Lately, I’ve been fascinated by literature from Upper Silesia. My favorite author is Szczepan Twardoch, who, in his novels, portrays life in this region over many decades. What I find admirable is his attention to detail, with which he creates a world that feels exotic to me – full of German loanwords, especially those referring to everyday objects, architecture, clothing, mentality, or the so-called “poniemieckie dziedzictwo” (“post-German heritage”).
I myself come from northeastern Poland, from Podlachia – a region where Russian linguistic and cultural influence prevails – so the Silesian linguistic world was unfamiliar to me until now.
In modern Polish, there are around 3,000 to 4,000 Germanisms. For German-speaking learners, that’s good news – these words are instantly recognizable. The bad news: many of them are now outdated, as they describe a historical reality that no longer exists.
From the Middle Ages to the present day
The first major wave of Germanisms in Polish appeared as early as the Middle Ages – alongside urbanization and Christianization. German settlers, craftsmen, and merchants brought new terms with them that are still in use today. Examples:
- handel – Handel
- jarmark – Jahrmarkt
- kiermasz – Kirmes
- folwark – Vorwerk
- gmina – Gemeinde
- morga – Morgen (Flächenmaß)
- sołtys – Schultheiß
- wójt – Vogt
- burmistrz – Bürgermeister
- ratusz – Rathaus
In the 20th century – especially during World War II – many terms entered common usage that were associated with the German occupation, such as auswajs, gestapo, kapo, lager, szmugler, volksdojcz, or in their original spelling Blitzkrieg, Übermensch, Wunderwaffe. Today, these words are mainly found in historical texts.
In the second half of the 20th century, West and East Germany became symbols of prosperity, working abroad, and consumer culture for many Poles. This is how words like bauer, gastarbeiter, szyberdach, szrot, flomarkt, or polenmarkt entered Polish. Even expressions like jechać na saksy (“to go for seasonal work abroad”) are still widely known today.
German word formation in Polish
The German way of word formation has also left its mark. Examples:
- Suffix -ung → -unek: Rechnung → rachunek, Ladung → ładunek, Gattung → gatunek
- Suffix -man: furman (Fuhrmann), hutman (Hüttenmann), oberman; modern: lekoman (Pillenfanatiker), płytoman (Plattenfan)
- Suffix -mistrz: burmistrz (Bürgermeister), baletmistrz (Ballettmeister)
The combination of two words is a typically German phenomenon – and a very practical one. No wonder Polish adopted this principle as well. Examples:
- czasopismo – Zeitschrift
- duszpasterz – Seelsorger
- krwiobieg – Blutkreislauf
- rzeczoznawca – Sachverständiger
- światopogląd – Weltanschauung
- miarodajny – maßgebend
- ogniotrwały – feuerfest
Philosophy and culture
The influence of German philosophy and culture is also reflected in many borrowings. Terms like weltschmerz, zeitgeist, angst, gestalt, schadenfreude, or poltergeist appear in opinion pieces, essays, and academic texts. Likewise, expressions such as heglizm, kantyzm, or luteranizm refer to philosophical or religious movements.
My personal favorite
Recently, I came across the word sznapskumpelka – probably a Polish invention that doesn’t even exist in German. But it’s beautiful nonetheless.
Common Germanisms in Polish
To conclude, here’s a subjective list of commonly used words of German origin:
- fajerwerk – Feuerwerk
- obcas – Absatz
- urlop – Urlaub
- malarz – Maler
- blacha – Blech
- glanc – Glanz
- weksel – Wechsel
- szminka – Schminke
- szuflada – Schublade
- dach – Dach
- szlauch – Schlauch
- ogórek – Gurke
- granica – Grenze
- sznur – Schnur
- warsztat – Werkstatt
- stempel – Stempel
- szynka – Schinken
- kartofel – Kartoffel
- szyld – Schild
- komin – Kamin
- plac – Platz
- pech – Pech
- majstersztyk – Meisterstück
- rynna – Rinne
- zegar – Zeiger
- ajerkoniak – Eierlikör
- grosz – Groschen
- kicz – Kitsch
- szyba – Scheibe
- sznycel – Schnitzel
While writing this article, I referred to the work of Bogusław Nowowiejski, University of Białystok: “Zur Frage des Einflusses der deutschen Sprache auf das Polnische” (“On the question of the influence of the German language on Polish”).
