Informal Communication and Occupation in the Polish Borderlands

The book explores the neglected role and social dynamics of informal communication - interpersonal channels not controlled "from above" - in the region of Upper Silesia under the German occupation during the Second World War (1939-1945).

Izabela Paszko is a social anthropologist with a PhD in history and works at the German Historical Institute Warsaw. Her scientific interests evolve around social history, commemorating practices and anthropology of everyday life.

Introduction 1. Upper Silesia - A Historical Context 2. Informality and Sense-Making Practices in the Borderland 3. It is said...: Communal Lives - Collective Talk 4. Communication and Relations in Places of Forced Co-Existence 5. So Close and Yet So Far: Maintaining Familial Relations and Friendships under the German Occupation, Conclusion