Europe by British historian Norman Davies turned out to be the 1998 bestseller in Polish bookstores. For the first time, a prominent foreign writer acknowledged Poland as a permanent and traditional element of the Old Continent's history. Interviewed by the Polish press, another British historian who enjoys similar popularity in Poland, Paul Johnson, expressed his votum separatum towards Davies's views—although he still complimented his fellow writer. According to Johnson, Poland and the whole of so-called Central and Eastern Europe are not part of the “proper" Europe, as the West is sometimes called. There must be a reason why historians have always been searching for a special name to describe this region—still Europe, but slightly distinct, hovering on the margin of events and developing according to different dynamics and under different calendars.
There is no major conflict between Davies's and Johnson's opinions. Their major differences can be summarized by a question: Is it possible to write a history of Europe without including its Central and Eastern regions? Poles do not like this question, as they perceive their connections with the West as a foregone conclusion.
By accepting Christianity in 966, Poland placed itself within the borders of the Christian world, while remaining an immediate neighbor to pagan lands. During the Jagiellonian dynasty, the country bordered the Golden Horde and an aggressive Asia, while in the 18th century it adjoined Ottoman-ruled Turkey. Poland's geographic circumstances made it the defender of the Catholic West against the Muslim and Eastern Orthodox worlds—a Christian vanguard. A line dividing Europe spiritually, culturally and religiously ran either along the Polish-Lithuanian Union's borders or cut across its territory. Its existence on that border between two worlds has been an important and permanent element shaping Poles' national identity. That is why some Polish book titles carry the word “European" in the early 16th century—much earlier than in the West.
As a devoted part of the Catholic world and strongly influenced culturally by the Mediterranean world more widely, the widespread use of Latin in Poland comes as no surprise. French took its place among sections of Polish society in the late 17th century and German became popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. In his The Praise of Folly (1509), the Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus congratulated Poles for being “a nation that used to be considered barbarian, and now is developing so beautifully in the areas of science, law, customs, religion and any other that are the opposite of any crudeness; a nation that can now compete with the most culturally advanced ones in the world."
At that time, Cracow was considered a European cultural center along with Naples, Rome, Florence, Bologne, Venice and Padua, as well as Leipzig, Prague and Königsberg. Poles gained the status of a European nation. As Polish historian Janusz Tazbir puts it in his W pogoni za Europŕ (Chasing Europe): “They did it by participating in the cultural life of the continent. It was measured by the number of students joining the most prestigious European universities—first Italian, then German, Swiss and Dutch ones. Other criteria were using a universal language, Latin, in scientific writing and letters, availability of the generally appraised literature, borrowing literary patterns and the exchange of proverbs." Cultural patterns moved mainly one way, from west to east. Books by a 16th-century author, Stanisław Hozjusz, had 12 editions outside Poland and were translated into English, Czech, French and German.
Even though Poland did not give the world a Shakespeare or a Dostoyevsky, it has always been present on Europe's cultural, artistic and scientific scene. Great romanticists such as Mickiewicz, Słowacki, Chopin and Norwid, as well as the two-time Nobel Prize laureate Maria Skłodowska-Curie, are only a few examples. Many prominent Polish scientists, writers, painters and politicians traveled across Europe, went to European universities and spent long years living abroad.
Any breach of Poland's European connection was seen as a great shame and loss. This became especially apparent after 1945, when the longing for anything from the West took on neurotic forms. Any Italian or French film shown in Poland would be hugely successful, Western movie or pop stars visiting Poland would receive a rapturous welcome, and Western books, music or trends would be greeted with great enthusiasm and little if any criticism. Polish scientists were grateful for foreign grants enabling them to stay in the West and join in its language and culture. The larger the economic and political disparities between Poland and the West, the more attractive the West became.
The traditional main trade routes led from Poland to Germany, the Netherlands, France and Spain, as well as across the Baltic Sea. During feudal times, Poland was dubbed the granary of Europe. But then came times of political turmoil, including the loss of independence in the late 18th century, which precluded Poland from narrowing its economic gap with the West. Yet the country could dream; much of contemporary progressive writing about curing Poland's political ills would cite the example of Western Europe.
Political ties that bind
In terms of politics, Poland was always influenced by the West. The country elected its monarchs from among Western candidates. Western Europe was also the destination of Polish emigrants, including those involved in the Solidarity freedom movement in the 1980s. Traditionally, Poland played a part in Western Europe's international policy. It was especially welcome by France, as its partner in various anti-German alliances—from the time of Henry of Valois, through the rule of the Vasa dynasty, Napoléon Bonaparte's Eastern Campaign and into the 20th century. It was the guarantees for Polish independence made by France and Great Britain that spread the Polish-German conflict after Sept. 1, 1939 and resulted in the outbreak of World War II.
These political links found their expression throughout Polish history. The May 3rd Constitution of 1791 was the second such democratic document in the world after the American constitution, and the first in Europe. The Cracow school of history which created the so-called “nation-building program" in the late 19th century, when Poland yearned to break the yoke of partition, liberally borrowed ideas from the West through research into the history of law, institutions, the structure of executive and legislative powers and civil rights. In recent times, the experiences of Western democracies and the development of human and civil rights significantly helped the opposition to build an alternative civil society in Poland; the ultimate result was a Poland free of the grips of communism.
Eastern, but not of the East
Poland's historic ties with the East—including Russia, Turkey and the Tatar state—which were strongly reflected in its customs and everyday life, were never transformed into an open and friendly attitude towards the East, especially with regard to Russia. “There are animosities on both sides," writes Davies in his earlier book entitled The Heart of Europe. “All Poles can expect from Russians is aggression, and Russians will only suspect Poles of resistance. Russia is in the East, and Poland belongs to the West. It seems that these two will never go together." “Never" may be too strong a word, but the fact is that even when Polish political writers produced pro-Russian ideas—as did for example the main ideologist of Polish nationalism, Roman Dmowski—they resulted from geopolitical calculation and not from a desire for community bonds.
From 1945-1989, when Soviet dictatorship was imposed on Poland—condoned by the West—these animosities grew even stronger. “Apart from politicians calling for modus vivendi, true Russophiles still exist in Poland, but they are as hard to find as Polish non-drinkers," writes Davies. “The West is the promised land for Poles, their dreamland, the lost paradise. They have more Western views than most citizens of the Western European countries."
It is also true this happens to be unrequited love. Johnson's view shows a distancing from the “other" part of Europe. Poles have often faced such an attitude. They were greatly let down by Napoléon Bonaparte, who accepted Polish support but failed to keep his own promises. And again, 150 years later, the Treaty of Yalta pushed Poland eastward over the Elbe, and the Iron Curtain slammed down behind it.
Poland's place on the geopolitical map of the continent depends on the precise definition of Europe. Davies stresses that Poland has always been located on the eastern verge of Europe, “and even in their wildest dreams Poles would not maintain that they belonged to Western Europe." However, he maintains that Europe does not exist without Poland. Probably, after the integration process is completed, history books, including those written in Western Europe, will present a broader view on the Old Continent and acknowledge the presence of the new EU members in its history.

Prof. Wiesław Władyka
Historian at Warsaw University and commentator  for Polityka weekly

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