“Młody Polak w Niemczech” (1930–1939)

The importance of young people for the Union of Poles in Germany
 

For the Union of Poles, as for all organisations, clubs and associations, the Polish youth was first and foremost of importance for a very practical reason: maintaining the existence of the organisation and guaranteeing its continuation in the future. Particularly with the membership figures for the Union compared to the estimated number of Poles living in the German Empire in mind, the Union was very keen to recruit young Poles to carry out its work. Of the estimated 1.5 million Poles living in Germany during the 1920s, in 1924, around 32,000 were registered members of the Union of Poles. The highest figure was recorded in 1930, at 45,000 members.[10] However, as a result not only of the low membership figures, but also the fear that a sense of national awareness was disappearing among Poles living in Germany (in Polish: wynarodowienie), the Union decided to actively work to continue its promotion of the Polish culture, language and sense of national affiliation:

“We are all threatened by it [the loss of national awareness; author’s note] and for this reason, we must work to counter this loss, indeed, to combat it. And we must not only do so among the younger generation. The disappearance of national awareness is a loss of two essential elements: national affiliation and the Polish language”.[11]

In a comprehensive article on the goals and tasks of the Polish youth in Germany, Walenty Biedka, who was president of District III of the Union of Poles in Germany from 1929 to 1931, summarised the importance of the Polish youth and the ideas within the Union for young Polish people as follows: the Polish youth should be educated, pious, engage in sports activities and be organised in Polish clubs and groups. They should grow up with a deep sense of connection to Polish culture, literature and language, so that in time, worthy representatives of the Poles in Germany could emerge from their ranks.[12] This was a fundamental goal for the Polish youth in order to be able to guarantee the continuation of the work of the Union of Poles in Germany in the future.

Natalia Kubiak, June 2020