Formation of Oder-Neisse line - UEF-Wiki

EVOLUTION OF
BORDER
CROSSING
Polish-German border,
Frankfurt (Oder) – Słubice
CONTENT
Theoretical framework
 History of Polish-German border and border
crossing
 Present cooperation projects in Frankfurt Oder –
Slubice
 Perceptions of present cooperation and ideas for
future projects

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK




landscape
 “an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result
of the action and interaction of natural and human factors”
(The European Landscape Convention)
border
 defines the shape, size and meaning of area which border
forms; including and excluding
 state border between Poland and Germany
border crossing
 borders are no longer delimit to communities, systems or
individuals
 process called “borderless world” and a “Europe without
frontiers” is meant to develop a single market and free flow of
capital, services, persons and goods (Janczak, 2007)
twin town
 generally considered as an expression of strong cooperation
and a shared business trade; independent goverment
FORMATION OF ODER-NEISSE LINE
after WW2 German-Polish border moved to OderNeisse line
 border changes were driven especially by Soviet
Union
 Germans were expelled to Germany, former
German areas were populated by Poles from east
 Several cities were divided by border






Görlitz/Zgorzelec
Bad Muskau/Łęknica
Guben/Gubin
Frankfurt (Oder)/Słubice
Küstriner Vorland/Kostrzyn nad Odrą
RECOGNITION OF NEW BORDER

GDR 1950


FRG 1970


heavy pressure by Soviet Union
desires of restoring old German borders (with force if
necessary) still appeared
Unified Germany 1990


Treaty of Good Neighbourship and Friendly
Cooperation
Oder-Neisse line will be the permanent border
BORDER CROSSING BETWEEN POLAND AND
EAST GERMANY

Poland and GDR part of communistic Soviet bloc


Tensioned political relationships between GDR
and Poland



‘Border of Peace and Friendship’
differing political opinions
prejudices
Changes in cultural connections

earlier connections broke down by post-WW2
migrations waves
CAREFULLY GUARDED BORDER


1948-1953 Polish officials limited the travel of Germans to Poland
GDR required visa




late 1960s and 1970s open and cooperative borderland
cross-border trade developed quickly in the early 1970s





new (limited) economic freedoms
visa not required
tourism, working, shopping across the border
Poles had greater freedom to travel across the border than East Germans
new Polish custom restrictions in late 1970s


very difficult to acquire
easier to travel from Poland to FRG than to GDR
trade minimized
border was closed again in 1980

GDR wanted to prevent Polish solidarity movement to spread to west
SEVERAL MIGRATION WAVES TO WEST

Polish government periodically agreed to the release of
large numbers of German minorities to Western Germany


reunifying family members



1953 anyone who had lived in the old German territories could
claim German citizenship
1970 The Warsaw Agreement
Poland’s weak economic situation in late 1970s and 1980s


hoping secure an agreement ratifying the permanency of the
Polish-East German border
many economic opportunists searching better life in FRG
by 1990s the large-scale migration from Poland to
Germany had become overwhelming

tighter migration policies
AFTER THE COLD WAR
New economic freedoms
 Bazaars developing
 In some towns transborder trade provided living
for more than half of the citizens
 Unification of GDR and FGR
 1991 elimination of visa requirement

EU AND SCHENGEN AGREEMENT
In the year 2004 Poland became member of EU
 Schengen Agreement in the year 2007




Passport checks stopped
Cooperation between cities increased
Poles living in the German side of the border,
because of lower cost of housing, benefits in social
matters and short distance to their home country
PROBLEMS WHICH HAVE BEEN
ENCOUNTERED AT THE BORDER
In the early 1990s, crime rates were rising.
 Biletaral agreements between Germany and
Poland were made to reduce illegal activities
 Illegal activities such as prostitution, stealing,
illegal traffiking, drugs, passing stolen passports
 Agreement of immigration
 By 2000s, long traffic lines appeared because of
scanning people for possible criminal activities

SLUBICE - FRANKFURT ODER
2011
Frankfurt
Oder
Slubice
147.81 Km2
185.57 Km2 / 19.21
Km2
Population
62.661
19.965 / 17.046
Urban area
88%
85%
Area
KINDERGARTEN
 For
more than 20 years there is a
partnership between the children’s they
day-care center in Frankfurt (Oder) and an
equal institution in Slubice. In this context
the project “Eurokita”
 In
Frankfurt (Oder) and Slubice primary
schools cooperate closely, too. There is also
close cooperate between the school for
mentally the children in Frankfurt and
Slubice.
BUSLINE
 Since
2012, the bus service connect the twin
cities of Slubice (Poland) of Frankfurt
(Germany). In December, a new bus line
across the Oder river and started cooperate,
those two borders towns sharing many urban
characteristics and collaboration to different
projects. This form have been connected with
public transport for the first time.
TOURISM
The Museum Kleista
German side
Town council in Frankfurt Oder
The Museum Viadrina
Polish side
Collegium Polonicum Slubice
Bazar
Old Jewish Cemetery
PROBLEMS
Cars thefts, no control and good or bad police.
 Night clubs.
 Language.
 Culture.
 Shopping.

