Wielokulturowe dziedzictwo oraz losy ludności Warmii i Mazur po 1945 roku – przegląd tematyki i literatury przedmiotu pod kątem nauczania dziejów regionu

In program documents of the education reform from 1999 attention was paid to the meaning of regionalism in education and upbringing of the young generation as well as to the need of including the multicultural heritage of regions in the historical education. Teaching multiculturalism should serve the cultivation of personal identity as well as understanding and acceptance of national, ethnic, religious or cultural distinctness. Teaching the dialogue in a multicultural society is treated as an answer to great migrations in the 20th century. After World War II the picture of social life in the area of former Eastern Prussia, which belonged to Poland, changed fundamentally. In Warmia and Masuria the native population met post-migration population. Such diversity caused many integration problems. Each group brought specific cultural features, patterns of behavior, habits, ways of management etc. For many years after the war the matters connected with identity of the region, multiculture of Warmia and Masuria and presence of national minorities remained silent. The surveys carried out in 2000 among high school population indicated considerable lack of historical knowledge connected with the region’s history and the specific nature of its culture. The understanding and knowledge of historical distinctions between Warmia and Masuria are also insufficient. This article was prepared to meet the needs of teachers who explore the issues of the region's multicultural heritage. In the description of particular populations living in Warmia and Masuria the situation of native population is strongly emphasized. The professional literature presented may be helpful for biographical exploration directed to self-education as well as regional education.