Journal:Acta Historica Universitatis Klaipedensis
Volume 24 (2012): Erdvių pasisavinimas Rytų Prūsijoje XX amžiuje = Appropriation of Spaces in East Prussia during the 20th Century = Prisvoenie prostranstv v Vostochnoi Prussii v dvadtsatom stoletii, pp. 172–187
Abstract
By considering what Warmia and Masuria Regions mean to contemporary Poles, the author tries to find an answer by identifying two levels of acquaintanceship with the region: narrative constructions that acquired the forms of myths and scientific cognition. He analyzes the maintenance of two myths around which the images relating to the comprehension of the said regions concentrate: the myth of the Recovered Lands and the myth of Arcadia. Simultaneously, he discusses the meanings of Warmia and Masuria disclosed by scientific studies of the last two decades in contemporary Poland and the changing conceptions of the past of the region resulting in unique forms of identifying oneself with the past of Warmia and Masuria Regions.