Polish economy (stereotype)

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The Polish economy is a stereotype that emerged towards the end of the 18th century and was effective well into the 20th century , especially in Prussia and Germany , with which, on the one hand, the alleged disorganization, inefficiency and desolation of Poland, and, on the other, its alleged inferiority to the German economic and organizational preferences was denoted.

History and function of the term

The first application of the term Polish economy that became known to the public contained a letter from the Francophile Georg Forster from Vilnius, who was not known as a German national, on December 7th, 1784: "Wanted from the Polish economy, from the indescribable impurity, laziness, drunkenness and unsuitability of all servants I won't say anything else. ”The letter describes the conditions in Poland-Lithuania against the background of growing influence by a growing magnate - oligarchy and dates from the time of the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian state at the end of the 18th century , the result of military conflicts and political corruption and at the same time the cause of economic depression and social pauperization . The even into the 17th century as part of progressive force and regionally as a major power perceived aristocratic republic based on a parliamentary monarchy had in the wake of many wars and domestic conflicts (z. B. confederations ), the country to the brink of ruin moving , as well as aggressive influence by their absolutist neighboring monarchies Prussia , Austria and Russia completely lost their sovereignty and state integrity from 1795 at the latest .

During the time of the partitions, the stereotype of the Polish economy served as an instrument of propaganda to prove the cultural superiority of the Germans (including Austrians) over their “worse” and “weaker” neighbors, as an explanation for the economic and allegedly civilizational backwardness of Poland. In his novel Soll und haben , published in 1855, Gustav Freytag illustrated the allegedly prevailing conditions in Poland by describing the area inhabited by Poles as a “desolate and neglected area”, in which “undignified, dirty, inactive and 'Uncultivated' peasants live. ”Polish aristocrats who led the uprising of 1848 were also portrayed as“ dirty ”; they treated their subordinates "like dogs". These experiences of the protagonist described in the novel confirm the motto of his principal: "There is no race that has so little what it takes to advance and acquire humanity and education through its capital than the Slavic race." The protagonist confesses: " [I] I stand here now as one of the conquerors who have taken control of this soil from a weaker race for free work and human culture. We and the Slavs , it's an old battle. And we feel with pride: on our side is the education, the desire to work, the credit. ”After the regaining of Polish independence in 1918, the term remained a welcome one in the course of diplomatic disputes, the increasing trade disputes from 1925 and especially after the National Socialists came to power Instrument for creating political mood in the highly politicized press of the Weimar Republic .

Harry Domela uses the stereotype of the unorganized Poland in his 1927 autobiographical novel The False Prince. Here Domela describes a farm in Brandenburg as “the purest Polish economy. Cattle were not kept; therefore, regardless of the costs, manure was brought in from the Berlin slaughterhouse by car. Everything went haywire. "

After 1945 a gesture of superiority over Poland persisted in both German states and Austria, based on the awareness of their own supposed economic efficiency. In 1950, the Rheinische Post breathed a sigh of relief when a "Poland camp" occupied by displaced persons in Solingen was closed: the "Polish economy" was finally over; instead of the “post-war eyesore”, “Bergisch cleanliness will soon prevail again in the disfigured area”. After the system change in Poland in 1989 and an economic upswing in the country since the beginning of the 21st century , the term no longer plays a role in view of the increasing economic and socio-cultural integration of Poland with Germany, but also Austria. In view of the constant economic growth and change in progress in Poland, unaffected by the European financial crisis , the term is at best used sarcastically.

“Polish Economy” on German-speaking stages

In 1910 the operetta Polish Economy was premiered by Jean Gilbert . It is rarely played in the 21st century.

In 2007 Bernd Gombold, Mayor of Inzigkofen , wrote the play Polish Economy or Good Lies Live Longer . It is very popular with amateur theaters and their audiences. The Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger is initially unsure about the effect of the revival of the old stereotype ("Whether author Bernd Gombold [...] really only wanted to describe 'Polish economy' remains open."), But then comes to the conclusion that Gombold Use prejudices to expose them. In Austria the play was performed in 2015 under the title In Poland nothing is stolen .

Poles appear in both stage works. However, Germans are mainly responsible for the chaos that the works present in both works.

Meaning of the term

The word “economy” contained in the term Polish economy bundles different normative, political and social levels of meaning. The term “economy” can be used in many ways in the German language. The word does not only refer to the production of scarce goods and their consumption, but is also an abbreviation for a restaurant; it refers to sectors such as agriculture or forestry and relates to housekeeping and economic activity. The totality of economic activities is covered by business administration and economics . Almost everything can be included under “Polish economy”, from a child's suitcase left on the street, a walk in front of the house that was not swept on Saturday, to a billion-dollar deficit in the state budget. The core of the stereotype lies in the condemnation of ineffective action and powerlessness, with the quality of disorder merely promoting ineffective action. The term was and is still partly related not only to Poland, but also to conditions in other countries, which allegedly were or are going on like a “Polish economy”.

Analogous concept formation in other languages ​​and among other peoples

The social psychology, which underlies the stereotype that values ​​one's own people and disparages their neighbors, is also known in other parts of Europe: In the 19th century, for example, the French spoke contemptuously of the "auberge espagnole" of the Spaniards and the Czechs of "turecké hospodářství" of the Turks .

