Colloquia Theologica Ottoniana

The paper is an attempt to sketch, from a sociological perspective, processes of regional identity formation in rural areas of Western Pomerania after 1945. Part of the so-called Western and Northern Territories of Poland, West Pomerania experienced one of the biggest social experiments of the 20th century. Settlers in the area included Germans who fled the Soviet Army and were displaced in the post-war period, and Poles from various regions of the country, including about 40% of the inhabitants of the eastern areas of the former Republic of Poland that were incorporated into the USSR. The residents of these areas constituted a mosaic of diverse local and regional identities. Local and regional communities were subject to processes of adaptation and social integration. As a result of these processes, a new identity was borne among inhabitants based primarily on their current place of residence. The article consists of an introduction, three parts, and a conclusion. The first part considers the concept of regional identity with particular reference to various related concepts formulated in Polish and world sociology. The second part focuses on the post-war history of Western Pomerania, emphasising the settlement processes affecting individual and group identification within the area. Finally, the third part attempts a multifaceted description of the local and regional identity of farmers in the province of Western Pomerania, who are the most traditional category of rural resident there. The analysis excludes other categories of rural resident, including former state farm workers, teachers, public administration officials, social welfare and health-care workers, and people who work in cities but live in the countryside. These other categories will be addressed in an ensuing article.