Річ Посполита „багатьох народів” у візіях польських науковців та публіцистів другої половини ХХ – першої чверті ХХІ ст.

Abstrakt

The author draws attention to the evolving attitudes of the leading strata of Polish society toward the image of the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, beginning from the late 18th century and up to the January Uprising of 1863. It is emphasized that the vision of a multinational Commonwealth - understood as a shared homeland not only for Poles, Lithuanians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians, but also for Jews, Germans, Armenians, and others - was revived by Polish scholars both in exile and in the People’s Republic of Poland during the 1960s. The idea regained prominence after the collapse of the communist system in the 1990s and at the beginning of the 21st century, particularly within the Lublin scholarly circle led by Prof. Jerzy Kłoczowski, and was further developed by other Polish researchers. At the same time, public debate has included numerous voices of opponents defending the concept of a monoethnic Polish Republic.