Andrzej Stasiuk on the isolation of the Poles

In an interview with Gerhard Gnauck, Polish writer Andrzej Stasiuk explains how Poles feel about Russians and Germans: "I fear the Germans and the Russians; I despise them and I admire them. Perhaps it is the fate of the Poles to obsess about their own position within Europe and the world. Being a Pole means living in complete isolation. Being a Pole means being the last person east of the Rhine. Because for Poles, Germans are like well-constructed machines, like robots, while Russians are somewhat like animals. Our proximity to our southerly neighbours in Slovakia offers little consolation."

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