Wrocław (German: Breslau) – a true symbol of German-Polish relations
Cultural events in Wrocław will likely attract great interest from Germans. After all, 2016 marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on Good Neighbourly Relations between Poland and Germany. As Deutschland.de reminds us, on 17 June 1991, representatives of both states signed an agreement on good neighbourliness and friendly cooperation. It laid the foundation for a close and comprehensive partnership.
Wrocław is a special city for Poles and Germans because it reflects, like a mirror, the entire complex history of relations between the two countries. This historical heritage will receive special attention. It is no coincidence that the defining theme of the 2016 programme of events is 'identity'.
After World War II, Wrocław had to reinvent itself and understand its new role. The German population of the former capital of the Prussian province of Silesia was expelled or became refugees. In turn, the new residents did not feel the city was 'home,' since most of them moved there from areas that after World War II belonged to the Soviet Union. At that time, the population of Wrocław changed almost completely.
'How a German city became a Polish city' – that is the topic that will receive the main focus, said the city's mayor Rafał Dutkiewicz in an interview with Berlin's Tageszeitung. 'We will talk about Europe, of which both cities – the Breslau of the past and the Wrocław of the present – are a part.' In few other cities, the mayor noted, is European identity felt as strongly as in Wrocław.