The Oder-Neisse Line and Nation-Building in Poland since 1989. Phantom-Like Characteristics of Current Borders

Abstract

The Oder-Neisse line, Poland’s western border since 1945, has played a prominent role in nation-building attempts since the fall of the communist regime. National-conservative politicians and likeminded actors have presented it as a frontier to protect the Polish nation against unwanted influences. The framing, in public and political discourses, of this Polish-German border as a frontier has waxed and waned. It seemed to have disappeared, only to retake centre stage in recent national-conservative rhetoric. A wide variety of Polish and international actors and institutions have been confronted with this ‘haunting’ effect of the Oder-Neisse line. In this case study, the author shows how it is not only former borders that can have phantom-like characteristics in the present, but current borders can be equally burdened with their own past.