\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAureliusz M. P\u0119dziwol<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMarcin Wiatr<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t–
\n\t\t\t\tInterviews<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Wiatr-Marcin-1.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Marcin Wiatr. Photo: Aureliusz M. P\u0119dziwol<\/p>\n
AURELIUSZ M. P\u0118DZIWOL: Let\u2019s talk about the Polish-Ukrainian history textbook for use in Polish and Ukrainian schools.<\/p>\n
MARCIN WIATR: For now, there is a trilateral German-Polish-Ukrainian project aimed at producing recommendations for a joint textbook. It was initiated by the \u201cPolish-German Textbook Commission\u201d, which has worked for many years on a joint Polish-German textbook. It therefore has a wealth of experience \u2013 both good and bad \u2013 and can provide the know-how.<\/p>\n
So the Germans are also participating in the project. What is their role?<\/p>\n
We are known for our matter-of-fact, analytical approach. This is a very important element of the German academic tradition. But I think that in today\u2019s emotionally charged world, this is not enough. Here, however, there is an opportunity to bring together what is German, Polish and Ukrainian. That is why we Germans are also involved in this project. Because we, too, can learn a great deal from it.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s not forget that you are German too, even though you have a Polish name.<\/p>\n
Yes, I had the privilege of being born in Poland, in territories that came under its control after 1945 as a result of the war instigated by the Third Reich. I have kept the Polish form of my first name and surname because it is part of my family\u2019s history. I am German, but I was shaped in such a geographical and sociological space that my understanding of the challenges of today\u2019s world is close to that of Poles, Ukrainians, or Lithuanians, for whom imagination is just as important as historical knowledge.<\/p>\n
\u2026which, as I understand it, may be lacking in Germans raised in Germany. What challenges does this project present?<\/p>\n
On the one hand, there are recommendations for a joint textbook. On the other, there has also been parallel preparation of teaching materials for selected lesson topics. This project differs from the Polish-German one in that we are starting from a different situation. We are at war. And because it concerns societies that have a very similar approach to history, the scale of emotion is greater.<\/p>\n
As part of this project, you\u2019ve just taken part in workshops in Berlin. Was this the first such meeting?<\/p>\n
The first in person. But as a team, we\u2019ve been getting to know each other for several months now. There were about twenty people in Berlin, mainly from Poland and Ukraine, as they are the main players here. There are fewer of us on the German side.<\/p>\n
There is another player trying to stir things up.<\/p>\n
Absolutely, yes, we mustn\u2019t forget about it either. Russia will sabotage this textbook. It has already sabotaged the Polish-German textbook, as very few people know. Russia has tried to convince the German side that such a textbook should be written in collaboration with them. The Germans, however, decided they would not do this.<\/p>\n
And that is why the Polish-German textbook became the second such joint project in the world, after the German-French textbook. Are there any others yet?<\/p>\n
No. Although various examples are mentioned at many conferences \u2013 an Israeli-Palestinian textbook or even a Chinese-Japanese-Korean one \u2013 it is not the same thing. This is because these are supplementary teaching materials and not based on the national curriculum. The Polish-German textbook meets these requirements, although it is not a textbook on the history of Polish-German relations, but on general history, told from both Polish and German perspectives. Even the German-French textbook does not have such a broad perspective\u2026<\/p>\n
The Polish-Ukrainian textbook could therefore become the third of its kind in the world. What will the next steps be?<\/p>\n
We will now be developing the methodological foundations. The Polish-German Textbook Commission, along with the Georg Eckert Institute (GEI) in Braunschweig, which specializes in textbook research, and the Centre for Historical Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Berlin (CBH), will pass on the experience they have gained over many years to the other project partners.<\/p>\n
To whom, exactly?<\/p>\n
In Warsaw, these are the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences (ISP) and the Polish-Ukrainian Textbook Commission, and in Kyiv, the National University \u201cKyiv-Mohyla Academy\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Polish-German Textbook Commission, established in 1972, issued recommendations four years later regarding the national textbooks used in Poland and Germany. Recommendations for a future joint textbook were only drawn up after 2008. Its first volume was published eight years later, and the last, fourth volume, in 2020. Will it take just as long with Ukraine?<\/p>\n
No, because we have far less time. I would even prefer certain processes to mature, but we find ourselves at a very dangerous juncture. Not only in Ukraine, but also Poland, Germany and Europe. That is why we need not less, but more shared knowledge. And that requires a different scope and pace of action.<\/p>\n
What do you mean?<\/p>\n
