The Polish Wild West

1. Introduction

1.1 State of research
1.2 Conceptual basis
1.3 Sources and methods

2. The Oder Region and the Polish âWild Westâ

3. âThe most difficult language in the worldâ â" a literary introduction to the subject

4. The Deconstruction of the Oder Region

4.1 âWe had no idea about anything that went on in the Eastâ
4.2 âThe Master Raceâ and Polish forced labourers in the Oder Region
4.3 The flight of Germans as seen through the eyes of Polish forced labourers
4.4 âWhen the Russians arrived ...â

5. Dealing with Obstacles

5.1 The Oder Region's Road to the new Polish state
5.2 Soviet headquarters and the first Polish settlers
5.3 âTreat the Germans as they treated usâ

6. Poland on the Move â" the Migration of People

6.1 The so-called repatriation of Poles from the East â" in cattle cars to the bosom of the nation?
6.2 Internal resettlement â" in search of better living conditions
6.3 From forced labour to the âRecovered Territoriesâ

7. Arrival in the Oder Region

7.1 In a strange, desolate world
7.2 Any old roof over oneâs head at the beginning or a hunt for the most beautiful home?
7.3 A period of transition â" Germans and Poles living together

8. A successful takeover? A typology of the New Settlers

8.1 Victims of war sitting on suitcases and tired of life
8.2 Looters â" the post-war migration of people on business?
8.3 Zealous pioneers of the âRecovered Territoriesâ

9. The Appropriation of Oneâs Space

9.1 The post-war clean-up
9.2 New schools, institutions, associations â" society organises itself
9.3 Religious life and the appropriation of German churches
9.4 The beginnings of agriculture and the consequences of incomplete agricultural reforms
9.5 The pioneering spirit of small businesspeople and government mismanagement
9.6 The German labour force and the resettlement of the Germans
9.7 The new balance of power and the 1946 referendum â" what did people really vote for?

10. A New Society â" A Cultural and Ethnic Mix

10.1 Poznanians, Poles from central Poland and the eastern borderlands, indigenous inhabitants, Jews, Ukrainians, Germans, Gypsies, Greeks, repatriates from Western and Southern Europe, as well as late expellees from the Soviet Union
10.2 The loss of cultural diversity and the concept of an ethnically homogenous state
10.3 The building of a new society â" a short summary

11. The Myth of the âPolish Wild Westâ a Decade Later

Outline of Primary and Secondary Sources
Index