Abhängigkeit oder erfolgloses Einholen. Historiografische Debatten in der Volksrepublik Polen über die Rückständigkeit Osteuropas

Abstract

Dependent on or unable to catch up with Western Europe? Post-1945 Polish historians’ debate on Eastern European backwardness

Abstract

The paper analyzes the most important voices in the Polish post-war historical debate on the origins of and the ways to conceptualize Eastern European backwardness since the times of the rise of the West in the 16th century. It discusses in detail four models of Eastern European backwardness and its relation to the Western European developmental path. The two opposite interpretations of Eastern European backwardness were created by Marian Małowist’s model of dependent, quasi-colonial development, and Andrzej Wyczański’s model of catching up with the West. Witold Kula’s model of hybrid development and Jerzy Topolski’s model of unhappy coincidence represent the intermediate interpretations. The paper also briefly discusses the ways in which the Polish debate was influenced by Marxism and influenced Western historical research on the rise of the West, especially by Fernand Braudel and Immanuel Wallerstein. Finally, the paper argues that the debate, with its emphasis on common historical traits in Eastern Europe and serfdom as one of the central social institutions, is relevant not only for history of ideas, but also for sociology of Central Eastern European societies.

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Bibliographie: Sosnowska, Anna: Abhängigkeit oder erfolgloses Einholen. Historiografische Debatten in der Volksrepublik Polen über die Rückständigkeit Osteuropas, JB historie, 1-2013, S. 121-142.
https://doi.org/10.3224/jbh.v7i1.08