We are starting with sociological research; we want to understand public expectations. We will be talking to the Ukrainian minority in Poland, the Polish minority in Ukraine, and Ukrainian refugees in Germany and Poland. We want to learn about their experiences and understand their expectations.<\/p>\n
The next step will be a wide-ranging discourse analysis. That is, an assessment of how Ukraine features in political, cultural, ideological and media narratives in Poland and Germany. And also to what extent and in what context it is present in Polish and German textbooks, because for us this acts as a seismograph indicating where the gaps lie.<\/p>\n
We need to lay the groundwork for this textbook, as the field of Polish-Ukrainian relations has become very overgrown. It was different with the Polish-German textbook: that field was constantly being cultivated.<\/p>\n
How long is the phase of formulating recommendations expected to last? <\/p>\n
Very briefly. As early as November, at a conference in Berlin, we will present our initial findings, including the preliminary results of sociological research.<\/p>\n
Next year we will meet in Warsaw and there we will present the framework for the direction these recommendations for a joint Polish-Ukrainian textbook might take.<\/p>\n
And in 2028, we would like to organize a conference in Kyiv. I think that is where they could be published.<\/p>\n
And when will the textbook be produced?<\/p>\n
If these first two years are put to good use, then perhaps shortly after 2030 we will have the first volume. That would be a great success not only for Poland and Ukraine, but for Europe as a whole.<\/p>\n
So, compared to the Polish-German textbook, the pace is set to be lightning-fast.<\/p>\n
Because we live in different times and have different tools. We can hold video conferences and use generative artificial intelligence tools. This will no longer be a marathon, but a sprint. And we\u2019ve already set off. Of course, we need to be able to look behind us, to check whether we\u2019re veering too far to the left or to the right. We may have to slow down, or even stop.<\/p>\n
The most important thing, however, is not to lose our bearings, because Russia stands to gain the most from chaos. But the people working on this know what they\u2019re doing, and we can trust that they won\u2019t let that happen. And that\u2019s what matters most.<\/p>\n
Can you reveal the names of the project participants?<\/p>\n
The coordinators are, on the Polish side, Professor Tomasz Stryjek from the Institute of Political Studies (ISP) and Civitas University, who specializes in the politics of memory in Central and Eastern European countries, particularly Ukraine, and myself on the German side. Germany is also represented by the Slavicist Judith R\u00f6sch, who collaborates, amongst others, with the International Youth Meeting Centre in Krzy\u017cowa, where young people from not only Germany and Poland meet, but also from Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Other participants from Poland include the sociologists Barbara Markowska-Marczak from Civitas University, Grzegorz Demel from the Institute of Social Research (ISP), Joanna Konieczna-Sa\u0142amatin from the University of Warsaw, and the historian Dagmara Moskwa from the Institute of Social Research (ISP). There is also a key project partner in the form of the Berlin-based CBH. This group is represented by its director, Professor Igor K\u0105kolewski, who is the former Polish coordinator of the Polish-German textbook project, as well as the translator and historian Jakub Sawicki and sociologist and political scientist Marcin Fronia.<\/p>\n
On the Ukrainian side, the sociological aspect of the project is being handled by Anna Prokhorova, Oksana Khomyak and Anna Ivanova from the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. We are currently in discussions with the academy regarding the expansion of the team to include historians proposed by the Ukrainian side. The team also includes Roman Romancow, a historian from Kharkiv, from the \u201cBrama Grodzka \u2013 Teatr NN\u201d Centre in Lublin.<\/p>\n
Without all these partners, such a project would be virtually impossible.<\/p>\n
Let us also discuss other history textbooks, as they can stir up emotions. Recently, Gazeta Wyborcza published an article by Kamil Frymark from the Centre for Eastern Studies containing a long list of criticisms regarding history textbooks for secondary schools in Berlin and Brandenburg, in which, according to Frymark, \u201cPoland\u2019s defensive war in September 1939 is covered very briefly, in just eleven lines, and presented superficially.\u201d <\/p>\n
He was responded to by the two chairmen of the Polish-German Textbook Commission, who, together with a group of the commission\u2019s researchers and teachers, had also reviewed other German history textbooks and found no confirmation of \u201cthe thesis regarding the marginalization of the aggression against Poland, the Polish war experience, and the dominance of a narrative focused on German and Jewish victims of the war\u201d. The authors of the polemic also pointed to the commission\u2019s work, namely the joint Polish-German textbook \u201cEurope. Our History\u201d. How many schools in Germany are already using it? How many copies have been ordered?<\/p>\n
Around 40,000 copies. In addition to individual buyers, three federal states \u2013 Hesse, Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania \u2013 have purchased the textbook for their schools. However, this did not happen immediately after the textbook\u2019s publication, but gradually, particularly following Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n
