Polskość w Komarowszczyźnie i jej okolicach: historia i współczesność
Polishness in Komarowszczyzna and its surroundings: history and the present day

Summary/Abstract: The direct reason for writing this article was a reflection that came to my mind during the fieldwork in July/August 2012, which took place in the north-west part of Belarus, in Miadziolski region of Mińsk district. The issue of Polishness in the researched area has been presented from two perspectives: historical and modern. The former predicts appealing to the memory of pre-war generation, while the latter would entail appealing to the current situation of Polishness in Komarowszczyzna and neighbouring villages, which is shaped by the middle generation (born after WWII) and the young people (born in 1970–1990). A comparative analysis of statements of representatives of these three generations has shown that the attitude towards Polishness has changed significantly. From the perspective of the pre-war and partly of the post-war generation, Polishness (i.e. the sense of Polishness) is on the decline. Nevertheless, it is impossible to state that young people renounce their roots or oppose Polishness. They only draw attention to the need of different actions, searching for new possibilities of ‘protecting’ Polishness.

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