Adopted heritage: German objects in the Western Territories of Poland

Abstract

The article focuses on the material culture of regions that underwent a shift in statehood when, post-World War II, formally German territories became Polish. It seeks to analyse how the heritage of post-conflict territories was integrated into everyday life and, in some instances, affirmed and appreciated by second and third-generation settlers. Through research conducted amongst contemporary city-dwellers, the authors scrutinise the relationships between people and pre-war German objects, identifying a form of relation referred to as ‘kinship’. By exploring the mechanisms through which objects are incorporated into individual and/or group history, they elaborate on the concept of ‘adopted heritage’, as demonstrated in various field research cases. This concept is derived from the idea of affinity and its application to material culture studies, and enhanced by theories that emphasise the role of emotions in heritage.