On the Sate Socialism’s New Silesia Project and Its Human Consequences

Abstract

This publication reveals further strands of my research conducted in the postindustrial environment. The research results presented in this article reveal the socio-cultural implications associated with the ‘construction’ of New Silesia during the period of state socialism. During this period, centrally-controlled economic plans and the associated propaganda and political activities
integrating the new inhabitants of the region into the socialist project played a key role. Through the example of the narratives of the seniors (research participants) – quoted words, events, ways of seeing and talking about the world – I attempted to reconstruct selected areas of their lives. Analyses and interpretations of selected strands of the research – related to the recruitment,
propaganda and educational and manipulative activities carried out by the party authorities – conducted from a pedagogical perspective, provide a broader insight into the phenomena and processes that were of fundamental importance for the individual and the world of his or her existence.