MINELRES: RFE/RL: A Variety, Even If Small (on census in Poland)

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RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report
Vol. 5, No. 24, 25 June 2003

A Survey of Developments in Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine by the Regional
Specialists of RFE/RL's Newsline Team

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POLAND

A VARIETY, EVEN IF SMALL. The Main Statistics Office (GUS) published the
results of Poland's 2002 national census on its official website
(http://www.stat.gov.pl) on 16 June. The census, conducted between 21
May and 8 June 2002, was the first one in postcommunist Poland and, in
addition, the first one in Poland after World War II to include a
question about ethnicity (narodowosc) of inhabitants. The GUS provided
the following definition of ethnicity in the census questionnaire:
"Ethnicity is a declarative (based on a subjective sentiment) individual
trait of every person that expresses his/her emotional, cultural, or
genealogical (because of the parents' background) linkage to a certain
nation."

The census found that Poland's population totaled 38.23 million,
including 96.74 percent Poles (36.98 million), 1.23 percent individuals
who declared other ethnicity than Polish (471,500), and 2.03 percent
individuals who did not declare any ethnicity (774,900). Assuming that
the overwhelming majority of the people who failed to determine their
ethnicity were of non-Polish origin (reasons for such an assumption are
mentioned below), the census confirmed the estimates widely accepted in
the precensus period that Poland's minorities account for roughly 3
percent of the total population.

As to why some people might choose not to disclose their ethnic origin
(if it is different than Polish), there were various suppositions voiced
by national-minority activists in Poland before the census (see "RFE/RL
Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report," 5 March 2002). In general,
however, those activists argued that non-Poles would be afraid to
declare their true ethnicity in the census for fear that their Polish
acquaintances or neighbors might subsequently discriminate against them
and their relatives in the office or at school. Needless to say, the
advancing cultural and linguistic assimilation of minority groups and
individuals in the Polish surroundings could also hamper the task of
unambiguous ethnic self-identification for many people whose ancestors
once belonged to non-Polish groups.

The breakdown of the census figures into individual minorities brought
considerable surprises for statisticians and minority communities alike.
It turned out that the largest minority group in Poland are Silesians -
173,200 people declared this ethnicity to census takers. It was the
first time that such a minority group was officially registered. GUS
statisticians are apparently in doubt whether Silesians can be treated
on a par with other ethnic groups in Poland (with Germans or
Belarusians, for example), since they tend to avoid referring to
Silesians as "narodowosc," using the term "spolecznosc" (community)
instead.

In a comment to "Gazeta Wyborcza" on 17 June, ethnographer Dorota
Simonides (born in Katowice, Silesia) said the census figure regarding
Poland's Silesians reflects social rather than ethnic identification of
some people living in Silesia, a heavily industrialized, coal-mining
region in southern Poland. "I think it is a protest against the lack of
interest in Silesia on the part of the government, against unemployment
and the closure of coal mines," Simonides added.

But Arkadiusz Wuwer, a lecturer at the Theological Faculty of Silesian
University in Katowice, told "Gazeta Wyborcza" a different story: "I
regard myself as a Silesian not in spite of Poland or Germany but
because it is my way of determining my identity. I have always thought
that we move among stereotypes imposed by history, not realizing that in
the times of pluralism we need to think in categories that are far from
nationalism. It is possible to be a Silesian of Polish culture, but [it
is also possible to be] a Silesian of German culture.... People
understand this, and during the census they found the courage in
themselves to say who they are. It is a consequence of the freedom in
which we have been living since 1989."

Germans in Poland - 152,900 people, according to the census - constitute
the second-largest minority group. The relevant figures for Belarusians
(48,700) and Ukrainians (31,000) are far below the estimates that were
typically cited by minority activists before the 2002 census -
150,000-200,000 and 200,000-300,000, respectively.

However, Eugeniusz Wappa, head of the Belarusian Union (a minority
organization of Polish Belarusians), told RFE/RL that he is satisfied
with the number of Belarusians determined by the census. "The number of
50,000 Belarusians is a very good result given the conditions in which
we live and the situation in which the census was taken," Wappa said.
"It should also be taken into account that [Poland's] other minorities,
in contrast to us, have strong support in their [cultural] fatherlands.
We think that this result testifies to the fact that the real number of
Belarusians living in Poland amounts to 100,000-150,000," he added,
effectively suggesting that the category of citizens who failed to
declare their ethnicity in the census included a sizeable group of
Belarusians.

The number of declared Ukrainians is certainly very disappointing to
this minority in Poland. But it should be taken into account that, owing
to historical developments, Poland's Ukrainians were in a very difficult
situation as regards the cultivation of their ethnic identity. In 1947,
the communist authorities expulsed some 140,000 Ukrainians from their
ethnic territory in southeastern Poland and dispersed them in northern
and western areas, which were taken over by Poland after the collapse of
Nazi Germany. Besides, Poland's communist propaganda considerably
contributed to building the public stereotype of a Ukrainian as a rabid
nationalist who hates Poland and Poles. Therefore, it is very likely
than many Ukrainians preferred not to disclose their true ethnic
identity to census takers for fear of future problems, either refusing
to provide any information on it or declaring Polish origin.

Other minorities registered by the 2002 census in Poland were: Roma
(12,900), Russians (6,100), Lemkos (5,900), Lithuanians (5,800), Kashubs
(5,100), Slovaks (2,000), Jews (1,100), Armenians (1,100), and Czechs
(800). It is worth noting here that the 2002 census results provide an
"official recognition" to the existence of Lemkos in Poland, who have so
far been regarded as a Ukrainian regional subgroup. While some Lemkos
undeniably identify themselves as Ukrainians, there is also a movement
among them claiming that Poland's Lemkos are a distinct ethnic group
with a distinct language and, thus, a party in a broader effort of
building the Rusyn national identity across several state frontiers (see
"RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report," 11 January 2000). (Jan
Maksymiuk)

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Copyright (c) 2003. RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.

"RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report" is prepared by Jan
Maksymiuk on the basis of a variety of sources including reporting by
"RFE/RL Newsline" and RFE/RL's broadcast services. It is distributed
every Tuesday.

Direct comments to Jan Maksymiuk at maksymiukj@rferl.org.
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