Trudna mediacja. Kilka socjologicznych refleksji o tożsamości Gliwic i gliwiczan

Gliwice is an Upper Silesian city whose history remains complex. Its identity has been built within a difficult mediation between that which is Polish and that which is German; that which was brought by its native residents and that which people settling there had to offer. Therefore, identity of this city makes a complex puzzle. It offers a challenge to a sociologist with interest in identities of Upper Silesian towns and cities, thus the author makes an attempt to research this issue of Gliwice and its residents. On the basis of the results from questionnaire surveys, the author has analyzed identity dilemmas of the city and people who dwell in the city. The results show the lack of any distinctly defined identity of Gliwice. Moreover, they show that the space of the city allows for embedding there its residents’ identity only to a certain extent. In spite of earlier predictions, the identity of Gliwice residents is not determined by space in any significant way. They identify themselves with the city; however, it is not the space of the city that plays an important role here. Gliwice residents seem not to be entirely on their own ground; they are yet on their way to grasp their identity of the city. This grasping is only to a very small degree based on the relation to space and the past. The past of the city, respected by its dwellers though, has not been recognized as their own. Those who are not familiar with the history of the city tend to be more connected with the events that take place there rather than with the awareness of its legacy.