„IN THE WORLD, AS WE SEE, A POLE AND GERMAN BROTHERS WILL NOT BE?”. ON THE REVISION OF THE HETEROSTEREOTYPE OF A GERMAN AND AUTOSTEREOTYPE OF A POLE AMONG POLES MIGRATING TO BERLIN

The article is an analysis of the heterostereotype of a German and the autostereotype of a Pole among Polish migrants living in Berlin. The results are based on qualitative research conducted by the author in Germany between 2009 and 2012. The incentive to undertake this topic was the revival of contacts between Poles and Germans associated with Poland’s accession to the European Union and the opening of borders. Among migrants, the EU accession resulted in the emergence of many beliefs concerning an improvement of the image of Poland and Polish people in the West. This article attempts to verify this hypothesis and determine what is the nature and the character of mutual stereotypes, and what functions they perform