Germanization, Polonization, and Russification in the partitioned lands of Poland-Lithuania
Abstract
Two main myths constitute the founding basis of popular Polish ethnic nationalism. First, that Poland-Lithuania was an early Poland, and second, that the partitioning powers at all times unwaveringly pursued policies of Germanization and Russification. In the former case, the myth appropriates a common past today shared by Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine. In the latter case, Polonization is written out of the picture entirely, as also are variations and changes in the polices of Germanization and Russification. Taken together, the two myths to a large degree obscure (and even falsify) the past, making comprehension of it difficult, if not impossible. This article seeks to disentangle the knots of anachronisms that underlie the Polish national master narrative, in order to present a clearer picture of the interplay between the policies of Germanization, Polonization and Russification as they unfolded in the lands of the partitioned Poland-Lithuania during the long 19th century.
Citation
Kamusella , T D 2013 , ' Germanization, Polonization, and Russification in the partitioned lands of Poland-Lithuania ' , Nationalities Papers , vol. 41 , no. 5 , pp. 815-838 . https://doi.org/10.1080/00905992.2013.767793
Publication
Nationalities Papers
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0090-5992Type
Journal article
Rights
This is an Author's Original Manuscript of an article whose final and definitive form, the Version of Record, has been published in Nationalities Papers, 2013, copyright Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/00905992.2013.767793
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