The Concept of Góralness in the light of German’s Plans of Exhibition in the Tatra Museum Cover Image

Wizja góralszczyzny w świetle niemieckich planów ekspozycyjnych w Muzeum Tatrzańskim
The Concept of Góralness in the light of German’s Plans of Exhibition in the Tatra Museum

Author(s): Stanisława Trebunia-Staszel
Subject(s): Museology & Heritage Studies, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Fascism, Nazism and WW II
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: World War II; Podhale region; Górale; Nazism; ethnopolicy; ethnology and anthropology in war time; museum; exhibition;

Summary/Abstract: The article discusses the problem of Nazi ethno-policy towards the Polish Highlanders from the Tatra Mountains regions. Drawing on new or hitherto littleknown sources produces by Germans officials and ethnologists, author aims to explore the way of perceiving and conceptualization of Górale ethnicity by occupying authority. By analyzing Germans plans of reorganization of the Tatra Museum in Zakopane, she tries to reconstruct the process of objectification of Góralness by Nazi regime. As it is shown, the cultural specificity of Górale, which was exposed by Polish intelligentsia as the essence of Polishness, during World War II became an object of manipulation of the Nazi occupier, who tried to use it to break the national unity of Poles by creating a separate highland nation, so called Goralenvolk.

  • Issue Year: 44/2016
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 271-291
  • Page Count: 21
  • Language: Polish