German-Polish Society of the Federal Republic of Germany
The German-Polish Society of the Federal Republic of Germany is the oldest still active organization for German-Polish understanding. The association has set itself the goal of “normalizing” relations between Germany and Poland .
history
The German-Polish Society of the Federal Republic of Germany was founded in Düsseldorf in 1950 . It was the West German reorganization of the Hellmut von Gerlach Society, which was constituted in Berlin in 1948 for all of Germany . While this association was only able to work in the GDR until 1953, it existed in the West, despite great difficulties, during the Cold War . However, both companies had to change their names in 1952 due to a lawsuit brought by the von Hellmut von Gerlach family . In the GDR the society was finally dissolved in 1953 and part of the work was taken over by the League for Friendship of Nations .
In the Federal Republic of Germany, at the request of Poland , the society adopted the name “German-Polish Society of the Federal Republic of Germany” in order to enable the establishment of a “German-Polish Society of the GDR”; However, this never happened due to the resistance of the political leadership in the GDR.
Until the Warsaw Treaty was signed in 1970, the German-Polish Society of the Federal Republic of Germany was the only organization of its kind; It was only after this that independent local German-Polish associations emerged, partly from active or former local groups of the nationwide society, some of which later merged into the German-Polish Society Federal Association.
Since its foundation, the association's work has included information events, exhibitions, cultural events and the issuing of publications. In the 1950s, a German piano competition based on the Warsaw Chopin Competition was held. The first illustrated magazine appeared in 1950 under the title “Jenseits der Oder”. The quarterly magazine “Poland and We” has been published since 1984.
In the spring of 1990, the German Society for Good Neighbors with Poland in the GDR was founded in the GDR , which merged with the German-Polish Society of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1992 and now acts as its East German regional association.
The company's advisory board is made up of representatives from trade unions, the media, academia and society. Active politicians are excluded from leading positions. In the 1970s and 1980s, the society was chaired by the prominent constitutional lawyer Helmut Ridder . Today Christoph Koch from Berlin is chairman.
See also
literature
- Hübner, Christa: On the work of the German-Polish Society for Peace and Good Neighborhood 1948-1952 ; in: Zeitschrift für Geschichtswwissenschaft 27 (1979), pp. 409-422.
- Jagemann, Feo: Offensive Policy. Four decades of German-Polish efforts , Bielefeld 1988.
- Lotz, Christian: Between prescribed and serious friendship. The efforts of the Helmut von Gerlach Society for a German-Polish rapprochement in the GDR and in the Federal Republic of 1948-1972 ; in: Hahn, Hans Henning / Heidi Hein-Kircher / Kochanowska-Nieborak, Anna (eds.): Culture of Remembrance and Reconciliation Kitsch , Marburg 2008, pp. 201–219.
- Ruchniewicz, Krzysztof: Próba zbliżenia NRD-Polska pod koniec lat czterdziestych i na początku piędziesiątych utworzenie i działalność Helmut von Gerlach Society ; in: Sobotka 4 (2000), pp. 527-556.
Web links
- Internet presence of the German-Polish Society of the Federal Republic of Germany
- "The German-Polish border treaty of 1990 is a non-violence treaty, not a border recognition treaty" Interview with Christoph Koch on the Internet portal of the Peace Research Group at the University of Kassel on April 11, 2005