“As long as it flows through Poland, Poland is not lost”. So said my grandmother, who came from a small town near Poznan. So, like many of my German compatriots, I have some Slavic blood in me. The neighbors Poland and Germany have always had a somewhat complicated relationship. One cannot do without the other.
A look at history
- The border between Poland and Germany shifted constantly over the course of history. While Slavic tribes settled in the area that is now Poland in the early Middle Ages, the picture soon changed as German settlers pushed into the region from the west. Nevertheless, Poland was able to assert itself and even rose to become a great power. Poland was not a backwoods state. In 1569, the kingdom was the first country in Europe to introduce a separation of powers!
- From 1573, elective kings determined the fate of the country, including Augustus the Strong of Saxony. The end of Poland as an independent state came between 1772-1795, when the country was divided up between the great powers of Prussia, Austria and Russia. From then on, Poland shared the fate of other Eastern European states that were subject to foreign rule (e.g. the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary).
- It was not until 1918 that a new Polish state emerged, but it was in constant tension between its neighbors Germany and the newly founded Soviet Union. The next division came in 1939, when Hitler and Stalin demarcated their borders.
- It was not until 1945 that there was another Poland further west. The Soviet Union annexed the eastern territories, while in the west Poland was compensated with the former German territories of Pomerania and Silesia. The unloved Germans were expelled or fled. The result was that Poland is still one of the most homogeneous states in Europe today: )5 % of the population is Polish.
- With the collapse of socialism in Eastern Europe, Poland became a democratic state and joined both the EU and NATO. The latter was also because the fear of Russia is deeply rooted in the population.
The role of the Catholic Church
Over 90% of Poles state that they belong to the Catholic Church. This is remarkable for a former socialist state and Poland occupies a special position here. One reason for this is that the Catholic Church has always been part of the national consciousness and served as a distinguishing feature from the Protestant Prussians and the Orthodox Russians. If you add together the current conservative government majority and the Church’s traditional attitude towards abortion, you get an explosive mixture of the new, stricter abortion legislation and the numerous protests against it from the liberal-minded population.
Poland in Germany
It is important to remember that Germany’s economic boom at the end of the 19th century would have been difficult without the labor force from the regions of Poland that belonged to Germany at the time.
And since the heart of German soccer used to be in the industrial areas in the west, the line-ups of the German national team up until the 1970s also feature many players with Polish roots, such as Szymaniak, Abramczik, Tilkowski, Juskowiak and Kwiatkowski. Nobody knows them today? Fame is fleeting, but back then they belonged to the elite.
And today? Today, people hire “a Polish woman” when it comes to caring for relatives at home.
You might think that such close ties have also ensured that mentalities have converged. Far from it. The connections are not that close. So how do Germans and Poles differ? The main differences are, for example
- Understanding time
The differences are best explained in the following table
|
Monochronic time understandingäunderstanding in Germany |
Polychronous timeäunderstanding in Poland | |
| Positive characteristics |
|
|
| Negative expression | Lack of flexibility | Lack of focus |
As you can see, both forms have advantages and disadvantages. As a result, the Poles have also developed a considerable talent for improvisation. While the term improvisation tends to have negative connotations in Germany (not well thought out, not sustainable), in Poland it tends to be equated with creativity. Once, when the wall of our driveway had to be rebuilt because a car had crashed into it, we hired a Polish craftsman (officially, with an invoice!). And we still had some of the insurance money left over, so we asked him if he could repave our yard. His answer: “I’m from Poland, I can do anything.” And he really could.
- Uncertainty avoidance
Germans are great uncertainty avoiders, i.e. they are not good at dealing with uncertainty. That’s why so much planning is done in Germany to rule out unwanted surprises as much as possible. In Poland, people are more relaxed about this aspect
|
Germany |
Poland |
|
|
This also reveals major differences in business life, for example in the approach to projects. This often gives the impression that Poles are not serious enough about something. Far from it, they just do things differently.
- Communication
In Germany, communication is very direct. The expression “One man – one word” illustrates this very well. In Poland, communication is more indirect, i.e. you often have to read between the lines, which is often not easy for Germans who come from a different context. This often leads to conflicts, especially when it comes to criticism. While Germans are masters of factual criticism, Poles tend to formulate it in a “soft-spoken” way from a German perspective. It is clear that this aspect often leads to misunderstandings.
Germany’s rise was characterized by Prussian militarism. Discipline and obedience led to success. Battles were precisely planned. “We might attack tomorrow if the weather is good” was no way forward. Poland, on the other hand, had to juggle between foreign masters for centuries (see history). And little got better under socialism, as the saying “They pretend to pay us and we pretend to work” proves.
Is that all?
Of course not. These few examples already show that you should not underestimate your eastern neighbor. Intercultural training in Poland goes into detail about these differences and how to deal with them. And then it works with neighbors.
