Narracje traumy w niemieckojęzycznej literaturze i publicystyce górnośląskiego pogranicza w latach 1918-1922
The narratives of trauma in German language literature and journalistic publications of the Upper Silesia borderland in the years 1918–1922

Summary/Abstract: Brochures, journalistic publications and literary texts in German language that addressed the issues of the Upper Silesia borderland in the years 1918–1922 aimed not only at the strengthening of the German identity of the region, but – to no lesser extent – by the use of the figures of otherness and escapist depiction strategies matched the trend of texts that make use of a specific narrative of trauma. The strategy implemented by a numerous group of authors (including, among others, Kurt Petzold, Friedrich Gothein, Robert Kurpiun or Wilhelm Volz) consisting in the creation of areas of social unconscious, the use of unequivocal depiction patterns, often out of touch with the reality, as well as the description of current affairs with ubiquitous hyperbole and superlativisation – these are merely some of the distinctive features of German language journalistic and literary texts that were intended to shape the public opinion and mould collective mood in an instrumental way, thus influencing the form and the course of the social and political processes.

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