The New Closeness and Its Roots
Poland and Ukraine in Literature and Society
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Poland’s solidarity with Ukraine in its defensive war against Russia is by no means a given. Just a few decades ago, the two nations were enemies. The impetus for reconciliation came from the Polish exile magazine Kultura with its far-sighted thinking. Since the 1990s, the number of Polish-Ukrainian contacts has grown exponentially. Today, almost every Polish family has acquaintances in and from Ukraine. This is the result of Ukrainian labour migration and cultural cooperation. Authors and the literary scene played a central role: with their books, writers such as Yurii Andrukhovych and Serhii Zhadan stirred an enormous interest in Ukraine. Poland became the hub of Europe for Ukrainian literature and culture. At the same time, Andrukhovych & Co. acted as ambassadors of Polish culture in Ukraine.
(Osteuropa 6-8/2022, pp. 311–322)