Klassen- und Kulturerzählungen. Das Oberschlesien...

The focus of this book is on understanding local identities through the representations created and disseminated by the local population, residents of workers' settlements in Upper Silesia, which are recorded in regional literature. The analysis presented of the writings of Kazimierz Kutz and Stefan Szymutko aims to provide a panoramic view of a post-industrial world, sensitivity to the region's peculiarities, awareness of its industrial and agricultural past, and a gallery of characters intertwined with the difficult history of local communities. The fundamental assumption of the research was the fact that literature serves as a reservoir of identity representations. Through autobiographies, family stories, and regional novels, the history of Silesia is retold, constructed from a multitude of memories and personal narratives. Thus, the analyzed novels represent a particular type of social representation of Upper Silesia, which – more than an individual – belongs to a community within which they arise. Their nature lies in the constant reproduction, redefinition, and ongoing creation of the past and present of Upper Silesia.