Poland
“End of the Century Generation”: Poles through A Sociological Lens
"In the field of Polish Sociology there are different terms to describe Generation X. Two of them seem to be of particular significance: the first one is Generation ’89, the second, End of the Century Generation. Before I analyze them further, it is crucial to give an overview of what happened in Poland at the end of the 1990’s that gave rise to a period of intense transformation in Eastern and Central Europe. The eighties in Poland were a period of an ever growing disappointment and an ever more fierce opposition against the communist regime. As a result, in 1989 representatives of the opposition and the government commenced negotiations that went down in history as the Round Table Talks (nowadays, for some they are the symbol of a peaceful revolution and change, for others a huge betrayal, as they involved negotiations with the authorities of the Polish People’s Republic). The same year first democratic elections were held, and members of the Solidarity were on the voting lists. Tadeusz Mazowiecki became the first democratic Prime Minister, and a year after that Lech Wałęsa was elected the President of Poland. Next to democratization, abolition of the one-party system (as many as 15 parties took part in the 1991 elections), what changed was also the national emblem and the name of the country. Polish People’s Republic has become the Third Republic of Poland. This profound political change was concomitant with a complete change of economic system and a crash course on capitalism. Subsequent governments had to face a free market, inflation and economic growth."
~ Tomasz Ferenc, Excerpt from Generation X Goes Global
"In the field of Polish Sociology there are different terms to describe Generation X. Two of them seem to be of particular significance: the first one is Generation ’89, the second, End of the Century Generation. Before I analyze them further, it is crucial to give an overview of what happened in Poland at the end of the 1990’s that gave rise to a period of intense transformation in Eastern and Central Europe. The eighties in Poland were a period of an ever growing disappointment and an ever more fierce opposition against the communist regime. As a result, in 1989 representatives of the opposition and the government commenced negotiations that went down in history as the Round Table Talks (nowadays, for some they are the symbol of a peaceful revolution and change, for others a huge betrayal, as they involved negotiations with the authorities of the Polish People’s Republic). The same year first democratic elections were held, and members of the Solidarity were on the voting lists. Tadeusz Mazowiecki became the first democratic Prime Minister, and a year after that Lech Wałęsa was elected the President of Poland. Next to democratization, abolition of the one-party system (as many as 15 parties took part in the 1991 elections), what changed was also the national emblem and the name of the country. Polish People’s Republic has become the Third Republic of Poland. This profound political change was concomitant with a complete change of economic system and a crash course on capitalism. Subsequent governments had to face a free market, inflation and economic growth."
~ Tomasz Ferenc, Excerpt from Generation X Goes Global