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3 Ethnoccntrism in German and -Polish Textbooks 55

^Europę is to present the facts in their real proportions and in the context -wide enough to avoid one-sided reasoning. On the other hand, even -very rough content analysis of an arbitrary textbook indicates that the informa-tion about conflicts between nations prevails over the information about the ^periods of peace and co-operation. The textbook:s describe the history of nations as the history of wars, conflicts and oppressions. They avoid almost completely much longer periods of peace and ąuiet.

2. POLES AYD GERUA.YS IV GERMAY AY POLISH TEXTBOOKS OF RECEYT

HISTORY - COYTEYT AYALYSIS

I analyse the textbooks relevant to the obligatory education on the elementary level. The knowledge from these textbooks forms a basis of the national consciousness of young generations. The object of the analysis is the recent history from the moment of the end of the Second World War (1945) to the present time. As it was proved by sociological research, the knowledge about the recent contacts between nations dominates in shaping "the attitude of one nation towards other (Jasinska-Kania 1991). I mean jnainly the base of shaping the negative attitude towards Germans among Polish young generation, which does not personally know the Second World 'War and the German occupation time. It is very pro babie that the reserva-tion of Polish society about Germans has its origins in the social consciousness of many Polish generations, rather than in the direct personal experience (Nowicka 1991). It has been confirmed by the latest examination of the atti-tudes of the elder students of the elementary schools in Poland (Nasalska 1994).

The content analysis has been carried out on the popular text'books for teaching history in both countries. The textbooks were accepted for use at schools at the bsginning of nineties. There are considered eight German textbooks intented for the highest level of education in all primary scho ols in Germany together with two textbooks, the most popular in Poland. The content analysis accounts for the space in the text where the specified sub-jects are presented. Its hows that there are substantial differences in exposing the subject of the Second World War in the Polish and German textbooks.

The data presented in Table 1 show that the subject of the Second World War is met in the Polish textbooks several times morę freąuently than in the German textbooks. Social memory and knowledge about thoge times are cultivated to a higher degree in Polish school. The similar disproportion can be noticed in the presentation of the relations between Poles and Germans during the War. This fact influences substantially the attitude of Polish young generations towards Germans (Nasalska 1994).

2.1. IMAGE OF POLES IY GERMAY TEXTBOOKS

The image of Poles in the German textbooks under conśideration has a twofold naturę. On the one hand, this image is formed in the perspective of German-Polish relations. The relations from the time just after the Second World War, when the resolutions of the Potsdam Conference were carried