The Problem of “Polishness” in the London Student Periodicals (Życie Akademickie – Kontynenty)

Abstract

Theis article presents the views and opinions expressed in two London periodicals published in the 1950s and 1960s by Polish students living in exile, namely Życie Akademickie and Kontynenty, focusing on the problem of preservation  of “Polishness” among Polish emigrants of the younger generation. In the first part of the text, the views presented, include those of the members of the older generation of emigrants and refugees (e.g. Czesław Miłosz or Witold Gombrowicz), giving advice to the young, as well as of the young themselves (e.g. Wiktor Poznański or Wojciech Gniatczyński). The second part of the article refers to the notion of patriotism and the problem of national vices, which were also subject to a discussion which went on in the émigré press. The aim of the article is to illustrate the discrepancies between the attitudes of two – or even three – generations of Polish emigrants, concerning the issue of Polish national identity.