The Wendish Research Exchange - Mazurski, Krzysztof R.: The Silesian-Lusatian Borderland on Polish Maps of 1945

Lětopis Abstract 2016 1: Mazurski, Krzysztof R.: The Silesian-Lusatian Borderland on Polish Maps of 1945

Maps of Lower Silesia and western Poland, presented here in this paper, were published in 1945 before the Potsdam Conference, that is why they do not show the border between the Polish state and the Soviet Zone of Occupation (the later German Democratic Republic). Their task was first of all to make it easy for Poles travelling there to orientate themselves geographically, in the large mass resettlement of the so-called Recovered Territories. For this reason, they present basic information about the road and railway networks –, as well as the larger urban locations. The most urgent task was to give all the locations Polish names, whether it involved reproducing existing names, polonising German ones, or creating new names. This process also included Lusatia, going far beyond Poland's prospective border. It gave a cartographical stamp of support for the political endeavours of the Sorbs and showed Slav solidarity. The fact that the maps also registered names, which proved to be temporary, means that they are historic documents of great importance.