Contemporary effects of post-war urban reconstruction in the German-Polish border region as lessons for Ukrainian reconstruction processes

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of this article is to analyse the concept of post-war reconstruction of cities in the former Pomeranian province and the contemporary implications of the reconstruction processes of the time. The authors also identify lessons from this process that may be applicable to the development of concepts for the post-war reconstruction of Ukrainian cities.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The research analysed documentation on the assessment of the scale of destruction of the cities within the framework of the inventories and early reconstruction concepts on the Polish and German sides. The contemporary structure of selected cities and the resulting repercussions of the implementation of reconstruction concepts were analysed.

FINDINGS: The post-war reconstruction of the cities of Pomerania was specific due to sociopolitical changes. It was characterised by an ideological approach, a desire to manifest the new reality of the communist state but also to modernise space according to modernist urban concepts. Today, these cities have a number of problems resulting from the need to change these concepts and the destruction of the identity of the place.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The implementation of urban concepts is very sustainable. Modernist concepts for the structure of small towns today require numerous interventions in the urban fabric. When planning a reconstruction today, special attention should be paid not only to the feasibility of contemporary ideas, but also to the preservation of the identity of the place, often linked to a difficult past, which should be tamed and not erased.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The post-war reconstruction of Pomerania took place in different realities compared to contemporary Ukraine, but the long-term effects of the reconstruction concepts described, show the importance of local conditions,historical background and the need for careful preparation of the concepts implemented.