The “Polish economy” as a stereotype and the real economy of Poland

In 1991, the then FPÖ chairman Jörg Haider said: “When I think of the Poles who believe that they will achieve the prosperity of the West without adequate work. When I look at the Lech Walesa , which has become more wide than it is tall since he became president, then it is symbolic of the way of thinking that prevails there, that one believes that only with inheritance in the west can one cosmetically bridge the tragedy in the east can and come to prosperity. Anyone who has not learned to work will not be able to develop an area of ​​prosperity in the future either, and that must be said to the Eastern Europeans too. "

The Polish publicist Adam Krzemiński wrote in March 2000:

"Only when the term 'Polish economy', which is customary in Germany, no longer stands for disorder and indolence, but for flexibility and dynamism, can there really be a balance between these two difficult neighbors."

After 1989, many Germans were surprised that the prerequisites for the new capitalist system in Poland were already in place during the communist government. Again and again, hundreds of thousands of self-employed people had already acquired the tools for their later entrepreneurship before the system change. The GDR citizens did not enjoy these practical "management seminars". Even without massive help from the West , the economy of Poland recovered faster after the collapse of the communist system than the economy of East Germany, which was supposedly free of Polish economy .

The long-lasting success of Poland's economy in comparison to other post-communist countries ensured that the term Polish economy became more and more a synonym and a stylistic variant of the term real Polish economy . However, in February 2015 a Polish city guide complained about German tourists in Warsaw : “Poland as a success story? Many just don't believe that. "

In the latest studies on the Polish economy, the positive judgment about this is put into perspective. In an article titled “How lost is Poland?” In the September 2016 issue of the business magazine Capital , Nils Kreimeier criticizes that the Polish government is pursuing an “anti-German and EU-hostile course” and thus “of all things on the two pillars that are driving the economic boom have fired ”, shook. The result: "The first indicators are already pointing downwards".

Empirical studies on the image of Poland among Germans

In the light of the results of representative opinion polls, a gradual improvement in the image of Poland among the German population can be observed. So sank z. For example, from 2000 to 2006 the proportion of Germans who consider Poland to be “backward” rose from 44 to 32%, and in 2006 only 30% instead of 37% rated Poland as “dishonest”.

The Bertelsmann study: “Something new in the east? The Image of Poland and Russia in Germany 2013 “states that old prejudices against Poland are still slowly but steadily on the decline.

literature

  • Hubert Orłowski: “Polish Economy”: on the German Polish discourse in modern times . Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 1996. ISBN 3-447-03877-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rolf Bernhard Essig: Be through the wind . Germany radio . September 5, 2008
  2. ^ Georg Forster: Works. Vol. XIV (letters 1784–1787). Berlin (East) 1978. p. 225.
  3. ^ Germans & Poles. Biography: Gustav Freytag . Broadcasting Berlin-Brandenburg
  4. ↑ Harry Domela: The False Prince . Malik-Verlag, Berlin 1927, p. 29 .
  5. ↑ Beata Kosmala: 'Pictures of Poland in Germany since 1945' . Federal Agency for Civic Education. January 13, 2006
  6. ↑ Treated like a third rate pack . In: Der Spiegel . Edition 32/1983. August 8, 1983
  7. ↑ Growth: Poland before golden times . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . April 24, 2014
  8. ↑ "Polish Economy or Good Lies Live Longer" by Bernd Gombold . German theater publisher
  9. ↑ Hobby stage Hurst - Poland is located in Windeck . Cologne city indicator . March 24, 2011
  10. ↑ Play “Nothing is stolen in Poland” . Bezirksblätter Tirol GmbH 2015
  11. ↑ Thomas Serrier: »Barbarians from the East« and »barbarian East« - A comparison of German-French and German-Polish stereotypes in the 19th century ( memento of the original from December 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Tel Aviv University. Pp. 60-77 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.tau.ac.il
  12. ↑ Time in the picture. May 1, 1991, quoted from: Radio Orange 94.0: Racism: Classical racism in theory and in practice . "Counter arguments" series. 1999
  13. ↑ Klaus-Peter Schmid: Quick, quick, money! . The time . June 13, 2001
  14. ^ Berthold Merkle: Because of "Polish economy" - post-turnaround balance sheet . rp-online . March 11, 2015
  15. ↑ Poland's development is like a miracle . The world . October 16, 2011
  16. ↑ Ulrich Halasz: Big Blickpunkt-Reportage: Why the economy is booming in Poland ( Memento of the original from January 2, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Focus on economy . February 26, 2015 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.blickpunkt-wirtschaft.de
  17. ↑ Nils Kreimeier: How lost is Poland? . In: Capital . September 2016, p. 67f.
  18. ^ Institute for Demoskopie Allensbach : A big step towards normality: The state of German-Polish relations. Results of representative population surveys in Germany and Poland ( memento of the original from December 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , 2011, p. 26. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.medientage.org
  19. ↑ Germans are increasingly liking Poles . Press release from the Bertelsmann Foundation . June 26, 2013