Prussian paradox

In the 19th century nationalist tendencies began to grow stronger in Prussia. For Poles living under the Prussian rule, including the inhabitants of Poznań, this meant more intensive Germanisation. The German language gradually began to replace Polish in schools and public institutions in all aspects. Poles had to struggle with obstacles being thrown in their way to offices and honours. What is more, the growing German population in Poznań meant greater popularisation of German culture. This was visible in establishing such institutions as the Municipal Theatre (today’s Arkadia located at Wolności Square) and the Opera House.

These seemingly unfavourable conditions became the stimulus for the fight for maintaining Polish spirit. Soon, due to the efforts of local patriots, buildings connected to Polish culture emerged. The grand building of the public library, the Raczyński Library, with a rich collection and a reading room open daily, was built. Soon after, the Bazar Hotel and Poznań Society for the Advancement of Arts and Sciences, bringing together Polish political activists and scholars, were established. In 1875 the Polish Theatre was built thanks to a public fundraiser. Many of these institutions still serve the inhabitants of Poznań. The advocates of Germanisation probably did not expect that.

Polish Theatre, built in 1875, was a Polish response to the earlier German Municipal Theatre, photo by Piotr Skórnicki

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Father Christmas or Santa Claus?

‘After dinner on Christmas Eve, ‘gwiazdory’ [Fathers Christmas], that is hired men dressed in inverted sheepskin coats with leather belts, inverted caps (hoods) on their heads, their faces smeared with soot, and short whips in their hands, walk around the village (…) They scare children who run away from them but if they catch them, they ask them if they can say their prayers, if they are good etc.’ That is what an ethnographer Oskar Kolberg wrote in the middle of the 19th century about carolling ‘gwiazdory’ [Fathers Christmas]. He pointed out that this tradition is very old. As we can imagine, children were not particularly fond of these people and were probably afraid of them. Over time, the number of Fathers Christmas was limited to one, who, apart from the rod, gave also small gifts to well-behaved children.

At the same time, the cult of St Nicholas, the bishop of Myra, has been present in the Wielkopolska Region from the Middle Ages. It grew stronger during the interwar period and after the Second World War when the believers of the Orthodox Catholic Church from Eastern Poland settled in the Wielkopolska Region. After some time, both traditions mixed: Nicholas began to be associated with Father Christmas. What is more, his looks were influenced by the image of the Anglo-Saxon Santa Claus, who became popular since he had appeared in the Coca-Cola advertisements.

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Prussian paradox
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