Ethnic Minorities in Poland in the Face of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Threats, Stigma and Forms of (In)visibility

This paper presents the results of multidisciplinary research assessing the impact of COVID-19 on two ethnic minorities living in Poland. While the pandemic affects minority groups in a number of ways, the most obvious threat to the continuity of already endangered languages is the disappearance of the most crucial agents of their transgenerational transmission: the oldest generations of speakers. Ethnic minorities and migrant groups suffer from a COVID-19 stigma: they are blamed and rejected due to accusations of posing a health risk to majority groups. In this paper we report and discuss the results of quantitative and qualitative research among Kashubs and Silesians. Both groups have suffered from a lack of official recognition, as well as ethnic discrimination, marginalization and the ongoing reduction of transmission of their languages. Problematic centralized health policies and decisions taken by the government contributed to the fact that the largest outbreak of COVID-19 in Poland took place in Silesia. As a result, Silesians, an ethnic minority that remains unrecognized by the Polish state, have become additionally stigmatized during the pandemic. In our quantitative online survey, we assess the psychological impact of the pandemic, its effects on minority language use, perceived threats and COVID-19-related behaviors among Kashubs and Silesians. To provide the broader context of this marginalization, we also discuss the results of a complementary analysis of media content and discourse associated with the impact of the pandemic on these ethnic minorities, as well as state policy and attitudes (of the state and general public) of the dominant group toward the Silesians before and during the course of the present health crisis.