present

Where is Poland

The story of Poland under partition,
seen through a foreigner's eyes.

Meet Georg Brandes

Brandes was an influential Danish writer who travelled extensively, and so came to be dubbed ‘the traveling critic’. In 1885, one such voyage took him to Poland – a country in the heart of Europe, which at the time was not shown on any map. He will be your guide on this journey through the most turbulent period in Polish history.

Georg Brandes. Photo: Silesian Digital Library

Georg Brandes

In the late nineteenth century, this Danish critic was one of the leading figures of European intellectual life. He was the author of great surveys of literature, a populariser of Nietzsche and Ibsen, as well as one of the architects of the so-called 'Modern Breakthrough' in Scandinavia – a movement that deeply transformed Scandinavian culture and society.

As a literary critic, he promoted realism, naturalism, and – generally speaking – the sort of literature that promoted social change. Such change in the spirit of ‘liberalism and progressivism’ also lay at the core of his ample journalistic activity. Described as 'the travelling critic', he was a tireless populariser of modern trends in the intellectual life of Europe – as well as a middleman in the process of cultural exchange between larger and smaller nations.

Throughout his life, Brandes combined his work as a critic with a sense of social commitment, always defending oppressed groups and communities. On the international stage, he fought for the rights of the Danes living in the German-occupied Schleswig, supported the Finns in their struggle against Russia, and criticised the partitions of Poland. He expressly condemned the massacre of the Armenians in Turkey. At the beginning of World War I, in an era of mounting international conflict, he was perceived as 'the conscience of Europe' – for which he paid a price.

In 1888, following a series of travels to Poland, he wrote a book which susbsequently was published in English, as Poland: A Study of the Land, People and Literature. This book played an important role in keeping the Polish national cause on the political agenda in Europe and is the source and inspiration of much of the material used in this multimedia guide.

Brandes died in Copenhagen in 1927.

Georg Brandes. Photo: Silesian Digital Library

Georg Brandes

In the late nineteenth century, this Danish critic was one of the leading figures of European intellectual life. He was the author of great surveys of literature, a populariser of Nietzsche and Ibsen, as well as one of the architects of the so-called 'Modern Breakthrough' in Scandinavia – a movement that deeply transformed Scandinavian culture and society.

As a literary critic, he promoted realism, naturalism, and – generally speaking – the sort of literature that promoted social change. Such change in the spirit of ‘liberalism and progressivism’ also lay at the core of his ample journalistic activity. Described as 'the travelling critic', he was a tireless populariser of modern trends in the intellectual life of Europe – as well as a middleman in the process of cultural exchange between larger and smaller nations.

Throughout his life, Brandes combined his work as a critic with a sense of social commitment, always defending oppressed groups and communities. On the international stage, he fought for the rights of the Danes living in the German-occupied Schleswig, supported the Finns in their struggle against Russia, and criticised the partitions of Poland. He expressly condemned the massacre of the Armenians in Turkey. At the beginning of World War I, in an era of mounting international conflict, he was perceived as 'the conscience of Europe' – for which he paid a price.

In 1888, following a series of travels to Poland, he wrote a book which susbsequently was published in English, as Poland: A Study of the Land, People and Literature. This book played an important role in keeping the Polish national cause on the political agenda in Europe and is the source and inspiration of much of the material used in this multimedia guide.

Brandes died in Copenhagen in 1927.

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Where Is Poland?