
The text is mainly based on the analysis of German publications. Analyzing
the fragments of speeches made by the leaders of German compatriots’
(Landsmannschaft) associations and politicians representing various political
parties in that country, the author used a comparative method. The aim of
organizing this kind of undertakings was to maintain the interest in and
the memory of the displaced Germans among the society and politicians.
The discussion about the role of the collective memory of the World War
II, started by the displaced Germans, was also part of the debate before
the so-called eastern enlargement of the European Union in 2004, which
influenced the relations between Poland and Germany. The proof of the
political character of this discussion is the fact that some of the displaced
Germans tried to combine the European integration topic with the problems
left over from the previous era of relations with the eastern neighbors. The
best example is the participation of Hans Gert Pöttering, the then President
of the European Parliament, in Days of Homeland (Tag der Heimat), who
spoke about the issue of damages claims in the contemporary relations
between Poland and Germany. The use of historical events in politics also
took place in the first decade of the 21st century and was an attempt to divert
attention from current issues on both sides of the Odra as well as in other
countries of the region.