ABSTRACT
The sick century which has given birth to fascism and communism is nearing its end. The liberation of European societies from totalitarian systems constitutes an optimistic starting point to a new century. An explosion of nationalistic feelings in the two German states and the unification taking place in front of our eyes are logical consequences of the processes started by Solidarity in Poland. We are now facing the inevitability of the process to whose creation we contributed. Therefore, instead of trying to turn the current of the river with a stick, we should rather think about ways of building a dignified partnership with a unified Germany. The German issue is for Poles a test in political realism. Our nation, which will forever remain a neighbor of Germany, needs a profound reevaluation of its perceptions of Germans. It is extremely difficult because it is taken against the historical experience and resentments.
