January 16, pm Long a symbol of Polish-German reconciliation, Poland's western city of Wroclaw will become a European culture capital this year highlighting its history at the crossroads of political upheaval in central Europe. Poland's fourth largest city with a population of ,, Wroclaw is an industrial center and university town whose complex identity spans a millennium and includes a myriad of influences. The city's honor comes at a time when relations between Poland and Germany β both EU and NATO members β are strained over controversial legislation enacted by the new conservative government in Warsaw giving it control over the country's top court and public broadcasters.
The right-wing Law and Justice PiS party, which returned to power after eight years in October, has brought back anti-German rhetoric and euroscepticism. Poland's justice minister referenced the war in response to a letter from German politician and EU Commissioner Guenther Oettinger, while a Polish pro-government magazine depicted EU leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Nazi uniforms.
The harsh Polish comments came after the new laws were notably criticized by the German head of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, as constituting a "coup" and "Putinization of European politics".
But in Wroclaw there is no ill will, according to sculptor and longtime resident Amanda Rozanska: "We don't have a problem with Germans. Historical kick-off The culture capital festivities kick off this weekend, with dancers and musicians taking to the streets to offer a polyphonic account of the city's history, directed by Chris Baldwin, who had collaborated on the London Olympics celebrations. Soviet bombing flattened 70 percent of the city in and most of the German residents left after the war ended.
Wroclaw was mainly repopulated by Poles from the city of Lwow β which became Ukraine's Lviv after the war β and also drew Jews and Greek immigrants. The city's Jewish community is now one of the country's most dynamic, though incidents of anti-Semitism occur. In November last year prosecutors opened a probe into an anti-migrant demonstration where protestors burnt a mannequin depicting a Jew. Orange dwarves In the s, Wroclaw was the birthplace of a particularly radical wing of the Solidarity trade union that negotiated a peaceful end to communism in Poland in The city was also home to the offbeat protest group Alternative Orange and its surreal antics which emerged after the regime imposed martial law in The group's militants would dress up as dwarves and stage street demonstrations, shouting outlandish demands that baffled security forces.