FUTURE
As part of the field research, we interviewed on the
two sides of the Oder, which was attended by 20
people, 10 people of the Polish side, 10 people on the
German side.
Our interview refers to the present, the future of these
areas.
Plans for the cooperation and willingness are very
optimistic.
Age of people on the Polish side
10%
20 %
10%
18 - 29
30 - 39
10%
40 - 49
50 - 59
60 - 69
> 70
10%
40%
Source: Description on your own
Age of people on the German side
10%
20%
18 - 29
20%
30 - 39
40 - 49
50 - 59
60 - 69
20%
20%
> - 70
10%
Source: Description on your own
OCCUPATION
70
60
50
40
Poland
30
German
20
10
% 0
Students
Employee
Pensioner
Tourist
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT MUTUAL
COOPERATION?
Polish interviewees
Very good
Good
Neutral
Bad
Very Bad
10%
50%
Very good
Good
Neutral
Bad
Very Bad
0% 0%
0%
10%
German
interviewees
30%
10%
30%
60%
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT MUTUAL
RELATIONS?
Polish interviewees
German interviewees
Very good
Good
Very good
Good
Neutral
Bad
Neutral
Bad
Very bad
0%
0% 0%
Very Bad
0%
0%
20%
40%
40%
60%
40%
ADVANTAGES OF LIVING ON THE BORDER
Poland
Germany
Reinforcement the economy
Mixing of the population
Reinforcement the services
Make more friends
Learning a language
Shopping
Citizens meetings
Learning a language
Mixing of the population
Get to know another culture
More jobs
New mentality
DISADVANTAGES OF LIFE ON THE BORDER
Poland
Germany
No payments on the bus Polish
currency
The problem with the language
Lack of interest on the part of the
Germans
Smuggling
They use only because it is
cheaper
Theft
In Słubice can pay in zł and euro
Lack of control on the border
But in Frankfurt you must pay
only in euro
A lot of free flats in Frankfurt
There is no any Polish subtitles
in Frankfurt
PROPOSALS FOR CHANGE
Poland
Germany
The common currency on the bus
Common language courses
More language courses for
Germans
More stops a bus line connecting
Frankfurt with Słubice
The lack of important
information in local newspapers
Increased interest in Polish
language from the Germans
WHAT PROBLEMS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH
OPEN BORDER?
Poland
Germany
Steal
Steal
A lot of night clubs
Political problems
There are no border controls
High criminality
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT COMMON
PROJECTS?
Polish
interviewees
Yes
No
10%
90%
German
interviewees
Yes No
0%
100%
IDEAS FOR COMMON PROJECTS
Poland
Germany
Swimming pool
Park for families
Cinema
Common cultural programs,
theater and art
Icerink
Kindergarten and primary school
in two languages
Recreation Center
More restaurants
Common competitions
More places for students
Polish movies in the cinema in
Frankfurt
Swimming pool
WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT FRANKFURT AND
SŁUBICE CAN BECOME ONE CITY IN THE
FUTURE?
Polish interviewees
Yes
No
I don't know
German
interviewees
Yes
10%
No
I don't know
0%
20%
20%
70%
80%
With the progress of technology and with
infrastructure in Europe, population from double
town make a conference about future 2020 with
the participation of more than 200 people from
double town in the Collegium Polonicum
estabilished to seven sector of development vision
Słubice&Frankfurt 2020 and 24 strategic
objectives of cooperation 2010-2020.
VISION FRANKFURT AND SŁUBICE 2020
1.Cosmopolitan European Twin City with high
living standard
2. Multilingual European Twin City
3. Learning European Twin City
4. Forward-looking and dynamic European Twin
City
5. Family-friendly European Twin City
6. European Twin City of culture
7. European Twin City of sports
REFERENCES
1. Marc Antrop: From holistic landscape synthesis to transdisciplinary landscape management,
2005
2. David Newman: On borders and Power: A Theoretical framework, 2003
3. Jaroslaw Janczak: Rediscovering Europe: Political challenges in the 21st century EU (2007)
4. http://www.epsaprojects.eu/index.php?title=European_networking_of_city_twins_Frankfurt_(oder)_and_slubice
5. http://www.espaces-transfrontaliers.org/en/resources/territories/cross-borderconurbations/francfort-oder-slubice/francfort-sublice-1/
6. Michelle Janet Brym: The integration of European Union borderlands: Polish views on
cross-border mobility and cooperation across the Polish-German border (2009)
7. City Twins Newsletter No. 3, April, 2005
8. http://www.frankfurt-slubice.eu/article,en,35,history_of_cooperation.html Frankfurt-Slubicer
kooperationszentrum
9. http://en.poland.gov.pl/Poland,in,Schengen,zone,7248.html Official promotional website of
the republic of Poland
10. Teacher: Serraos Avgerinou Student: Kolovou Ionna: Frankfurt ‘Oder’ Slubice?, National
Technical University of Athens, Architecture Department, Special topics in Urban Planning
11. Cross-border labour mobility between Poland-Germany, West Pomerian Business School,
Virtus, 2012
12. https://maps.google.pl/
13. http://www.slubice24.pl/
14. http://www.slubice.pl/
Kiitos kun kuuntelitte!
Gràcies per la vostre atenció!
Dziękujemy za uwagę!
Thank you for your attention!