Young Poles about young Germans - similarities and differences : evolution of the 'stereotype' based on a young generation sample from a cross-cultural borderland area in Glogówek in the Opole region

摘要

"In this article the author will attempt to demonstrate what the 'stereotype' of young generation Germans is in the eyes of young generation Poles inhabiting a cross-cultural borderland area. It draws on empirical research conducted on the youth in Glogówek in the Opole region in three different time periods (1988, 1995 and 2005). However, the conclusions are extended to the entire socio-cultural borderland area of Opole and Upper Silesia. Section 1 presents the historical conditioning of the formation of the Germans' image in Poland; Section 2 includes the opinions about the young generation of Germans. Section 3 consists of methodological underpinnings of the research. The theoretical concept of 'stereotype' discussed in Section 4 will serve as a basis to present empirical research. Combined quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data shows that over the examined time span the 'stereotype' of Germans has evolved and become more positive. During the real-socialism, the 'stereotype' referred to material values, in the early 1990s to lifestyle issues and at the beginning of the 21st' century is focused on consumerist values." (author's abstract)