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SHORT NOTES

The third part of the volume comprizes articles by Karolina Stojek-Sawicka and Stanisław Alexandrowicz. Alexandrowicz’s article is an introduction to historical geography and to the accessible literaturę dealing with this subject. Sojek-Sawicka’s study discusses the concept of distance in the correspondence which Catholic clergymen conducted in the 18th century with their patrons from the Nieśwież linę of the Radziwiłłs. The author views distance as a social structure and the aim of the study is not to show the geographical rangę of the correspondence or present the journeys of clergymen who were in the service of the Radziwiłłs but to analyze how distance was assessed.

Then volume is certainly noteworthy for historyk auxiliary Sciences still suffer from a lack of new studies and syntheses. What is praiseworthy is that each study is followed by a summary in English. Unfortunately, many studies are in the form of papers to be read out and they are not all on an equally high level. (MP)

Eduard Miihle, ‘Najnowsze tendencje w niemieckich badaniach historii Polski' [The Latest Trends in German Research into Po-land's History], Kwartalnik Historyczny, cxv, 3 (2008), 61-161

This extensive article depicts the State of German historiographic rcsearch (the part within the framework of studies conducted in German rcsearch institutes) on the history of Poland. It points out areas which have attracted greatest interest and emphasizes the achievements attained so far. The author points out that the interest of German researchers in Polish ąuestions has greatly increased sińce the fali of the communist system and it is the post-1989 achievements of German science that are the subject of his reflections. The materiał discussed by the author is chronologically divided into the main great epochs: the Middle Ages, the early modern period, the ‘long’ 19th century, and the ‘short’ 20th century. Each epoch is subdivided into the most important subjects. As regards the Middle Ages, Miihle discusses separately the studies which concern the formation of the Polish State, its territorial expansion and the internal crisis of the Church at the end of the epoch. The early modern period is divided into: humanism and the ‘metropolises’, the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, the structure and functioning of the noblemen’s Com-monwealth, social history, the partitions and the modernization of the noble society. The part devoted to the 19th century discusses studies on the liberation movements and the formation of a modern nation, social and economic modernization, and the history of Jews. As far as research on the 20th century is concerned, Miihle points out that German researchers have been particularly interested in the establishment and consolidation of the Second Republic, the question of national minorities, the Nazi occupation, persecution of the Jews, the question of collaboration with Germany and the Polish resistance move-ment and the Polish Underground State during the Second World War, the consolidation of communist power and the question of population transfers. The text is equipped with extensive bibliographic notes concerning the studies discussed in the text. (DD)