News / Polish Silesian Autonomy movement [67]

I wrote that his anti-German position was linked to his nationalism but I take on board your point that it's more complex than that.

I didn't say Dmowski wasn't aware that the Russians were hostile to the cause, just that it wasn't a successful strategy - again I take on board your point that this could've been made clearer.


Fair point - I'd be happy to edit the historical references out of the article although I would still argue that Dmowski's position on Germany (the one you outlined above) is a lot like Kaczyński's today. Both fear(ed) Germany's imperial ambitions. Is this too much of an oversimplification?


I agree that Silesian autonomy would be problematic within the borders of historic Silesia - see my original post on this thread. 100% agree with you on Kaczyński's motives for "playing the Silesian card" and the benefits for RAŚ. This is what I wrote about and I think you would agree with most of it if it wasn't for the historical references (which I'll remove as soon as I get the chance).


Not true - merely pointing out that no-one else is writing about the Upper Silesia/Zagłębie region in English, that's all. Completely disagree with Mafketis that you need to speak fluent Polish to be able to say anything insightful about the situation in Poland. I'm not asking anyone to prepare anything. I think RAŚ should outline their policies in policies in English so that they're more widely accessible. I'm open to constructive criticism about what I've written and I appreciate your comments.

News / Polish Silesian Autonomy movement [67]


There's a good reason I didn't write about RAŚ/autonomy - because the article itself was about Jarosław Kaczyński's comments on Silesian nationality. This provides a context for the higher profile that the RAŚ/autonomy debate has been given in the English-language media as a result. Again I'd challenge you to find anyone who's writing anything "more insightful" about the region (Upper Silesia/Zagłębie) in English. Mafketis couldn't - I doubt you'll be able to.

News / Polish Silesian Autonomy movement [67]


Alligator - first of all, thanks for reading what I wrote and thanks for the feedback. In your response, you've clarified Dmowski's anti-German position. All I said in the article was that Dmowski held an anti-German position - I didn't say there was anything wrong with that. Read it through again - I don't think you'll find I was being critical of Dmowski's position, just trying to outline it very briefly. Yes, I could've written a lot more about Dmowski - but then it wouldn't have been an article about Kaczyński's comments on Silesianness. I agree with everything you say in the first paragraph and I think Kaczyński would argue that what Dmowski wrote about Germany's imperial ambitions is still relevant today (although I may be wrong on this).

You said I should read something before I write an article. OK - here's my source for the stuff on Dmowski/Piłsudski (which I'll remind you is only supposed to be a brief outline):


pp. 224-225 A Concise History of Poland (Lukowski and Zawadzki, 2nd ed.) Of these two concepts of nationalism, I would argue that Kacyński's reflects Dmowski's/the NDs as opposed to Piłsudski's. At least his comments on Silesianness would appear to be closer to Dmowski's anti-German stance and what I would describe as 'narrow' nationalism (which isn't necessarily to say that 'narrow' is a bad thing).

Alligator - I have to change a baby's nappy. I'll come back to this as soon as I get the chance. You're obviously pretty well-informed. What are your views on Silesian Autonomy?

News / Polish Silesian Autonomy movement [67]


I absolutely agree that if I spoke fluent Polish then I'd have a better understanding of Polish culture and politics. But I'd challenge you to find someone who's writing anything more insightful in English about the region (Upper Silesia/Zagłębie). If they are, I'd love to read it. My point is that RAŚ should have an English-language website if they want to be taken seriously on a Europe-wide level.

Life / Moving to Poland Part-Time (probably Katowice) [56]

Have to agree with Smurf - Katowice is a massively under-rated city. If you want to be close to factories and airports then I don't think there's anywhere better. Those other cities are better places to visit (i.e. they've got ryneks and restaurants and bars) but Kato has more opportunities for the people willing to stick it out.

If you want some background on Katowice (and the rest of the agglomeration) from an expat's point of view then I've written a lot more here: silesiaconnect.wordpress.com