This speaks volumes. It highlights the need to fill the gaps in German history teaching. Even if they are not as significant as Frymark claims, we agree \u2013 including as a commission \u2013 that there is too little about the German occupation of Poland, the Warsaw Uprising, or the losses suffered by Poland.<\/p>\n
The Polish-German textbook fills these gaps. That is precisely why it was created. And also to supplement the knowledge we have about one another. The paradox is that, instead of putting this textbook on their agenda, both governments decided that, since it already exists, it can be shelved.<\/p>\n
Is that how things stand today?<\/p>\n
Russia\u2019s aggression against Ukraine has brought about a significant shift in thinking, including regarding this textbook. I will just mention that German soldiers, before joining the brigade being formed by the Bundeswehr in Lithuania, use it to prepare for this task. That speaks volumes.<\/p>\n
\n \ud83c\udf99\ufe0f Listen to the latest Talk Eastern Europe podcast episode:
\n <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
A year and a half ago, Piotr G\u0142uchowski wrote an extensive article in the same Gazeta Wyborcza about the fourth part of the textbook, covering modern history from 1939 onwards. He asked Andrzej Dusiewicz from Wydawnictwa Szkolne i Pedagogiczne about how many schools had ordered \u201cEurope. Our History\u201d after the volume was approved for teaching: \u201cNot a single one so far.\u201d Has anything changed since then?<\/p>\n
In Poland, probably not. In Germany, things have changed.<\/p>\n
What can be done about this? It is, after all, a failure of sorts.<\/p>\n
It is not a failure of the textbook. There is no problem with its quality. The problem lies in the constant changes in education. It is a failure of the political elite. Education is, unfortunately, a field of constant political dispute. That is a huge mistake.<\/p>\n
So what actions would you expect?<\/p>\n
Perhaps it\u2019s worth thinking about training teachers to work with this textbook? Both in Germany and in Poland. Perhaps coordinators for such initiatives should be appointed in both the German L\u00e4nder and the Polish provinces?<\/p>\n
One more thing. Politicians often and readily refer to major anniversaries, as they attract a lot of media attention. Take, for example, 2014 and 2018, when the centenaries of the outbreak and end of the First World War were celebrated everywhere.<\/p>\n
In June, we will be marking the 35th anniversary of the signing of the 1991 Polish-German Treaty on Good Neighbourliness. This was a political milestone, but it did not create any stable institutional framework for cooperation in the field of historical education, such as that which exists between Germany and France. The result is that even successful projects remain dependent on short-term grants, political circumstances, and changes of government.<\/p>\n
Thirty-five years after the treaty, two decades after Poland\u2019s accession to the European Union, we still lack common tools in the field of history teaching and learning. Now we need concrete steps, not symbolic gestures. And here lies an opportunity to breathe new life into this treaty. This could take the form of cooperation in the field of history education. For decades, this has been driven by the Polish-German Textbook Commission, which, however, does not have the resources commensurate with the scale of such activities.<\/p>\n
And it faces a new task: participating in the preparation of a Polish-Ukrainian history textbook.<\/p>\n
If Poles and Ukrainians do not write a joint history textbook, there will be those who will do it for them. And these people will not be those who support Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation or Ukraine in its fight against the invasion, but those who are interested in its collapse. Quite simply, Russia.<\/p>\n
Marcin Wiatr is an educator, Germanist, historian and political scientist who works at the Georg Eckert Institute in Braunschweig, which specializes in research on school textbooks. He is the academic coordinator of two textbook commissions: the Polish-German and Czech-German commissions, as well as co-author of the joint Polish-German history textbook \u201cEurope. Our History\u201d.<\/p>\n
Aureliusz M. P\u0119dziwol\u00a0is a journalist with the Polish section of Deutsche Welle.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n New Eastern Europe is reader-supported. If you value independent coverage of Central and Eastern Europe, please consider supporting our work. \n\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Support-New-Eastern-Europe-1200-x-800-px-1-1024x683.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\ud83d\udc49 Click here to donate<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\teducation<\/a>, history<\/a>, Polish-Ukraine relations<\/a>\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cIf Poland and Ukraine fail to write a joint history textbook, there will be others who will take…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3299,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1384,5,939,3426],"class_list":{"0":"post-3298","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-germany","8":"tag-education","9":"tag-germany","10":"tag-history","11":"tag-polish-ukraine-relations"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3298"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3298\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}