The literature of the Eastern March is strictly local. A collection of several dozen German-language novels and stories from the circle of ‘Ostmarkenliteratur’ (literature of the Eastern March), which on a scale unknown before and afterwards sends the reader back to this specific region, shows how important the Poznań Province had become on the verge of the 19th century. Geographical and topographic information in the creative output of writers constitute its ‘verbal map’. Inspired by Barbara Piatti’s interpretative approach, I will attempt to answer key questions regarding the circumstances and conditions that are conductive to locating the plot of literary works in specific spaces and places, and to interpret the experience of space recorded in the literature of the Eastern March by means of this map.

The incorporation of Greater Poland [in Polish: Wielkopolska] into the Kingdom of Prussia was the beginning of a direct neighbourhood of Poles and Germans in a relatively small area. This paper shall present the experiences of Prussian / German settlers in the Poznań Province which are based on autobiographical literary texts authored by officials and teachers (with their families) who came to this region. While reading these memoirs one can infer that they made efforts to “familiarise” new and ethnically foreign elements in the annexed territory. They cultivated and promoted their own culture here while concurrently not being too eager to participate in the culture and social life of the Polish locals. They manifest characteristic features typical of the colonist’s attitude. On the one hand, they present the country they colonise as foreign. On the other hand, they depict indigenous people whom they describe as individuals standing on a lower levelcivilisation-wise compared to the German “culture-bearers” who came here [“Kulturträger”]. The key issue in the discussed literary material of the long-term mobility of German families of officials and teachers allows to consider the following issues: How do the authors present migration to the Poznań Province and its effects? What stood in the way of building a sense of belonging and relationship between representatives of different nationalities in a new place? What does the studied autobiographical material say about the phenomenon of transnationality? Can one talk about transnational practices or their elements based on the specificity of the Poznań Province?

Słowa kluczowe: Prowincja Poznańska, mikrohistorie, autobiografia, historia faktyczna, doświadczana i zapamiętana było w okresie rozbiorów narzędziem, przy którego pomocy określano, kreowano i manipulowano samodefiniowanie się tu niemieckojęzycznych przybyszów/migrantów. Szczególnie dużo troski poświęcano ze zrozumiałych względów związkom tych terenów z pruską i niemiecką przeszłością, co miało służyć legitymacji i propagowaniu niemieckiej obecności na tym terenie. W ten sposób budowana i upowszechniana lokalna toż-samość wyrażała się instrumentalnym operowaniem przeszłością Prowincji Poznańskiej. Warto w tym kontekście odpowiedzieć na pytanie, jaką rolę odegrała polityka w przedefiniowaniu historycznego obrazu Prowincji Poznańskiej oraz w jaki sposób te "forsowane na górze" reinterpretacje historii regionu oraz bieżące działania władzy są odbierane przez zwykłych obywateli. To jest trudne i pozostaje nadal w fazie badań. Jednak już w świetle narracji autobiograficznych można zwrócić uwagę na pewne prawidłowości. Mikrohistorie pomogą odpowiedzieć na pytanie, czy autorzy w swoich osobistych refleksjach identyfikują się z linią polityczną realizowaną przez rządzących, jak doświadczali działań państwa, jak je zapamiętali i jak o nich piszą, czyli jak współistnieją ze sobą: historia faktyczna, doświadczana i zapamiętana.Abstract: Elżbieta Nowikiewicz, MICRO-STORIES OF GERMAN SPEAKING INHABITANTS OF THE POZNAŃ PROVINCE AND GEOPOLITICS. " PORÓWNANIA" 12, 2013, Vol. XII, p. 55-71. ISSN 1733. The study of the history of the lands which were within the old bor-

A.E. Johann (1901-1996), relying on his experience of over sixty years of travelling around the world, left behind a wealth of literary and journalist material, in which he often addresses topics and issues related to the United States of America. This paper’s objective is to analyze the reflections and observations of this writer and journalist included in the travel report from the period of the Weimar Republic and entitled America. Untergang am Überfluß (1932) as compared with his later creative output of a more autobiographical nature and developed between 1989 to 1992 (Dies wilde Jahrhundert, 1989; Schön war die Welt. Erinnerungen an die großen Reisen, 1992). Thus, continuity and change in his perception and image of America will be investigated; moreover, at attempt will be made to answer the question to what extent this perception and image have evolved throughout six decades (or one should rather ask why this image hardly changes with the passage of time and the emergence of new circumstances). This once very popular writer, whose books were sold in high volume, for many years could not enjoy the attention and focus of literary scholars. Accordingly, this paper aims to expand the knowledge about him and boost the discussion on German (anti-) Americanism.