National, Ethnic And Religious Minorities In Contemporary Poland

Published in: Society and Space in Contemporary Poland in Łódź University Geographical Research, edited by T.MarszałIt must be said that the national, ethnic and religious minorities in Poland have doubtless historical, cultural, and to some extent also political value. They are a testimony to the curious multiculturalism of Poland that has been forming throughout the history. If just for that reason, they should be properly protected by the democratic state. The awareness of this unique cultural and historical legacy of the former Republic can also be illustrated by new studies of national, ethnic and religious minorities. It is worth noting at this point that the aforementioned groups were first discussed in studies by geographers from Łódź. Research on national, ethnic and religious minorities were undertaken primarily in the context of: research methodology of these groups (Sobczyński and Grabowska 1993, Rykała 2011a, Sobczyński 2012, Barwiński 2013), their origins, size and distribution (Sobczyński 1996, Barwiński 2006, Rykała 2006), classification (Koter 1993, Rykała 2011a), national-ethnic structure of Polish population (Sobczyński 2000, 2001, Barwiński 2004, Rykała 2008a), operating on the political and cultural fringes (Koter 1997, Barwiński 2008, Rykała 2008b), the role of national and religious minorities in the organisation of urban space (Liszewski 1991, Dzieciuchowicz et al. 2004, Klima 2011, Rykała 2012), their cultural heritage (Kulesza 2010, 2012). Some religious minorities were discussed in separate publications (Barwiński 1999, 2009, Rykała 2007, 2011b, Kulesza 2012). The achievements of the geographical centre in Łódź in research on national-religious issues is therefore quite significant in terms of quantity and has significant empirical and theoretical value.The project was funded by the National Science Centre based on decision number DEC-2011/01/B/HS4/02609